Making Auckland Better

For a copy of the full report in PDF, please click here.

04 September: Joint Media Release
Hon Rodney Hide, Hon John Carter

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and Associate Minister John Carter are welcoming and endorsing the report of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee. John Carter is also the former chair of the Select Committee.

The Bill as reported from the Select Committee gives local boards decision-making powers, with the Auckland mayor and councillors concentrating on regional matters.

The 20 to 30 local boards will have control of funding for community initiatives, local decision-making power over local services and facilities, and the power to propose by-laws.

“We said we would listen on the issue of the powers of local boards, and we have,” said the Ministers. “We believe the Select Committee’s plan for local boards is a good one that will protect and enhance democracy. We thank Aucklanders for their constructive contributions.

“The Government was also persuaded by submissions to have all councillors elected from wards. This creates real local authority. We trust Aucklanders to elect local candidates who also have the interests of the whole region at heart.

“Importantly, the Select Committee report demonstrates the substantial agreement on the main points: one council, one mayor, one plan, strong local boards and elections from wards.

“We will achieve real local authority and strong regional government for Auckland."

The Select Committee’s report is available (in PDF) here.

14 September

Boundaries: Statement by Prime Minister John Key

The Government has made decisions on the boundaries for the new Auckland Council, following consideration of recommendations in the report of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee.

Wherever we set the boundaries, it is fair to say that there is a risk that someone will be unhappy. But Auckland does have to end somewhere, and we believe we have struck a very good balance with the decisions we have made.

Cabinet has agreed to maintain the southern boundary as recommended by the select committee, and we've agreed to change the northern boundary to include the whole of the Rodney District in the new Auckland Council, as proposed by the Royal Commission. We believe this reflects the views of the majority of Rodney District's people, as well as the strongly held view of the Auckland Regional Council. Since people heard the select committee's proposal to split the Rodney District between the Auckland Council and Kaipara, we have heard from a large number of locals, and the majority view has been very clear: don't split the Rodney District.

We have listened and we have acted.

We put a lot of thought into the southern boundary, as there were arguments put forward for extending it right down to the Waikato River. The current Franklin District will be split under our chosen option just south of Pukekohe, with the rest going into the Waikato.

This makes sense, because it means the entire Waikato River catchment area will be within the Waikato region. It avoids a lot of bureaucratic complexity and confusion that would have resulted from the boundaries proposed by the royal commission, and also avoids complicating arrangements for co-management of the Waikato River, which is subject to the Waikato-Tainui Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.

The Local Government Commission will have some limited discretion in finalising the boundary-for example, to avoid splitting Waiuku in two. However, some people in other towns in areas close to the boundaries of the new Auckland Council may be concerned that the new boundaries will cut off their access to local government services and facilities. The Government expects that the Local Government Commission will consider these impacts when finalising arrangements associated with the boundaries for the Auckland Council, and will consider transitional arrangements to avoid or minimise inconvenience to residents.

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For audio of the press conference by Hon Rodney Hide and Hon John Carter, play the embedded video below.

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Click to read and comment:

John Key: Auckland Local Governance: Making a great place greater

Rodney Hide: Representation guaranteed for all Aucklanders

John Carter: Taking the Next Step on Auckland's Future - with Your Help

Gerry Brownlee: Auckland governance committee

John Carter: Better transport, consistent services top the list

John Carter: Listening to Auckland - consensus building

John Carter: Auckland is ready for the change it needs

John Carter: Mayors share vision for Auckland