Parochialism at the trough

It hasn't taken long. Those to be kneecapped at the Auckland trough are out in force.

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• Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey was concerned at the idea of a unitary authority with powers to rate and then allocate money to smaller councils.
• I find it difficult there is taxation without direct representation.
• We really do have to look at whether local councils should be able to rate and spend accordingly rather than having funding decisions made remotely.

• Manukau Mayor Len Brown, whose council proposed a three-city model, said the commission "is taking away the control of local councils to provide for local communities".
• We can only hope that the Government realises that these recommendations may not be in the best interest of the people who live in this region, and does not adopt them without sufficient input from local councils or reflect the diverse needs of our residents.

• Penny Webster, Mayor of the Rodney District in the north of Auckland, was unhappy at the plan to remove Orewa and Whangaparaoa from the Rodney local council area and making it part of the Waitemata urban area.
• Most of our people from there see themselves as part of the Hibiscus Coast or Rodney," she told NZPA. "They don't see themselves as Aucklanders.

• Papakura Mayor Calum Penrose said the plan would be "an absolute disaster" for his district, which would all but disappear.
• Under this model you would lose local connection and lose local democracy.
• This commission was orchestrated by the last government and I would hope this government would not tolerate this.

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Parochialism at it worst, giving more reason that the kneecapping can't come soon enough.