Council row result of National's flawed Super City law

National's flawed super city law is to blame for the row at Auckland Council over whether appointed members of the Independent Maori Statutory Board should have a say in budget debates, says Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford.

“It’s untenable for un-elected people to be debating budget priorities alongside elected councillors, which is why the Government should have legislated for elected Maori councillors when it set up the super city.

"Maori and Mayor Len Brown's Council have shown a great deal of goodwill in trying to make the current structure work in the interests of Maori and the wider city. But the current row demonstrates that putting appointed members on the Council is flawed and undemocratic.

"The National Party doesn’t trust local democracy. We've seen that in the way they handed 75% of Auckland Council operations over to corporate boards. We've seen it with their suspension of elections for Environment Canterbury. And we've seen it in their imposition of an undemocratic model of Maori representation in Auckland.

"National may find democracy inconvenient but they haven't come up with a better system. Hand-picked appointees just don't cut the mustard," said Phil Twyford.