Super size Auckland

Now I have stated my opinion of this idea before here and here.

Now the Herald says that Auckland will be one huge city with a super mayor from next year.

You heard me. One city stretching for Wellsford to Pukekohe, population 1.4 million.

Now the Herald may well have jumped the gun on this but now they are saying that their readers think it is a good idea.

It does have some merit but this kitty's first impulse is to take to the harbour bridge with a hack saw.

Auckland City in its current nearly 20 year old incarnation still hasn't sorted out the infrastructure problems it had 20 years ago. Where as North Shore, Manukau and Waitakere have largely sorted out the problems they inherited and are working on the ones that have developed since. Rodney hasn't fully recovered from being a basket case a few years back and Papakura and Franklin are still mostly rural.

The question is not whether this is the best solution for Auckland but how keen the rest of the country are on having a big tail to wag a small dog.