Sense from Daran Potter

Daran Potter may be Labour, but my God he is one of the better local leaders we have. He nails the problem in Wellington:

Ponter told The Front Page the network is ageing and territorial authorities have failed to adequately invest in the infrastructure over many decades.

There has not been a systematic approach to making that investment, he said.

“It should be a core and fundamental activity for investment. The other things that a city might invest in like new town halls, or refurbished town halls, or bike lanes, or whatever issue it might be should be secondary issues.”

Absolutely. They spend hundreds of millions on pet projects, while they fail to invest in water infrastructure.

Part of the answer to the problem does lead to the government’s doorstep to change legislation and ensure councils are more focused on their responsibility for core infrastructure, Ponter said.

Also agree. Core infrastructure should be the primary focus for Councils.