A Labour government would change the law and give Auckland's local boards real decision-making powers, party leader Phil Goff says.The boards are part of the city's new local government structure, meant to ensure ratepayers have a voice, but critics say t
A Labour government would change the law and give Auckland's local boards real decision-making powers, party leader Phil Goff says.
The boards are part of the city's new local government structure, meant to ensure ratepayers have a voice, but critics say they will be virtually powerless.
Mr Goff said in a speech to the Local Government New Zealand conference today the Government made some big mistakes when it set up the new Auckland super city council, which takes over in October.
"Those mistakes are not simply flaws in a shambolic process, they are the result of the way the National-led government thinks about communities," he said.
"They distrust communities, and so they constrained the powers of local boards. Labour will change the law to guarantee local boards real decision-making powers."
Mr Goff said Local Government Minister Rodney Hide saw local government as "a monster that needs to be restrained" and his ideology was that corporate and unaccountable decision-making was better than transparent and democratic decision-making.
"The minister trusts hand-picked appointees more than he trusts the people to run our communities," he said.
"It is shifting decision-making powers, and the management of assets and services, into private hands."
