Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The government is going to hold councils accountable for the basics like pipes and rubbish, but screw any mention of well being.  I don’t know about you, but the care of maintenance of pipes and sewage and trash is fundamental to my well being.  Minister Simeon Brown wants a report issued each year on the financial health of each council, their spending and their results. They also want to look at the changes in rates for each dwelling.  In other words they’re going to read the publicly listed council reports and produce their own because apparently many ratepayers don’t or can't be bothered. That's also the job the media used to do until they got so skint they don't have the staff to do it. I couldn’t help thinking the whole thing was a dramatic production and part of a culture war to paint local bodies as a villain for committing exactly the same crimes central government are guilty of. There’s criticism of council red tape in building consents and yet the irony is that it’s central governmen