The Auckland Council is sitting on secret documents used to draw up a new planning rulebook for the city and instructed its top lawyer to keep them hidden from the public.
Mayor Len Brown and chief executive Doug McKay have rejected requests from the Herald to release background papers used by a political working party to develop the most important planning document in the history of Auckland.
The new rulebook - or Unitary Plan - sets out a new way of life for Auckland's 1.5 million residents that includes high-rise apartments and infill housing to cope with squeezing another 1 million people into the city.
But when the Herald sought the background papers on the heritage rules from Mr McKay under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, the council's general counsel Wendy Brandon refused to release the material. Requests for background papers on other issues would also be refused, she said.
She said the political working party was still meeting and it was important that councillors and Local Board members and officers who advised them were able to express their opinions and discuss options in a free and frank way.