Those who read the local papers will know the story about the latest little fiasco over speed limits on KCDC area roads other than State Highway One: the KCDC was late in renewing its speed limit bylaw because of a legal “grey area”, which left local roads technically without council speed limits since 2012.

Internal Affairs told Kapiti Coast District Council — specifically the boss bureaucrat Mr Dougherty and the mayor Mr Church — to ‘maintain confidentiality’ until a solution was found.  The ‘solution’ was for the government to pass retrospective legislation to validate all the speeding tickets that had been issued. — article

Retrospective legislation — making legal something that was illegal at the time, or vice-versa — is a highly questionable practice.  But what is even more astonishing here is that councilors weren’t told.  In other words, for the boss — and the Mayor — “you councilors are inferior to me”.  Needless to say, councilors are unhappy, but unless Messrs Dougherty and Church change their arrogant thinking, what’s to stop it happening again?