A special insight into the hearts and minds of New Zealand's local body representatives has been given to the Hon. John Carter. The research, undertaken by the Draco Foundation, is the result of a survey of 740 Councillors and Mayors earlier this year.

The survey's architect, Jarrod Coburn, says the research highlights the humanity of elected officials and provides a stark contrast to local government in the United Kingdom. "In 2009 there was a similar survey undertaken in the UK that sought the views of Councillors on matters regarding financial stability and performance of the local government sector," says Jarrod Coburn. "We are not quite ready to release the results just yet, but I can say that New Zealand local authorities seem to have fared significantly better than their cousins across the world."

Some key highlights of this research were presented at the launch of the Wellington Regional Citizens Forum, where the Associate Minister of Local Government John Carter, Minister of Revenue Peter Dunne and National List MP Katrina Shanks were in attendance.

Further details about the research is available here.

Further details about Citizens' Forum is available at www.residents.org.nz/WRCFC.