Auckland's mayor Wayne Brown has been called-out for not attending the release on Wednesday of an independent review into the council's handling of the Auckland Anniversary weekend flood.
Ironically, in the review, former police commissioner, Mike Bush, highlighted the failure of council leadership to be visible and communicate with the public during the early part of the deluge that hit parts of the city on January 27.
The independent review also found the council's emergency management system wasn't prepared and the emergency management team lacked command, crisis leadership skills and operational experience.
The report highlighted communication failures and says the mayor should have declared a state of emergency sooner.
New Zealand Herald columnist Simon Wilson spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
