Hon Peter Dunne
MP for Ohariu
Leader of UnitedFuture

30 October 2012

Dunne: Capital plan good compromise, but no Lord Mayor

Local government review recommendations for Wellington announced today are “a good compromise that would equip the capital to compete with Auckland and Christchurch,” UnitedFuture Leader and Ōhariu MP Peter Dunne.

“However, I think the title of Lord Mayor is somewhat old-fashioned. I think the person elected to lead the Greater Wellington Council should be called the Mayor of Wellington, with the leaders of the local area councils, referred to as the chairs of those councils.

“I think the Auckland super city model turning such councils into community boards has left local communities feeling disempowered and unheard. We would not want to repeat that.

“If implemented, these recommendations would bring in a level of regional unity of purpose and vision which we very much need; but we cannot do that at the expense of real democratic representation in our local communities,” he said.

“I think the balance in these recommendations is very good.

“Sir Geoffrey Palmer and his fellow members of the Wellington Region Local Government Review Panel should be congratulated.

“They have put forward some quality recommendations and advanced the debate considerably for all of greater Wellington to consider,” Mr Dunne said.

ENDS

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