Democracy Done Stupid: Local Water Done Well Deliberations

25 June 2025

“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆.”

That’s what I found myself saying after yesterday’s Taupō District Council “deliberations” on the most consequential decision in decades: the governance of our water infrastructure.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.

Just a preloaded script rammed through in 20 minutes flat.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭? 𝐂𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐝–𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝.

𝐀 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝.

Why? Because I challenged the “preferred option” — a pre-baked conclusion that had already been quietly decided behind closed doors.

Let me be clear: I wasn’t pushing ideology. I was simply proposing that the Option 3 alternate governance model—an independent, accountable, tightly-designed Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) — could bring real transparency and public oversight. But the very act of suggesting that staff-led processes are obscuring real governance, was enough to get me cut off by Chairperson Mayor David Trewavas and his Deputy watchdog Kevin Taylor.

This wasn’t a meeting, a debate or even a discussion – this was a 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘦.

Democracy isn’t just voting every few years. It’s the ability 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 without being silenced when the truth gets uncomfortable.

𝐈‘𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲: I’m working at a table where stupidity is not a glitch in the system — it 𝘪𝘴 the system, aided and abetted by the people you elect to govern. Not all of them and not all of the time – but enough of them enough of the time, to make real accountability impossible.

If this enrages you – 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 – because it should.

𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫.

Read the full statement they didn’t let me deliver: https://duncandoestaupo.com/lean-clean-taupo-a-cco-with-teeth/

Watch the public meeting here (jump to 17:38): https://youtu.be/oPjCTU0uODc?si=7KB-wsJuTNSOT9Zj&t=1058