These, and the sewers that overflow into drains and close some for the city's beaches after rain, are signs of a city creaking at its seams. Many a letter to the Herald pleads for Auckland to be "closed" to further immigration until the infrastructure can catch up. That is a solution that would stackthe reverse problems of stagnation. Stopping population growth, even if it were possible, would be defeatist. The problem for Auckland is that the Government takes the taxes and the council takes the rates and they do not always agree on what needs to be built.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 07, 2017 17:03 UTC