With local body elections currently under way, democracy makes its triennial appearance in New Zealand’s towns and cities once again. Since the unification of regional, city and district councils in 2010, the so-called “super city” has been run by a single Auckland Council. On the old maxim of “no taxation without representation”, local board members aren’t representatives in a full political sense. Democratic deficitCompounding this had been the historical decline in voter turnout for local elections, with participation down to 42% in 2019. The governance of Auckland is remote from, and happens high above the heads, of ratepayers and residents.

Source: Stuff September 21, 2022 01:48 UTC