Don't forget, this is likely to be Rodney's swan-song given his party's tiny margin at the last elections.
It's his only chance to pay back his BRT and EMA backers for their support at the last election. So yes of course he's got his hand up Mark Ford's jacket.
Have you met Ford? Underwhelming but autocratic sums him up nicely.

"Mr Banks is not the unanimous candidate". But hang on Sacha, there's nobody opposing him.
Forget Len Brown for a moment, the only way we avoid another Mad Mayor is if another right wing candidate throws their hat in the ring.
At the moment all the right white right wing people only have Banks to vote for and they - because they are educated and have money in the bank and like to sleep soundly at night knowing the city's resources are beign diverted into stuff rich white people like - will sweep Banks into power November 1.

I like the last points about the electricity system, but have to say good luck with that.
Remember it was the Nats who GAVE us the current dog's breakfast of a system (thanks, Max B). And the separation of generation, lines and retail was SUPPOSED to give us "competition" and deliver "cheaper power".
Come back Max, tell us how well you think that worked.
Not personally a huge fan of NGO mega corps, but back when we had an Electricity Department, if the hydro ran low, we could switch generating emphasis to geothermal and coal...if coal was expensive we could use geo and hydro.
Now each of those sources (and of course wind, which as a nation we are not short of) are "owned" by separate organisations who all want their bit of the profit pie, who all pay back to the Government (thereby perpetuating the current system) and who would scream blue murder if forced to buy power from their neighbours at regulated prices.
And every time the spot price goes up, the Govenrment makes even more money from the system as the GST take soars upward.
So explain to me again why a Government would want to move to a fairer (ie less obscenely profitable) business model for electricity?
If Max Bradford is indeed still among us (hovering on the dry right wing like a grey ghastly ghostly adjunct to the likes of Roger Douglas) I would LOVE for him to find the guts to tell the nation again how he was "acting on the basis of the best advice" when he screwed the nation so royally...

agree agree, wasps are only fun if solo and there is a good solid magazine nearby waiting to be rolled up (o bother, I just found something else these trendy new e-book reader thingys will be crap at!).
I leave bees be, and we do plant to attract them simply because I feel sorry for the little furry buggers after all this varroa stuff...but wasps are a different story, they make a very satisfying whack sound when I hit them with a magazine, and then a supporting thump when they hit the next available hard surface. Lovely.
As you may have guessed, I couldn't be a Buddhist!

Way ahead of you on TV3's excellent Plus 1 feature on Freeview - the best use for me is being able to watch TV One news and then go to TV3 news or catch something on One that clashes with a TV3 programme. Great idea, surprised other broadcasters didn't jump on that bandwagon.
Hey this Freeview review idea's a good one, but would be more useful if we had someone - one reviewer - doing a head to head of the Freeview HD and TiVo offerings (for example) - what people like and what they don't like...

First Craig now a Herr Darroch of the supposedly "Lucky" country. Strewth. The right wing apologists do seem to have a lot of time on their hands these days don't they? Would have thought, George, that you'd be busy packing your mansion for the trip back to Godzone (I'm assuming you came from here) ready to make the most of the Nat/Act bulldozer tenders about to be issued, and too busy to trawl PA.
Craig on the other hand just seems to need a day job or some quiet time in the naughty corner.
Oh, and as for the F word, when the Minister of Police can tell the Mayor of one of the districts about to be absorbed into "Grater Auckland" that he's starting to "f*%king piss me off" and threaten to "fix" him, I think the F word has lost its sting somewhat, don;t you guys?
Was a tad surprised that a Minister of the Crown in the National Cluster Govt would be so bereft of vocab - so maybe that excuses our using the same terms?

"if I wanted to call Hide a fascist, I would do so. Calling this frankly ludicrous man the 3.6% Mussolini hopefully both reminds people he has no mandate and envokes a Mel Brookes view of this buffoon."

Tom! Stunning! Wish I'd got there first, but yes...the posture, the self importance, the extremely small appendage. Rodney IS Benito reborn.
I haven't been here for a while, but I see a few people here take themselves a tad seriously and don't like lil Rodders being flamed.
Craig dude, put down that handle of vinegar and take a BREATH man!

Right Wing Buzzword Bingo addenda:

"um...duh...er...I did not see that woman's sextes textes..." = John Key channels George Dubbya. Next thing he'll be reading to kids from an upside down book. Or looking through the wrong end of a pair of binocs..

I just read the Herald story on Rodney's plans to revise (not review) the Local Govt Act 2002.
I've started a game called Right Wing Buzzword Bingo:

"targeted consultation" - we'll talk to our mates
"transparency" - making sure our mates only do what we want them to
"greater private-sector role" - making sure jobs go to our mates
"hard thinking" - working out how our mates can make maximum dollars out of the Supercity and local government stuff
"tradeoffs between services" - making sure nobody does any stuff for people
"no free ride" - none of that icky social stuff mate!
"an engagement in debate" - John, it's my way or the highway. Decide.

BINGO!

I have to laugh. Hide says he will strip spending back to core services. But Rodney, tell us do, what has Central Government been loading on Local Government for the past two decades? Social, environmental, cultural responsibilities the central gnomes would rather not deal with.

Helps balance Govt's books, and makes the icky huggy touchy feely stuff invisible except when the self styled "Minister for Ratepayers" needs an easy target to divert attention from the Supercity rort, which is looking a tad shaky right now.

Give me a break!

Has he read the Local Government Act recently? There are these things called the four wellbeings: social, environmental, cultural and economic. They are part of the legislation - so unless he wants to buy a huge fight in redrafting the Act, he should probably zip his flappy lip.

If he's taking aim at the Act then he buys a fight with the Maori Party among others - and we all know how much he loves getting down with the brothers, don't we!