POAL: A Question for Mayor Brown

It is a simple one, requiring a "yes" or "no" answer. Will he allow POAL to make redundant its workforce and contract out its staff?

I have no reason to doubt that Mr Gibson sees this as a permanent way to destroy an effective trade union voice in Auckland's ports, and that he is carrying forward his threat to casualise the POAL workforce.Whatever structures he inherited from Mr Hide, the political buck stops with Mr Brown. I can understand that he wishes this would all go away. But he wanted the job, rallied us to work for him, hoovered up our time and resources, and convinced a large majority that he was the man for the job. We now expect him to lead.

The POAL board and CEO are now operating under one of two scenarios. The first is that they have calculated the risk that Mr Brown will not act and have decided that he is a bent reed (leaked documents suggest this). The second is that they have received a tacit nod from Mr Brown that they can go ahead. I think that the first is correct but, and this is a big but, the first is fungible into the second as time passes, for the longer Mr Brown says nothing, the more his absence from the fray supports the board and CEO. I have no doubt that he opposes the POAL position personally. But I have a growing interest in whence comes his political advice and its temper.