One of the main focuses of Hide's work in cabinet was the Auckland 'Super City' proposal for unification of the various local authorities of Auckland. This initiative was started by the then-Labour government in 2007, which set up a Royal Commission to investigate the local government arrangements in the Auckland region. The Commission reported back in 2009, but Hide and Prime Minister John Key announced that several of the commission's recommendations would not be accepted. In particular, the proposed six district sub-councils would be replaced by a local structure of 20-30 community boards. The recommendation to have separate concept Maori representation was also not accepted.