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Greens say no to Wellington mega city
4 December 2014
Greens say no to Wellington mega city
Green Party Wellington MPs, councillors, and community board members have jointly come out in opposition to the proposal for a Wellington region mega city today.
The response was a joint statement made by Wellington Green Party representatives, including: Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman; Wellington-based Green MPs Gareth Hughes, Jan Logie, and James Shaw; Wellington City Councillors Iona Pannett, David Lee, and Sarah Free; Greater Wellington Regional Councillors Sue Kedgley and Paul Bruce; and Eastbourne Community Board member Robert Ashe.
The Local Government Commission released its draft proposal for the reorganisation of local governance and supports a single, greater Wellington council with eight local boards operating semi-autonomously beneath it. The boards will represent Rongotai, Lambton, Ohariu, Porirua-Tawa, the Kapiti Coast, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and the Wairarapa.
“This proposal is radical and repeats many of the same mistakes made in Auckland,” said Green Party Wellington spokesperson Gareth Hughes.
“The Commission has put ideology over representative democracy.
“Any future change to our local governance should only proceed if supported by a referendum requiring a majority support in each affected region.
“All Wellingtonians need to have a say in the future of their local democracy.
“We will be pushing to make sure a referendum actually occurs.”
Greater Wellington Regional Councillor Sue Kedgley pointed out that as transport, water, and economic development were already integrated across the region, there was no need for a mega city in Wellington.
“Shared services are working well in Wellington,” said Ms Kedgley.
Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett said cities work best when communities can have a genuine say in decision making.
“Local representation will be lost under a super city. Super city councillors will be required to focus on regional issues. Local issues and local communities will be the big losers,” said Ms Pannett.
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