Auckland communities are squealing for a bigger trough – and Maori want more for whanau ora

“The bloody Mayor wants to put us on short rations…”

Auckland mayor Len Brown – we learn from the NZ Herald today – has returned from a month-long overseas holiday to a budget revolt by local boards.

A letter signed by all 21 local boards in his so-called super city expresses frustration and anger at a mayoral budget proposal to slash $1.3 billion in spending on parks, community and lifestyle.

This looks (at first blush) like a good thing, if it eases the burden on ratepayers.

But Alf is inclined to suspect the mayor does not really intend to lighten the burden on ratepayers and probably has been obliged to propose these cuts so he can spend much too much public money on other grandiose projects.

Backing sterilisation will bring more blue votes (probably) than urging help for mum with a record

So how long will this go on for, and how many state-run children’s homes will be needed to cope with the consequences of Oriwa Kemp’s fecundity?

Oh – and by the way – will the aforementioned Oriwa Kemp ever get a chance to demonstrate that maybe she can bring up her children without the need for state intervention?

Those are among the lofty questions tackled over the Grumbles’ breakfast table this morning, while we ploughed our way through the Sunday newspapers.

Oriwa Kemp, if you don’t happen to know it, was banged up for a while for cruelty to Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie.