Hide's super-city junket report censored

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A report to cabinet written by Local Government Minister Rodney Hide on his tax-payer funded 12 day trip around the world has been released but censored.

Hide, accompanied by his girlfriend Louise Crome and office staff, justified the taxpayer funded trip saying he needed to understand large cities ahead of the creation of super city Auckland next year.

But the angry North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams has obtained Hide's cabinet report under the Official Information Act.

It has been blanked out in large areas.

"Aucklanders will be fascinated to learn that, according to the official trip diary, Rodney Hide spent around 10 hours on Auckland governance, three and a half hours on regulatory reform, four and a half hours on ACT party policy, one hour in media interviews, and seven and a half hours having breakfast and lunch with his tour party who accompanied him on the trip," Williams said.

"When you break it all down, the trip which is estimated to have cost over $100,000 for the Minister, his companion, and two staff members, bought the taxpayer around 19 hours of official meetings and discussions over 12 days, and Aucklanders can judge for themselves whether they got value for money."

Hide's office has denied the trip cost so much, saying the total travel bill came to $31,202.

Hide travelled to Bangkok, London, Toronto, Portland and Los Angeles.

The trip coincided with his partner's brother's wedding in London.

In his cabinet report Hide says the meetings he had in three countries "were useful in informing my thinking on the future direction of the local government and regulatory reform portfolios."

He said he was "encouraged that our proposed model for Auckland is the right one".

- © Fairfax NZ News