The Local Government Minister has tried to justify the continuing lack of democracy at the Canterbury regional council in the face of criticism from the Opposition.
On Tuesday David Carter told Parliament the Government decided to extend the time the council would be run by commissioners because they have not yet finished their work.
When the commissioners were first put in place in 2009, the minister at the time, Nick Smith, promised that the council would be elected again in 2013.
But last week the Government reneged on that promise.
The Labour Party's deputy leader, Grant Robertson, asked Mr Carter whether he had agreed with Dr Smith's statement.
Mr Carter says he did at the time, but since then Christchurch has been hit by a series of devastating earthquakes.
