We Can Work It Out (Part Three)

And so it comes to pass.
Local government is to be reformed, Granny Herald has announced.  I blogged about this twice in recent weeks, the writing on the wall was hard to miss.
So, what will the reforms consist of?  Can't be that difficult to guess:

• Amalgamations, and a blurring of the line between regional and local government.
• Less democracy through reducing the number of elected representatives, which in turn encourages party tickets and wealthy individuals to run for office. 
• Removal of the provider/regulator split, to support asset sales.
• Union busting, through increased contracting out aka labour market flexibility.
• Restrictions on rate rises, to drive asset sales.
• Moving back to the limiting of the functions of local government to those specifically allowed, as per the 1974 Act.

At least there was a laugh in the announcement, the government thinks the amalgamation in Auckland has been "successful".  They should use some of the money they take as tax to purchase a dictionary.