An interesting interview on Radio NZ yesterday of Mike Lee about the Super City reform process. In particular, he makes some interesting points about Auckland Transport. A full transcript of the interview is here, but here are some interesting parts of what he says:
KATHRYN RYAN: These are the Auckland assets currently held by the Auckland Regional Council which is the body that you currently chair. They are going into new companies under this proposal. What exactly is the accountability link between the company and the elected councillors of the Auckland Council?
MIKE LEE: Well I want to focus on the transport agency, Auckland Transport. That is the most obnoxious to us all and it’s interesting to see that myself and the mayors are united on this one, very encouraging. This is quite a new beast in local government in New Zealand. It is meant to be or purported to be a council controlled organisation which we’re familiar with, but this is quite a different beast all together. The chair and deputy chair for instance will not be appointed by the Auckland Council. Auckland Transport will not be required by legislation to act in accordance with the requirements of its nominal shareholder which is the Auckland Council. The board is not made accountable to the Auckland Council. Auckland Transport is not obliged to comply with the statutory Regional Land Transport Strategy.
In other words it’s completely independent in effect and yet it spends more than half the city’s rates, the city and region’s rates. That’s taxation without representation on a grand scale.
KATHRYN RYAN: Well who will control it in your view?
MIKE LEE: Well the minister in Wellington will control it I guess, but in some aspects it will be out of control and that’s another concern. Look, if the government wants to step in and nationalise the regional council and the local government public transport service functions in Auckland that would be fine by me and they can pay for it with taxes.
But what’s happening is that more than half of the $1.3 billion which the super city will take in rates are going into more of this bureaucracy which will make decisions in secret and will have very little accountability if any to the Auckland Council. We think that is certainly a retrograde step, a dangerous step in terms of precedent in local government and we are strongly opposing it for all those obvious reasons.
KATHRYN RYAN: You’re arguing it can undertake loans and other obligations, effectively it can undertake transactions. It must have to account to someone over that sort of action.
MIKE LEE: Well under the Act, Auckland Transport can set up companies, it can sell assets, the publicly owned assets and enter into major financial commitments without the approval of the Auckland Council.
KATHRYN RYAN: Does it need to tick off from Wellington to do that?
MIKE LEE: Presumably, but that’s not Auckland local government. That’s not an Auckland super city that is something else all together. That is actually weakening Auckland because this does not happen in Wellington. It’s supremely ironic that after all this time and money and all this disruption and change, that in the end Auckland ends up effectively weaker than Wellington and Christchurch.
Another part of it which I find particularly interesting is the following excerpt:
KATHRYN RYAN: Now you say, we have a question for Auckland Mayor, John Banks. I appreciate he is a very busy man, we would like to hear from him. But you say on this particular issue, we also know he’s a great supporter of the super city. On this issue, the mayors are united on the issue of the transport body in particular and its lack of accountability you all say to the elected new council.
MIKE LEE: Yeah well exactly. Kathryn, when a bus is late or when a train breaks down, it’s guys like me who field the complaints from the frustrated commuters and that’s my job.
It’s difficult right now because we already have a certain amount of corporatisation in this field with a body called ARTA which is owned by the ARC, but as we own it and it’s accountable to us, I can work through it even though it is complicated.
Next year when a train breaks down and if I’m around we will still be fielding those calls but the people who will be controlling this entirely will be a faceless bunch of people in a board who will meet behind closed doors and make decisions about more than half the $1.3 billion paid for by Aucklander’s from their rates without any accountability or transparency whatsoever. That is totally unacceptable.
Kathryn Ryan goes on to interview local government expert Peter McKinley, who says that a lot of Mike Lee’s concerns can be alleviated if the council can understand how to control the CCO Auckland Transport. I must say I’m not particularly convinced though. With Auckland Transport spending around $650 million of ratepayers’ money each and every year one would think that it needs closer political oversight.
It will be very interesting to see how this turns out.
The whole interview is well worth a listen.
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“can be alleviated if the council can understand how to control the CCO Auckland Transport.”
That makes it sound like it’s some fascinating challange to overcome. It shouldn’t TAKE figuring out, or finding work-arounds. It should be obvious.
Are people clear on how much this might go wrong? And I am not talking about Auckland Transport building a road where nobody but them likes it.
I am talking about Auckland Council one day deciding that the only way to rein in an onery Auckland Transport is by stopping the money. Then the little bus lock-outs we had last will be looked on as an example of light disturbance compared to the grinding-to-a-halt that would happen then (Auckland Transport couldn’t even tide themselves over, for one of the few things they CANNOT do it take out loans).
I agree. Why make things so complex if it’s not completely necessary? The proposed structure almost invites Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to become adversaries rather than working together.
That cannot be a good thing.