Auckland councillors 'have grounds' to see Goff's report

A public law specialist says Auckland councillors may have good grounds to demand full access to a report on a downtown stadium. The mayor Phil Goff ordered the report last year via a council agency, and released a partially blacked-out version to RNZ after the Ombudsman found the council had incorrectly withheld it for nearly six months. Mr Goff has allowed councillors access to a full copy only by viewing it in his office, or will hand out copies minus material the Ombudsman agreed should not be made public. Dean Knight who specialises in public law at the Victoria University of Wellington says councillors have different rights to the public, and he hopes the Ombudsman will take a wide look at complaints by two of them.