Just when you thought local council couldn’t get more absurd and extravagant, they’ve dreamt up a new way to not make decisions. To do less, with more.
Citizens assemblies. A crackpot idea the Romans once used. But Romans did lots of weird stuff we stopped doing, and this should be one of them.
They’ve got one on the boil in Whanganui.
In Napier, 40 unelected locals have just finished sitting around talking about where to put a new swimming pool and what that pool might look like.
Four weeks later. $800 per person, including refreshments and god knows what else - $100,000 total from the rates take. It's basically a catered chinwag between neighbours that they call an assembly.
And guess what? They couldn’t come up with a consensus on where to put the pool.
Despite all the expertise, the opinions for Africa, the specialists, the Lamingtons, no location was decided.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Why bother with a council, a Mayor, an MP?
Like DJ sets and recycled period cups, these citizens assemblies are very much in vogue with the radical left across Europe right now.
But they’re also a massive waste of time and money and the more I read about stuff like this, the more I think we’d be better off dispensing with democracy and bringing in a dictator.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise was quoted as saying the assembly’s recommendations "were an invaluable starting point in the journey towards a new pool…”
Give me strength.
An invaluable starting point for a new swimming pool is a hole in the ground.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode Transcript
Just when you thought local council couldn't get more absurd extravagant,
they've dreamed up a new way to not make decisions,
to do less with more citizens. Assemblies. You heard of
these crackpot idea the Romans once used. But Romans did
lots of weird stuff that we stopped doing, and this
should be one of them. They've got one on the
boil in Huanganui. You might have heard of it. In
Napier forty unelected locals have just finished sitting around talking
(00:23):
about where to put a new swimming pool and what
that pool might look like. Four weeks later, eight hundred
dollars per person including refreshments and god knows what else
one hundred thousand dollars in total from the rates take.
It's basically a catered chin wag between neighbors and they
call it an assembly. And guess what. They couldn't come
up with a consensus on where to put the pool,
(00:47):
despite all the expertise, the opinions for Africa, the specialists,
the Lamington's no location was decided. You cannot make the
stuff up. Why bother with a council, why bother with
a mayor, Why bother with a government like Keffer's d
Day sets and recycled period cups. These citizens Assemblies are
very much in vogue with the radical left across Europe
right now, but they are also a massive waste of
(01:09):
time and money. And the more I read about stuff
like this, the more I think we'd be better off
dispensing with democracy and bringing in a dictator. The napier
Meir Kirsten Wise was quoted as saying the assembly's recommendations
were an invaluable starting point in the journey towards a
new pool, Give me strength, an invaluable starting point for
(01:32):
a new swimming pool as a hole in the ground.
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
to News Talk Set B from five am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com