Will Auckland be a super Super-City?

Today saw the release of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee’s report on the hearings that were held as part of the reorganisation of Auckland’s local government and the formation of what most people think of as “the Super City”. I made a submission on the plans back in June, and then presented my ideas to the select committee in early July. While a lot of what was in the original piece of legislation is still there – there have been a number of significant changes, both expect and unexpected. Let’s start with what was probably quite well expected:

1. The local boards will be getting a lot of additional power. Section 13 of the bill is now incredibly long and complex, detailing all the things that the board could get involved in and how the balance of power between the local boards and the Auckland Council will be organised. Compared to Rodney Hide’s original “tea and bikkies group” proposal, this is a significant improvement.
2. At-large councillors are gone. This wasn’t completely expected, but certainly is a good thing. Apart from an almost certainty that at-large councillors would lead to a right-wing bias, there was the practical issue of having people choose their favourite 8 councillors from a list of 40 or 50. It would have been so messy. The replacement for at-large councillors is still to have the details sorted – but basically the 20 councillors will be formed from two from the rural areas and then 18 split across the urban areas – in some way or another. I think it’s likely that we’ll end up with a number of wards that will have two or three councillors elected from each. I still think single-member wards is probably the best solution, but this is certainly an improvement.
3. Maori seats have not been included. This wasn’t a surprise because we had the announcement last week. The Maori Party have been pretty scathing of this decision in their “minority report”. Here’s an extract:

Flying in the face of this support, the committee has elected not to recommend that the bill provide for Māori seats on the proposed Auckland Council. The Māori Party is extremely disappointed with this decision. It calls into serious question the fundamental basis of the parliamentary democratic process that is to reflect decision-making “of the people, for the people”.

The decision of the committee also calls into serious question the commitment and understanding it has for the Treaty of Waitangi. The result of their failure to uphold the nation’s constitutional foundations, current law, and the wish of the people, will result in legislation that is not only in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi, but that is as short-sighted as it is discriminatory. It is short-sighted because it fails to acknowledge the reality of what Māori have to offer at the governance table for a “greater” Auckland region, and it is discriminatory because it denies recognition of the status of Māori as a people—a right recognised in every international human rights instrument developed in international law since the end of World War Two…

…The report of the committee is unjust, improper, and politically motivated. The bill signals an enduring and profoundly disturbing fear of sharing decision-making with Māori as provided for in the Treaty of Waitangi.

Well they certainly didn’t hold back!

Now if we look at the unexpected changes, the one that sticks out like a sore thumb is the decision to split Rodney District in half. Everywhere north of Puhoi will be transfered to Kaipara District and Northland Regional Council, while everywhere south of Puhoi will remain within the Auckland Council area. This has some bizarre consequences, like the fact that many of the Regional Parks currently owned and operated by the ARC will soon be located outside the Auckland Region. Apparently the future ‘Auckland Council’ will still own and operate the parks – even though they will be out of the region. The split could also potentially lead to problems related to the integrated management of growth in the wider Auckland region. It’s certainly not in the best interests of Auckland for huge subdivision and development to happen around Warkworth and so on – but as that will be beyond the control of the Auckland Council who knows what will happen.

My cunning conspiracy theory of the day is that Steven Joyce has realised the only way to possibly justify his $2 billion holiday highway is if there’s widespread development in the Warkworth and Wellsford areas – and what better way to achieve that by taking the area out of the control of the Auckland Council and its metropolitan urban limits?

The other slightly surprising change is that the mayor’s powers seem to have been enhanced even further. I’m not sure whether this is a good thing (I guess my feelings will depend on who gets elected mayor) but it is a tad worrying to have so much power concentrated in one person.

What will be interesting is following the debate over the passage of this legislation in the next week or so. There are certainly some interesting questions to be asked – most particularly around the issues of splitting Rodney District in half.

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