They're only listening to me regarding local politics because their tactics failed re: Tory. Her team basically wasn't able to absorb the blows and, even though I thought some of the reporting was unfair, it didn't suggest that she had built the consensus that she was elected to build.
I mean, that was literally her campaign pitch: she was the one to bring unity to the Council because she'd negotiated the 2017 deal between Labour, Greens and NZ First.
She's completely failed. Let alone that she's conceded massive gains to the conservative faction regarding public transport, and that she's courting property developers with questionable track records, the council is as divided as it was during Andy Foster's tenure and I don't think anyone in Wellington would say things have improved.
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I mean, it's easy to blame central government and the non-delivery of Three Waters from the perspective of the water woes that plague Wellington, but that's not to say that they couldn't have gotten stuck in the way that they did when the Willis Street pipe burst in late 2019 or early 2020. They put tens of millions into that - according to ChatGPT - because it was a main road and they couldn't hide it. I'm sure that the city could find creative ways of encouraging more infrastructure investment, because now it seems like they're mostly interested in moaning about what Simeon Brown is doing, rather than figuring out how to fix the leaky pipes by encouraging people to invest into the city infrastructure. Like, whenever it comes to issues like this, the typical sceptical watch cry is that rates can't be lifted, but if she's willing to cut a ridiculous deal with Reading Cinemas, why not cut similar deals to encourage the property barons to invest in our pipes?
That's my pet idea for central and local government: infrastructure bonds.
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Trying to convert me into being straight is truly unforgiveable. That's a lapse in judgement, but it's not something that was just a one-off. That's several years of concerted effort from several groups (including the Wellington Greens).
A lot of people in Wellington owe me a genuine apology over those events. How can I perform a gig for people that actively called me a sexual deviant and then said I couldn't be 'really trans' because I was a sexual deviant and they were getting off to trannie porn, or to manipulating me via interactive porn?
I can't; that's my answer. It doesn't mean I can't solve their problems, but it does mean that I expect a genuine apology well before any ideas of me performing for a general audience. Maybe, next time, all the people that are angry, incensed, concerned or whatever by my blog posts or my Facebook profile should actually bother to communicate directly in a face-to-face confrontation. I'm serious: as far as I'm concerned, the Greens broke the law and spied on me while I was masturbating. They're lucky that I'm not particularly well-known. Given this Darleen scandal, it'd be a shame to add an extra one, but I'm sorely tempted to try and prove this to the point where I get to go to court and get a real settlement. It's in their interest to apologise so that this doesn't escalate. Put it this way, I feel like a slave at times with all this constant surveillance and shaming about what I wank to or what clothes I'm wearing, and healing from that requires an acknowledgment that messing with me via pornography was really ethically questionable, particularly from people with no therapeutic training. My actual nurses and psychiatrists have never mentioned detransitioning, and neither have they attempted to alter my gender expression. That's why my enemies will apologise and admit that their prejudices overcame their sense of fairness. This is my tip for Nadine and Tory: Innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent. Though, actually, the real tragedy is that drug arrests are essentially guilty until proven innocent. You decided to believe the worst of me because you didn't like me. But now, after extensive interrogation, I think you've all realised that you were wrong. I was flirting with Chloe, but I actually wanted to be with Michelle. I have lots of friends, and I'm attracted to some of them. However, when Michelle began working for VUW, then VUW tried to steal my script - much like you two did - I stopped being interested in her because VUW's vision of me was bigoted and transphobic. So was yours, I might add. I expect an apology regarding the hui, particularly given that I wasn't charged with inciting a riot, or inciting violence, or inciting the occupation. It was very plain at the hui that you blamed me for the occupation of Parliament and that you thought I needed to detransition. I demand an apology, and I expect it. I'm also personally miffed that you haven't given any real thought to Gary's ideas of a safe consumption centre. Debbie doesn't call me a pervert or make light of the situation with tasteless jokes. She gets that I'm serious: it's almost impossible to get a job because I'm the boy in a dress.
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The whole country is up shit creek financially speaking. Wellington is no exception, but it demonstrates how fucked-up our local economy is that the 'left' is basically supported by the uni and the public sector, while all the small businesses and hospitality groups that make this a great city to study in are being pushed further and further to the right. I mean, some of the Green ideas are a bit draconian, but foot traffic and business has probably been down since 2020, with little hope of returning to mid-2010's peaks. That's my purely anecdotal take from reading the tea leaves. This is another case of crocodile tears imo. All the rich people are complaining that they're not making the killer profits that they're used to, and the Council is divided, meaning that every major issue becomes a PR battle about slogans and catchphrases rather than a real discussion.
That, Joel, is my view of local government. Thought I saw you at Question Time a few weeks ago.
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