Concerns Rise over Bay of Plenty Super Council

Malcolm Campbell, mayor of the country's smallest council, is challenging the mayors who attended a secret meeting yesterday to discuss forming a super city. Here's Kereama Wright. Not happy with the actions of some of his fellow mayors who took part in a private meeting yesterday. But Campbell does support the reason for the meeting, which was to discuss opposition to the local government amalgamation process currently under spotlight, which will ultimately bind super councils like Auckland's super city. The idea behind merging is to strengthen them and help bring costs down, but there are no benefits to merging for Kawerau. Something that may not sit well with some of Kawerau's rate payers, such as Carter Holt Harvey. Kawerau has been hit hard by unemployment, and Kawerau's mayor says it'll only get worse if a super city is formed. But it seems that he's not alone in his stand. No doubt the issue will be discussed when the councils meet again in Wellington this Thursday. Kereama Wright, Te Karere.