Raw Politics: Send in the Crown(s)

Both Wellington and Otago councils lost a little of their political souls this week as the coalition Government grabbed control of the local levers of power.
Raw Politics asks if the National ministers who promised ‘localism’ and devolving of power have now drunk the Bowen St kool aid and believe that only they can put things right for cities and regions as well as the nation.
Newsroom senior political reporter Marc Daalder, national affairs editor Sam Sachdeva and co-editor Tim Murphy discuss the twin interventions and some contradictions offered by Local Government Minister Simeon Brown in justifying central government stepping in.
How did it come to this, and should other councils with high debt, high rates and political divisions be worried that their masters in Wellington will claim to know best.
In our second topic, the panel looks at how the Greens regather themselves after the resolution of the Darleen Tana saga – and how they can start to make an impact for their voters on issues that they’ve been missing in action on.
Our reader question asks what got into Act’s Workplace Minister Brooke van Velden with an emotionally charged answer in Parliament over Covid vaccine mandates. We’ve got the audio clip and a few theories as to why the normally calm BVV revved up at Labour.
Finally, the panelists recommend something to read, listen to or watch on the weekend ahead:
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