Auckland is broken

Homepaddock

The theory of a super city had appeal.

Having regional and city councils under one umbrella and dismantling several councils to form a single local authority ought to have produced economies of scale.

The practice hasn’t lived up to the promise.

Instead it’s created a big, expensive and unresponsive bureaucracy, and like MMP, widened the distance between the people, their problems and their politicians.

Red tape has proliferated and regulations have become hurdles that get in the way of progress and action.

Quite how bad it is was proved on Friday evening.

Those of us watching news from a distance could only wonder at what transport authorities were thinking when they told people to drive to the Elton John concert because trains had been cancelled, then said buses would run at 10 minute intervals.

You don’t have to be good at numbers to work out that 40,000 people need more…

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