"abject failure to understand and properly discharge their duties"

The title sums up the leaky home saga as North Shore City Council split hairs and continues to dig holes limiting liability.

This is a purely legal attempt at ring-fencing their liability in these matters and turning their backs on their failures. It certainly is not justice. We say there should be no distinction made between 'Ma & Pa' investors and 'Ma & Pa' owner/occupiers. They all have a huge reliance on councils' diligence and competence.

The millions paid to councils New Zealand wide by owners for inspection services signing off the now leaky homes might as well have been flushed down the sewer. Oh, that's right, it was. The inspections were not worth the paper they were written on. Still to this day, they are useless.

And the clown leading this council wants to be Super City Mayor?