Super-city thoughts

Editor,

Those Porirua city councillors pushing for a regional super-city are collaborating with National’s attack on democratic local government.

The amalgamation of councils is just one of a suite of measures to roll back the local provision of services in line with Key and Co’s anti-public, proprivatisation agenda. Under changes to local government law passed by Parliament last December, councils are more limited about when they can do, central government is given more powers to control local councils, and the procedure for amalgamation proposals changed to take away the automatic right of the public to vote on the matter.

Labour MPs and the Greens rightly voted against.

The super-city promoters harp on about ‘stronger leadership’. What they mean is less democracy. Their plans involve far less councillors, and furthermore in a law change planned for this year the clout of councillors will be radically reduced as mayors are given dictatorial powers instead.

The super-city proposals take ‘local’ out of local government to make it impossible for a community like Porirua to democratically take steps to meet its needs through communal provision.

Don’t be fooled about the so-called two-tier super-city option touted by the current council that would have local boards under a single regional council. The local boards would not have real power and no ability to employ staff.

After all, we already have real twotier local government.

MARTIN GREGORY, Porirua East