Nick Clark: Who is really in charge at your council

Picture a councillor about to vote on whether her council should sell its shares in the local airport. Management tells her that voting one way could expose the council to legal risk.

She asks to see the legal advice behind that warning, which her council commissioned and ratepayers paid for. She is refused.

According to MP Stuart Smith, this actually happened at Wellington City Council. He opened the first-reading debate on his Local Government (Management of Local Authorities) Amendment Bill with the example.