@lightweight #Regional councils are elected officials. They look after local concerns. It is absolutely appalling that central government is doing away with them. It takes us closer to an authoritarian system that is insensitive to concerns about government actions that often favour money making for a select few over quality of life for the majority of people. #nzpol

To be fair, our regional council, ECan, has been shithouse at enforcing environmental regulations on farmers, mostly because most of the council *is* farmers. I think, due to that poor performance (inmates running the asylum), more women and fewer farmers have elected. A previous Nat'l Gov't replaced elected ECan councillors with 'administrators' when they didn't vote in line with farming interests on irrigation. Suspect disingenuity.