Are ratepayers aware that ‘their' rates help pay their council's
membership to Local Government NZ?
In August 2015, the LGNZ president Laurence Yule signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group.
LGNZ has done a deal to create partnership obligations to councils involving 'economic development, environment, infrastructure, employment, social issues, health, housing, energy and local democratic representation and decision-making”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for the Environment, at Minister for the Environment Nick Smith's direction sent a group of ministry employees around the country to ‘consult' the community about freshwater.
The deal is done and the Iwi Leaders Group's seven outrageous demands are virtually signed, sealed and delivered thanks to LGNZ.
Democracy is being sorely undermined when LGNZ can ignore 75 per cent of the rat paying public in their wishes to ‘not have' representation based on ethnicity.

MJ Anderson, Pyes Pa.