Make a submission but never submit

APN’s community paper The Aucklander has consistently campaigned against the super city fiasco.

It has now taken the unusual step for a newspaper of making a submission to the select committee considering the third super city bill.

It begins with a reference to the Government’s confiscation of Aucklanders’ right to a referendum on this forced amalgamation:

First, this Bill should restore the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 which have been outrageously overridden by the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009. That the people of Auckland should be denied the rights to democratic local governance is unconscionable and despicable.  Read more.

The paper’s editor Editor Ewan McDonald and Chief Reporter  Edward Rooney have asked to present their submission in person. I can’t wait.

You too can make a submission.  The deadline is 5pm tomorrow Friday. You can do it on line. See Labour’s submission guide for tips. And don’t feel you have to write a lengthy technical submission. Keep it simple, and don’t forget to tell the committee you would like to speak to your submission in person.

A number of people at our recent public meetings asked whether making a submission makes a difference. It is a worthwhile political act. During the hearings on the second bill last year one submitter after another ripped into the Government’s plans for at-large councillors and toothless local boards, embarrassing the National and ACT committee members and ultimately leading to Government U-turns on those two issues (even though they are yet to come good on their promise to empower the boards).