By trying to infer a link between the inclusion of the wellbeing framework in local government legislation and higher rates increases, you could be forgiven for thinking that Local Government Minister Simeon Brown was warming up to join the Welsh at the Battle of Agincourt such is the desperation of the longbow he’s drawn.

Just as the previous Labour Government was forced to resort to compulsion as councils tried to go against the flow of its Three Waters reforms, now the National-led Coalition is starting to be swept down the same river as councils navigate the fraught political currents around water reform, resulting in many wanting to divert course away from the Coalition’s preferred joint water CCO approach.

A letter writer to The Post appeared to be confused about the powers of a Crown Observer, listing out a number of “jobs” they wanted to see Wellington City’s observer attend to such as stopping all capital projects and halting the recruitment of a new Chief Executive. So Local Aotearoa decided to clear up the confusion over what a Crown Observer can and can’t do.