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Every three years, local councils and territorial authorities produce long term plans, setting out priorities in the medium and long term for their area.
The plans include information on what activities, goods or services a council wants to provide, why they're planning that, and what the price tag is.
Paul Spoonley is a demographer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Massey University, and Honorary Research Associate with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
He says some councils are making the wrong assumptions when drawing up these long term plans - particularly around population.
