‘False economy’: Worried NZ councils look at bankrupt Birmingham

As mayors, chairs and councillors arrived in Wellington for the Local Government NZ conference on Wednesday, their taxis from the airport were forced to detour around flooding caused by a burst water main. With the threat of ensuing water outages, Wellington residents were being told to store water as a precaution.
To Wellington mayor Tory Whanau, this is evidence of how cash-strapped the council is, that it’s not been able to pay to get its ageing pipes up to 21st century standards. But to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, it’s proof that the council’s wasting money on “white elephants” rather than focusing on the basics of roads, rubbish and water infrastructure.