Or even Brisbane, Jezza. Sure, it doesn’t have Melbourne’s cool light rail, but unlike Melbourne it does have a supercity model and the public transport there works brilliantly – when I was there for 3 weeks earlier in the year I got anywhere I wanted when I wanted by public transport quickly and at little cost.

Rodney should have gone to Melbourne and Brisbane if he were genuinely interested in what works, rather than engage on his European and American bonkathon.

What a joke… Melbourne is looking better everyday…

One of the more insidious ‘minor’ amendments proposed for the Local Government Act is to change Schedule 7 clause 39 to legally enable Councils to charge communities with Community Boards exorbitant hourly rates for staff time.
For example Tasman District in the South Island charges communities with Community Boards $336 per hour for the CEO, $172 ‘manager’, $110 ‘professional’ and $70 minute secretary.
These staff are employed regardless of whether there are Community Boards or not.
If similar charges are adopted by the Auckland Super City, communities will be priced out of meaningful local representation.
We must oppose this amendment and instead support the Local Government Commission’s request for an amendment which makes it absolutely clear that such charges are NOT permitted.

I see the 2013 Auckland elections will have to be under FPP rather than STV as well, despite what the electors may want, and Hide intends preventing Frankin, Papakura and northern Rodney from putting up reorganisation proposals under the Local Government Act to pull out.