Establishing a New Auckland Council and Local Boards

  • John Carter
Local Government

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the invitation to speak here today.

I am pleased to be here to discuss the findings of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee on the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act. I will look at its recommendations, and also discuss the decisions made by Parliament.

As you know, reform of Auckland governance is one of the Government's top priorities. There is near universal agreement that Auckland's local government needed to be reformed to address a myriad of issues that were holding back its development as a prosperous, world-class city.

The Government's key proposals for improved local governance in Auckland are:

  • one unitary Auckland Council as the first tier of governance;
  • one Mayor for Auckland with enhanced governance powers, and elected at large by the region's residents and ratepayers;
  • 20 councillors from wards to sit on the governing body of the Auckland Council; and
  • 20 to 30 local boards across the region as the second tier of governance.

Our view is that region-wide decision-making must have region-wide governance arrangements to overcome the competing interests, parochialism and factionalism that has held the region back for too long.

The consolidation of all local authority functions into a single entity will overcome many of the current problems of fragmented and protracted decision-making, unclear responsibilities and inadequate accountability.

The Auckland Council, as a unitary authority governing the region, will represent the interests of the entire Auckland region and foster a common identity and purpose.

The proposed changes will result in greater efficiencies through less duplication and waste, as well as faster progress on issues which have gone unresolved for many years, such as transport and infrastructure planning.

In short, we are confident that the changes will lead to more cohesive and effective governance of Auckland, and, in the longer-term, better results for Aucklanders and the whole of New Zealand.

Recap of progress to date

Before I discuss the new structure of Auckland local governance, it is worth recapping the progress to date under this government.

The first of the three pieces of legislation, the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act was passed in May this year.  It established the Auckland Council and the Auckland Transition Agency or ATA, and started the process.

The second, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act, which set out the governance structure of the new Auckland Council, was passed last week and I will talk more about it shortly.

The third bill will be introduced later this year, and is expected to be enacted in mid-2010.  It will provide for the ongoing governance structure and functions, the roles and powers of councils and local boards, and a detailed legislative framework for governance arrangements.

The Local Government (Auckland Council) Act

The second and most recent Act, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act was passed by Parliament last week. It was introduced and had its first reading on 13 May, and was then referred to the Auckland Local Governance Legislation Committee, which I chaired.

Submissions on it closed on the 26th of June, and several thousand submissions were received.   The Committee held public hearings between the 6th and 24th of July, at which several hundred oral submissions were heard.  The Committee then released its report on the 4th of September.

Despite appearances to the contrary, there is much agreement on how the overall structure of Auckland's local government should look. In particular, the Select Committee report highlighted the substantial agreement on the main points: one council, one mayor, one plan, strong local boards and elections from wards. These central points were also supported by Parliament.  

The Auckland Council

With respect to the Auckland Council, the Select Committee recommended that the mayor be elected by Aucklanders as a whole, that all 20 members of the Auckland Council be elected from wards, and that no councillors be elected at large.

These are all features of the legislation that was passed by Parliament.

The Single Transferable Vote or STV method was popular with submitters to the Select Committee.  However, given that Aucklanders will be electing people to newly established positions, the Committee was concerned that the unfamiliarity and perceived complexity of STV could pose a risk to the success of the elections.

For this reason, the first past the post voting system will be in place for the first election, but the long term decision on a voting system is in the hands of Aucklanders. It will be up to them to decide for themselves whether they want to switch to the STV method or retain First Past the Post for future local government elections.

On the question of the election of councillors, the Committee noted there was significant opposition to the election of councillors at-large, and was concerned that having councillors elected at-large could also reduce voter participation.

Furthermore, the Committee believe that replacing at-large councillors with more ward councillors would provide for better representation of the communities of interest in Auckland.

Maori Seats

As you will be aware, the Act does not provide for reserved Maori seats on the Council.

It is worth noting that not one political party had any reference to Maori seats on councils in its 2008 election manifesto.

It was the Royal Commission's recommendation that the Council should have permanent, dedicated Maori seats which kicked off the debate.

The Government decided against mandating for dedicated Maori seats.

As with the method of voting, we have left it up to Aucklanders to decide if they want reserved representation for Maori. The existing legislation already provides for specific Maori representation where this is supported by communities.  Under the Local Electoral Act 2001, councils can decide to have specific Maori seats and the voters, by referendum, are able to require this of the council, or can change a council decision on the matter.

If there is to be a continued debate on the issue, it should be a nationwide debate, not just in the context of Auckland.

Mayor of Auckland

The role of the Mayor of Auckland will be critical in the development of Auckland as a world-class city.

There has been much discussion and debate on the role and powers of the mayor of the new Auckland Council. The mayor will articulate and promote a vision for Auckland, and will provide leadership to implement that vision. The mayor will also lead the development of plans, policies, and budgets for the Council.

A further crucial role for the mayor is to ensure there is effective engagement between the Auckland Council and the people of Auckland.

To achieve this, the mayor will be empowered to appoint the deputy mayor, and the chairpersons of each committee of the council. The mayor will also be funded to establish and maintain an appropriately staffed Office of the Mayor. 0.2 per cent of the Council's total budget, or around $2-$3m, has been set aside for this Office of the Mayor. This will allow the mayor to hire independent advisors and seek specialist advice.

This will help strike a balance between the power of the mayor and the power of the chief executive of the Council. The Committee recognised that the role of the Chief Executive of the Council will be influential, and the establishment of an Office of the Mayor should provide the necessary balance.  

In addition, the mayor has the powers to establish committees of the governing body of the Council, and establish mechanisms for effective engagement between the Council and the people of Auckland.

In short, the mayor will have a central role in setting a vision for Auckland, and be expected to chart and lead an agenda for the region. In doing so, the mayor will help ensure that Auckland thrives and progresses.

Local boards

The submitters to the Select Committee sent a clear and powerful message from Aucklanders that they wanted to put the "local" back into local government. 

I am pleased to report that the Select Committee made substantial recommendations to improve local boards which will reflect Aucklanders' wishes. These improvements were incorporated into the Act.

These improvements to the purpose, decision-making responsibilities, functions, duties and powers of local boards, will enhance the ability of the boards to represent their communities.

In making these changes, I believe that the boards are now sufficiently empowered to adequately represent, advocate for, and make decisions on behalf of their communities. 

The purpose of local boards is to enable democratic decision-making by and on behalf of communities within their respective local board area. The local boards as set out in the recently passed Act will be better able to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities within the local board's areas.

To allow local boards to act on behalf of their communities, the decision-making responsibilities of the boards will include managing the non-regulatory activities of the Auckland Council, except where decision-making on an Auckland-wide basis will better promote the well-being of the communities across Auckland.

Local boards have been empowered to develop and adopt a local board plan which reflects the priorities and preferences of their communities. They will also be able to develop bylaws specifically for their area and propose them to the Council, and are expected to develop an agreement with the Council for the delivery of local services and facilities which suit the needs of their particular communities.

In addition to the decision-making responsibilities I have outlined, other functions given to local boards include the responsibility to monitor and report on the implementation of the local board agreement for their area.

Local boards will also engage with community organisations and special interest groups within their area, and undertake any other responsibilities, duties or powers delegated to them by the Auckland Council. They will also be able to consider and report to the Council on any matter of interest to them.

On the recommendation of the Select Committee, the Council must adopt a local boards funding policy that sets out how funds for meeting the costs of local activities and administrative support will be allocated to each local board. The Council policy must also consider what other funding may be available for local boards and the criteria by which it may be allocated. 

A funding formula for local boards that takes into account factors that would significantly affect the nature and level of services needed in a local area will also be developed. These factors would include demographic information, the local board's assets, facilities and services, the rates revenue derived from the local area, and the socio-economic status of the area.

This will mean that local boards will get the funding necessary to continue to carry on providing the local services that councils are currently delivering.

The question of how local boards will get their powers is simple and straightforward.

The Auckland Council's Long Term Council Community Plan will separately identify what are local activities - i.e. the services, facilities and other activities that local boards will control.  They will also identify the budgets for the provision of those activities in each local board area. 

These matters will be revisited every three years, but any changes will be around the margins and will need to reflect the principle in the legislation.  That principle is that decisions about services and facilities will be made by local boards, unless there is a good reason for making them on an Auckland-wide basis.

This makes the initial allocation of responsibilities and budgets to local boards very important.  This will be a responsibility of the ATA.  The ATA is to look at the functions and responsibilities of the current councils, and, where they are local rather than regional, will allocate them, and the associated budgets, to the local boards in the respective areas.

For example, without presupposing the decisions of the Local Government Commission, the activities currently carried out by the North Shore Council in Devonport or by the Auckland City Council on Waiheke Island will be looked at by the ATA, and responsibility for the local ones will be transferred to the local boards for those areas.

The example of the Papakura District Council provides the clearest example.  The ATA will likely simply pass its regional responsibilities i.e. its regulatory responsibilities and any services that need to be consistent across the region to the new Auckland Council, and leave everything else to the new local board, assuming one is established for the Papakura area.

Once these are set in place and agreed to by the board and Council, they will not be able to be taken away without agreement. Where disagreements arise, a disputes resolution process will be put in place.  

Boundaries of Auckland

It is worth discussing with you a number of other important issues arising from the Select Committee's report, and Parliament's decisions on the structure of Auckland.

As you will be well aware, the Select Committee's recommendations for the boundaries of the Auckland Council were an issue that ignited much public debate.

Changes to local government boundaries, like other boundary issues, are always contentious and every proposal is likely to have vocal supporters and opponents.

As you know, the Committee recommended excluding the rural northern areas of the Rodney District.

After the release of this recommendation, the people of Rodney made it very clear that the Committee's recommendations did not reflect their views.  The Auckland Regional Council also strongly opposed it.

The Government listened, and changed the northern boundary to include the whole of the Rodney District in the new Auckland Council, as was originally proposed by the Royal Commission. 

This decision to include of all of Rodney in Auckland is seen by both the Government and Parliament as the best option for effective regional governance, and is in the best interest of local communities and wider regional governance.

The Select Committee and Government put a lot of thought into the southern boundary, as there were arguments put forward for extending it right down to the Waikato River. 

Under the chosen option, the current Franklin District will be split just south of Pukekohe, with the rest going into the Waikato.  This makes sense as it means the entire Waikato river catchment will be within the Waikato Region. 

It also has the advantages of avoiding bureaucratic complexity and confusion that would have resulted from the boundary proposed by the Royal Commission, and also avoids complicating arrangements for co-management of the Waikato River, which are subject to the Waikato-Tainui Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.

There will be some fine-tuning of the actual boundary lines, which will be done by the Local Government Commission in consultation with Aucklanders. The Local Government (Auckland Council) Act requires the Local Government Commission to determine the boundaries of Auckland by 1 March 2010. 

In addition to considering the wider boundaries of the Auckland region, the Local Government Commission is also required to determine the boundary details for local boards, and for wards. By 1 March 2010, the Commission is required to determine the:

  • name and number of local board and ward areas within Auckland;
  • the boundaries of each local area, and electoral subdivision, if any, of     each of those areas;  and
  • the number of elected members of the local board for each of the local board areas, and the same for the wards.

As with the regional boundaries, the Commission will be publicly consulting on this process with Aucklanders. This is expected to begin shortly.

The changes to local board powers and functions as recommended by the Select Committee and adopted by the Government, have introduced real local authority for Aucklanders.

They will now have a structure that allows local community management to be looked after on a local level, while allowing wider issues to be addressed on a regional basis.

Integration of water services

Another important issue that was dealt with by the recent Act was the integration of water services. The Auckland Transition Agency is to oversee a process for the planning and management of the integration of Auckland's water supply and wastewater services by Watercare Services.

The Select Committee recommended that Watercare also be required to formulate a plan for the interim management of stand-alone water and wastewater schemes from 1 November 2010. It is also to develop proposals for consideration by the Auckland Council on the long-term management and operation of these schemes.

Further legislation (Third Bill)

I must stress that the purpose of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act was to set up the structure of the Auckland Council, and the functions and roles of the mayor and local boards.

A third Auckland governance bill will be introduced later this year. 

The bill will complete the legislative framework for on-going governance arrangements in Auckland and amend the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009 to make further and full provision for the establishment of the Auckland Council.

It will also make provision as is necessary for the interim operation of the Auckland Council from 1 November 2010, pending it developing its own long-term council community plan, and rating and financial policies. 

The bill will provide for the ongoing governance structure, functions, roles and the powers of councils and local boards, and provides a detailed legislative framework for governance arrangements.

The bill will also:

  • Provide a vehicle to amend various other Auckland local government legislation, such as the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Protection Act 2008 and the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act 2008;
  • Disestablish the Auckland Regional transport Authority (ARTA) and provide the transition to the new transport entity;
  • Provide temporary legislation for the new Auckland Council to operate under the plans of the previous councils;
  • Create a temporary dispute resolution mechanism for the new Auckland Council;
  • Address general issues surrounding the transfer of assets; and
  • Provide for the allocation of funding and powers to local boards.

We will keep you, and the people of Auckland, informed of this progress and encourage you to participate in this process as much as possible and make your views known. 

The Select Committee will make arrangements for a public submission process once the bill is referred to it. This will be widely publicised. 

Spatial Planning

In addition to improved local and regional decision-making, the reform of Auckland's local governance will allow Auckland to dramatically improve its spatial planning.

Part of the region's problems is that there has been no clear overall planning for the city. Its growth has been a fragmented patchwork, and this is reflected in its transport and infrastructural issues.

The new structure will provide a huge opportunity for the region to decide on how to best use its land. In being able to take a region-wide approach to planning for future growth, the Auckland Council can avoid the problems resulting from the piecemeal approach of the past.

Resource Management Act Reforms (in the context of Auckland governance)

I would now like to cover the Government's Resource Management Act reforms in the context of Auckland governance.

As you will be aware, my colleague, Hon Dr Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment, is currently reviewing the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and much progress has been made in this area.

The Government recently passed the Resource Management (Simplifying & Streamlining) Amendment Act which will reduce unnecessary red tape for New Zealanders without compromising environmental protections. 

Key changes to the Act include improved resource consent processes and streamlined decision making. 

Phase two of the RMA reform will include looking at issues such as aligning various legislation, aquaculture issues, urban development and water allocation. 

In Auckland, the existing councils will continue to be responsible for their day-to-day business, including processes resource and building consents. 

The new Auckland Council will be responsible for implementing the changes to the RMA when it establishes its resource consent process.

This will result in improved resource consent processes for Aucklanders and streamlined decision making.

Conclusion

Local governance in the Auckland region has been an ongoing issue for at least the last 50 years, and as long as 100 years. Previous attempts over that time have failed to deliver an enduring solution.

Following the Royal Commission, this Government has worked hard to deliver local government reform that will provide real local authority and strong regional government for the people of Auckland.

We have listened to Aucklanders, and have addressed their concerns. We have made changes when it was made clear that they needed to be made.

The new local governance structure in Auckland will deliver decisive leadership, robust infrastructure and the facilities and services of a world class city. Local boards will ensure communities can deal with local issues.

Local democracy will be retained and that the people's voice will endure. Most importantly, the many local voluntary groups that are the very heartbeat of Auckland will continue to thrive.