About 30 people turned out in Masterton yesterday to learn more about the Auckland "super city" amalgamation as discussions around the future governance of Wairarapa continue.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Michael Barnett was the guest speaker at the public meeting.
He is also the chair of Local Government Reform and a member of the Local Government Taskforce. The crowd included representatives from various stakeholders including Sustainable Wairarapa and iwi, at the Masterton Club on Wednesday.
Mr Barnett said people needed to think about what they wanted the region to achieve in the long term and build a suitable governance structure around that.
"I'm asking you to look at why first, and then what."