View photos: Cool and not-so-cool capitalsKEY POINTS:
Prime Minister Helen Clark has dismissed the idea of Auckland becoming the capital, saying removing the seat of government from Wellington would be a major blow to the city.
Waitakere City mayor Bob Harvey has suggested the move, telling the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland governance it was because of Auckland's bigger population, its economic power, and because he considered it the capital of the Pacific.
Asked today on NewstalkZB whether it would be a good idea, Helen Clark thought otherwise.
"With all respect to my old friend mayor Bob, no, I don't think so," she said.
"We in Auckland are getting along quite nicely without having the seat of government," said Helen Clark, who is MP for Mt Albert.
Wellington had long been the capital, government utilised a significant part of its downtown real estate and many people employed in Wellington were tied up in administering government.
"...it'd be a rather large blow for that no longer to be there," she said.
- NZPA
