Picture this scenario: It is a Friday afternoon. A councillor receives a 600-page agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. Among the technical reports, planning documents and financial statements lies a critical decision about her community’s future.

She has the weekend to make sense of everything while juggling her day job and family commitments. By Monday evening, she faces a stark choice: pull an all-nighter and hope some of it sticks or arrive unprepared for a meeting where fulltime professional staff hold all the analytical cards.

To read the full article on the NZ Herald website, click here.