If you have ever spent considerable time preparing and making a submission to a government commission or tribunal, only for what you have to say to be completely ignored, we have too.

This is the biggest concern of all about the ‘super-city’ plan.  The number of elected representatives of the people would be slashed to about a quarter of the present number, only 21 councilors plus a mayor for an area covering a large part of the bottom of the North Island.  They are also talking about local boards similar to the present Community Boards, but these would not get a vote.

All effective power would vest in unelected overpaid bureaucrats on long-term contracts with their own preconceptions and self-interest, as was very well portrayed in the British TV series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister from the 1980s.  In the case of the Wellington “super-city” the equivalents will be “Yes, Councilor” and “Yes, Mayor”.