Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
council for the
Auckland Region
Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...
in New Zealand. It is a
territorial authority
Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a c ...
that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a
regional council and so is a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, according to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, which established the council.
[ The governing body consists of a mayor and 20 councillors, elected from 13 wards. There are also 149 members of 21 local boards who make decisions on matters local to their communities.] It is the largest council in Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...
, with a $3 billion annual budget, $29 billion of ratepayer equity, and 9,870 full-time staff as of 30 June 2016. The council began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the previous regional council and the region's seven city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city".
The council was established by a number of Acts of Parliament, and an Auckland Transition Agency, also created by the central government. Both the means by which the council was established and its structure came under repeated criticism from a broad spectrum during the establishment period.
The initial Council elections in October 2010 returned a mostly centre-left council with Len Brown
Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 Novembe ...
as mayor. Brown was re-elected in October 2013, again with a largely supportive council. The 2016 mayoral election was won by Labour MP Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...
, who had a landslide victory over his nearest rivals, Victoria Crone
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and future Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
MP Chlöe Swarbrick
Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick (born 26 June 1994) is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
. Goff won re-election in the 2019 mayoral election and chose not to run in the 2022 mayoral election, which was won by Wayne Brown.
Predecessors
The Auckland Council took over the functions of the Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The AR ...
and the region's seven city and district councils: Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
, Manukau City Council
Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...
, Waitakere City Council
Waitākere City was a territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitākere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. In 2010 the council was a ...
, North Shore City Council
The North Shore is part of the large urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour. To the east, has the Hauraki Gulf, to the west, is West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, to the south, has the Wait ...
, Papakura District Council, Rodney District Council
Rodney District was a local government area in the northernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region from 1989 to 2010. It included Kawau Island. It was created from the amalgamation of Helensville Borough and Rodney County in 1989. The seat ...
and most of Franklin District Council
Franklin District was a New Zealand territorial authority that lay between the Auckland metropolitan area and the Waikato Plains. As a formal territory it was abolished on 31 October 2010 and divided between Auckland Council in the Auckland Re ...
.
The Auckland Regional Council was formed in 1989, replacing the Auckland Regional Authority. One of the mainstays of its work was expanding the parks network, and it brought into the Auckland Council 26 regional parks with more than 40,000 hectares, including many restored natural habitats and sanctuaries developed in co-operation with the Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
and volunteers. A variety of often public transport-focused projects like the Northern Busway as well as significant rail and public transport investments were realised through the Auckland Regional Transport Authority
The Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) was the central co-ordinating agency for transport (especially but not only public transport) in the Auckland Region of New Zealand from 2004 to 2010. In this role, ARTA provided public transport ...
, much of it supported by retaining Ports of Auckland
Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL), the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the Auckland Council-owned company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities. As the company operates all of the associated fa ...
in public hands (after the deregulation of the Auckland Harbour Board
The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...
) to fund the improvements with the dividends.
History
Royal Commission
Until 2010, the Auckland Region had seven "City/District" authorities, plus one "Regional" authority. In the late 2000s, New Zealand's central government and parts of Auckland's society felt that this large number of Councils, and the lack of strong regional government (with the Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The AR ...
only having limited powers) were hindering Auckland's progress, and that a form of stronger regional government, or an amalgamation under one local council, would be beneficial. Others pointed to the fact that a previous integration of the many much smaller Borough Councils did not bring the promised advantages either, and reduced local participation in politics, with editorialists pointing out that the (supposedly mainly Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
ian) proponents of the 'super city' have carefully not made any promises of savings in light of past rises in rates and utilities bills.
In 2007, the government set up a Royal Commission on Auckland Governance
The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance was established by the New Zealand Government to investigate the local government arrangements of Auckland.
The Labour Government of the time announced a Royal Commission into the governance of Auck ...
to report on what restructuring should be done. The report was released on 27 March 2009 and the government subsequently announced that a "super city" would be set up to include the full metropolitan area under an Auckland Council with a single mayor and 20–30 local boards, by the time of the local body elections in 2010, though it also changed some key recommendations of the Royal Commission.
Unimplemented recommendations
Some recommendations of the Royal Commission which have not been adopted or implemented:
* 6A The Auckland Council should include a vision for the region in its spatial plan.
* 6B The Mayor of Auckland's annual "State of the Region" address should describe progress towards the attainment of the vision.[
* 19C: "Leadership support and development programmes for elected councillors should be strengthened."]
* 21D: Auckland Council CCOs and their statements of intent should be subject to performance review by the proposed Auckland Services Performance Auditor.[
* 21A 22A Two Māori members should be elected to the Auckland Council by voters who are on the parliamentary Māori Electoral Roll.][
*
* 22B There should be a Mana Whenua Forum, the members of which will be appointed by mana whenua from the district of the Auckland Council.][
* 22D The Auckland Council should ensure that each local council has adequate structures in place to enable proper engagement with Māori and consideration of their views in the local councils' decision-making processes. Where appropriate, current structures and/or memoranda of understanding should be transferred to local councils.][
* 24F Auckland Council should consider creating an Urban Development Agency, to operate at the direction of the Auckland Council, with compulsory acquisition powers.]
* The Auckland Council should determine the extent to which responsibilities for the delivery of stormwater services are shared between local councils and Watercare Services Limited.[
* 26I Watercare Services Limited should be required by legislation to promote demand management.][
* 26M Watercare Services Limited should be required to prepare a stormwater action plan.][
* 27D The Auckland Council should prepare an e-government strategy as an intrinsic part of its proposed unified service delivery and information systems plan.][
* 28A The Auckland Council should work closely with consumers, the industry, and central government agencies to develop a ]climate change and energy
In the 21st century, the earth's climate and its energy policy interact and their relationship is studied and governed by a variety of national and international institutions.
The relationships between energy-resource depletion, climate change, ...
strategy for the region, including monitoring and reviewing electricity security of supply performance, and industry planning and regulation impacting the Auckland region.[
* 30A The Auckland Council should develop a Regional Waste Management Strategy, including strategies for management of organic waste and integration of waste management with other environmental programmes.][
* 32F To promote the widespread adoption of the unified ]service delivery framework A service delivery framework (SDF) is a set of principles, standards, policies and constraints to be used to guide the designs, development, deployment, operation and retirement of services delivered by a service provider with a view to offering a c ...
the Auckland Council should
:a) give Auckland Council CCOs providing council services the opportunity to share the unified service facilities if they wish.
:b) require Auckland Council CCOs providing council services to adopt the council's ICT infrastructure standards.[
* 32G A statutory position of an independent Auckland Services Performance Auditor (to be appointed by the elected Auckland Council on the joint recommendation of the Chair of the Commerce Commission and the Auditor-General) should be created to provide assurance to the council and the public that the Auckland Council is providing high-quality services in a cost-effective way. The role of the Performance Auditor will include
:a) reviewing the adequacy and relevance of CCO performance targets.
:b) protecting the consumer's interests and advocating for them in respect of the reliability and affordability of council services. This will include reviewing services in terms of established customer service standards.
:c) in the case of Watercare Services Limited, undertaking three-yearly efficiency and effectiveness reviews, incorporating international comparative industry benchmarking and an evaluation of service levels, efficiency, affordability of water, and demand management performance.][
]
Legislation
The council was set up by three pieces of legislation, the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 and the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010.
Structure
Mayor
The mayor has significant executive powers, their own staff and the ability to appoint the chairpersons of the council's committees. Some columnists stated in 2010 that the post was the second most powerful public position in New Zealand after the prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. However, when the Minister for the Rugby World Cup, Murray McCully
Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017.
Early life
Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Ar ...
, took control of the Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
fan area on the Auckland waterfront in 2011 without first notifying mayor Len Brown
Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 Novembe ...
, columnist John Armstrong declared the myth finished.
The mayor is directly elected by voters living in the Auckland Council area every three years by postal ballot
An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online vot ...
using the first-past-the-post voting
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system. Len Brown was elected mayor in October 2010, and re-elected for a second term in 2013. Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...
won the 2016 election and was re-elected as mayor in 2019.
Governing body
The governing body of the Auckland Council consists of the mayor, deputy mayor, and 19 other members. The members of the governing body are elected from thirteen wards across the Council area using the first-past-the-post system every three years at the same time as the mayor. Decision-making for the governing body's areas of oversight is done by committees, a few of which consist of the whole governing body, and most of which consist of a chairperson appointed by the mayor and a subset of the governing body members. The following council took office during October 2022:
Wards and local boards
Council-controlled organisations
Auckland Council has substantive CCOs and a number of smaller ones.
Pānuku Development Auckland resulted from a merging of Auckland Council Property Ltd and Waterfront Auckland on 1 September 2015.
Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL) was disestablished in 2019 as part of the 10-year budget 2018–2028.
Michael Redman, formerly mayor, then chief executive of Hamilton City Council, was chief executive of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development from November 2010 to October 2011.
Chief executive
In March 2010, Doug McKay was announced as the inaugural chief executive officer of the council by the Auckland Transition Agency. The 54-year-old was selected ahead of 27 other candidates, including several existing council chief executives. He had no experience in local government, but was described as having strong Auckland ties, and 30 years' corporate experience. He was to receive a salary of $675,000 and an incentive bonus of $67,500.
Left-wing political organiser Matt McCarten
Matthew McCarten (born 11 February 1959) is a New Zealand political organiser and trade unionist, of Ngāpuhi descent. McCarten was active with several trade unions including the Hotel and Hospital Workers' Union, the Unite Union, and the One U ...
criticised his appointment, arguing McKay's previous tenure in the liquor industry was marked by failure to object to anti-union behaviour and strong advertising of alcohol to the youth market. McCarten argued McKay was to be paid three times the salary of the Prime Minister, had no local government or non-profit experience and was selected by an unelected transition authority.
Mayoral candidates John Banks and Len Brown were positive about McKay's appointment. Brown, who went on to become mayor, said McKay's business and restructuring experience was a "good fit", and would help improve economic performance as well as build links with businesses. McKay's contract ended in December 2013.
Stephen Town became chief executive on 15 January 2014. In early February 2020, Town announced he would not see out his term until December 2020, moving to the New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in early July.
Planning documents
;Auckland Plan
It is intended that the Auckland Council, as one of the major tasks of its first years, will prepare a "spatial plan" to guide Auckland's growth. This plan will cover matters such as the limits of residential development and the zoning and densities of the suburbs and areas, and will assess how elements like transport and land use are to be linked. It is intended to be one of the main documents out of which a unified District Plan
A district plan is a statutory planning document of New Zealand's territorial authorities.
Mainly covering land use/zoning
Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called ...
will eventually grow. Some critics have noted that this spatial plan will need years to develop and CCOs would fill the policy vacuum in the meantime. Apart from conflicting with Council's plans, this might also pit CCOs against each other.
After the first round of plan development and public consultation, the draft plan was launched mid-2011. Commentators noted that one of the strongest discrepancies between Auckland Council's vision for Auckland and that of the John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...
-led Wellington government was that the draft Auckland Plan envisaged a more contained growth (combatting sprawl by having 75% of population growth occur in existing settlement areas), while National is more favourable of relaxing constraints on new greenfields development. Auckland Council later changed the plan to allow 30–40% of growth in greenfield areas and satellite towns.
;Long Term Council Community Plan
The first Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP), the longer-term financial budget of the city, will not be produced until July 2012. Until that time, longer-term finances will be decided by the council, guided by the existing LTCCPs of the subsumed bodies.
;City Centre and Waterfront Plans
Another big focus of the planning work in the first year of the council is planning for the Auckland CBD
The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson. It is New Zealand's lea ...
(now called 'City Centre') and the Auckland waterfront
The Auckland waterfront (rarely the Auckland harbourfront) is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitematā Harbour coastline in Auckland, New Zealand. Previously mostly dominated by Ports of Auckland uses, from the 2000s on it is becoming i ...
. Including the under construction City Rail Link, these two transformations are costed at approximately $5.5 billion over 20 years. Projects proposed in the draft plans include partial or full pedestrianisation of a number of city centre streets, light rail possibilities for the Waterfront and Queen Street, turning Nelson and Hobson Street from wide one-way roads into two-way roads with more trees and urban amenity, and a waterfront walk- and cycleway.
Assets
The Council owns approximately $34 billion of assets (2010), including over 100,000 hectares of open space, parks and reserves, as well as the large transport assets administered by the Auckland Transport
Auckland Transport (AT) is the council-controlled organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council responsible for transport projects and services. It was established by section 38 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, and operates under ...
CCO (see that article for more detail).
Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL), the CCO responsible for non-transport investment assets, manages Council investments worth $2.54 billion, including a 22.4% stake in Auckland Airport
Auckland Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand, with over 21 million passengers in the year ended March 2019. The airport is located near Māngere, a residential suburb, and Airport Oaks, a service hub suburb south of th ...
worth $1.13 billion, as well as a 100% share of Ports of Auckland Limited worth $1.08 billion, and Auckland Film Studios, worth $8 million (values at May 2014).
Regional parks
The council owns and manages 28 regional parks around the region. Most of the parks were inherited from Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The AR ...
.
* Ambury Regional Park
Ambury Regional Park (also known as Ambury Farm) is a regional park situated on the coast of Manukau Harbour, in Auckland in New Zealand's North Island. It is situated in the suburb of Māngere Bridge and in the local board area of Māngere-Ōt ...
* Ātiu Creek Regional Park
Ātiu Creek Regional Park is a regional park located south of Oruawharo River in the Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand's North Island. It is located west of Wellsford and east of Tapora
Tapora is a locality on the Okahukura Peninsula, which is o ...
* Auckland Botanic Gardens
* Āwhitu Regional Park
Āwhitu Regional Park is a regional park situated on the Awhitu Peninsula, just south of Manukau Heads on the western side of the Manukau Harbour. It is situated in Franklin in Auckland in New Zealand's North Island, and is administered by Auck ...
* Duder Regional Park
Duder Regional Park is a regional park situated on the coast to the east of Auckland, New Zealand, on the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula.
The area was one of the first places in the Auckland Region visited by the ''Tainui'' canoe, becoming an important ...
* Glenfern Sanctuary Regional Park
Glenfern Sanctuary Regional Park is a regional park situated near Port Fitzroy on Great Barrier Island in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4 ...
* Hunua Ranges Regional Park
The Hunua Ranges is a mountain range and regional park to the southeast of Auckland, Auckland city, in the Auckland Region, Auckland and Waikato regions of New Zealand's North Island. The ranges cover some and rise to 688 metres (2255 ft) at ...
* Long Bay Regional Park
Long Bay Regional Park is a regional park in Long Bay located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the Hibiscus and Bays in the northern part of the city and is operated by Auckland Council.
Geography
The cliffs of the park are forme ...
* Mahurangi Regional Park
Mahurangi Regional Park is a regional park situated on the north-eastern coast of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in Rodney (local board area), Rodney, north of the main Auckland urban area, and is owned and operat ...
* Motukorea Browns Island Regional Park
Motukorea or Browns Island is a small New Zealand island, in the Hauraki Gulf north of Musick Point, one of the best preserved volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. The age of eruption is about 25,000 years ago, when the Tāmaki Estuary and t ...
* Muriwai Regional Park
Muriwai Regional Park is a regional park located in Muriwai on the west coast of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is situated in Rodney (local board area), Rodney north-west of Auckland and is owned and operated by Auckland Co ...
* Mutukaroa / Hamlins Hill Regional Park
* Ōmana Regional Park
* Orere Point Regional Park
Orere Point Regional Park is a regional park situated south-east of Auckland in New Zealand's North Island. It is owned and operated by Auckland Council. It is located in Ōrere Point in Franklin, in the Auckland Region
Auckland () is one ...
* Pākiri Regional Park
Pākiri Regional Park is a regional park located near Pakiri north of Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country an ...
* Scandrett Regional Park
* Shakespear Regional Park
Shakespear Regional Park is a nature park in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is located at the tip of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, and is named after the Shakespear family which bought the land in the 1880s from local Maori.[ ...]
* Tāpapakanga Regional Park
* Tāwharanui Regional Park
Tāwharanui Regional Park is a regional park on the Tāwharanui Peninsula in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in Rodney, east of Warkworth and north of Auckland.
The park covers 588 hectares of land at the end ...
* Tawhitokino Regional Park
Tawhitokino Regional Park is a regional park situated in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is owned and operated by Auckland Council.
References
Franklin Local Board Area
Parks in the Auckland Region
Regional parks ...
* Te Ārai Regional Park
Te Ārai Regional Park is a regional park situated in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is owned and operated by Auckland Council.
Geography
Te Ārai Regional Park has the largest number of sand dunes in the Auckland Region. ...
* Te Rau Pūriri Regional Park
Te Rau Pūriri Regional Park is a regional park situated in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is owned and operated by Auckland Council.
Geography
The regional park is located on the east coast of the Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Pe ...
* Waharau Regional Park
Waharau Regional Park is a regional park situated in the Hauraki District and the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island, four kilometres north of Whakatīwai Regional Park. It is just south of the border with the Auckland Region, and is ...
* Waitākere Ranges Regional Park
* Waitawa Regional Park
Waitawa Regional Park is a regional park situated on the coast of Tamaki Strait, east of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in Franklin in the Auckland Region, near Kawakawa Bay and Clevedon, about from central Auckland.
The park was one of A ...
* Wenderholm Regional Park
Wenderholm Regional Park is a regional park north of Auckland in New Zealand's North Island. It is situated between the estuaries of the Puhoi River and the Waiwera River, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island and features a homestea ...
* Whakanewha Regional Park
Whakanewha Regional Park is a regional park situated on Waiheke Island in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf. It is owned and operated by Auckland Council.
Geography
Whakanewha is located in central Waiheke Island, on the southern coast. The regional p ...
* Whakatīwai Regional Park
Whakatīwai Regional Park is a regional park on New Zealand's North Island. It runs from the eastern side of the Hunua Ranges, where it adjoins Hunua Ranges Regional Park, down to the Firth of Thames coast, just north of the settlement of Whakatī ...
Finances
Rates
Auckland Council rates combine the rates of the various amalgamated local councils and the Auckland Regional Council rates. For the 2011–2012 year, ratepayers are being charged the same rate as before the amalgamation, plus a 3.94% increase, with Council noting that they had achieved a much lower rates increase than originally foreseen. Rates made up 53% of Council's income in 2011, with the remainder being "grants, subsidies, development and financial contributions, user charges and fees".[
As of 2011, 24% of Council's money was spent on "Art services and galleries, events, museums, parks, recreation facilities and the zoo", while 22% was spent on "transport management". Further big elements were "Planning and regulation" at 14.5% and "Community services, libraries, emergency management and cemeteries" at 11.5%.][
As of 2016, 38% of rates were spent on "transport", 27% on "parks, community and lifestyle", 16% on "environmental management and regulation", 8% on "Auckland development", 6% on "Economic and cultural development" and 5% on "governance and support".]
Controversies
Some aspects of the reorganisation were contentious, such as whether all of the Auckland Region
Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...
should be integrated into the super city, and whether the new structure allowed sufficient local democracy.
Local board powers
Critics argued that there was little space for "local" democracy in the new "local government" setup for Auckland, with the proposed "local boards" having little power, such as having no funding or staff of their own, and being forbidden from undertaking numerous government roles, especially where those roles might clash with regional functions such as transport or utilities. Local Government Minister Rodney Hide
Rodney Philip Hide (born 16 December 1956) is a former New Zealand politician of the ACT New Zealand party. Hide was a Member of Parliament for ACT from 1996 until 2011, was ACT's leader between 2004 and 2011, and represented the constituency f ...
, in the opinion of ''The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'', ignored concerns about the "powerlessness" of the local boards. Hide argued that "local boards will engage like never before" and "represent their local communities and make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities".
A further concern was that candidates for local boards would have to campaign without knowing the scope of the local board's financial resources, and that a salary for a local board member of around $37,100 was insufficient for what amounted to a full-time position.
Inclusion of rural areas
Numerous residents of and (to some degree) the councils of the Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
and Rodney District
Rodney District was a local government area in the northernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region from 1989 to 2010. It included Kawau Island. It was created from the amalgamation of Helensville, Helensville Borough and Rodney County, New Ze ...
s opposed their inclusion in the new supercity, and instead campaigned for retention of their councils, or inclusion with other, more rural-focused councils in the north (such as merging the areas north of Puhoi with the Kaipara District
The Kaipara District is located in the Northland Region in northern New Zealand.
History
Kaipara District was formed through the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms and was constituted on 1 November 1989. It was made up of five former boro ...
area) or the south.
There was a perception that these rural areas would receive very little benefit in terms of infrastructure for their rates money, and that they would be swallowed up by an Auckland that has different interests and character than their communities. Politicians such as Rodney Hide answered that inclusion is necessary to allow a regional approach to the wider interests of the region, and that tangible benefits would ensue for all of Auckland's communities. Also, that changing the boundaries in 2010 would have a domino effect on the restructuring of the ward system for the future Auckland councillors. In turn, the opponents of inclusion argued that big city developers preferred the inclusion of the rural areas in the Auckland Council boundaries to make development and new subdivision of rural land easier.
Ward sizes and boundaries
Several editorialists criticised the size and composition of wards for the election of Auckland Council councillors. The criticism ranged from the wards being too big (and thus throwing together communities with few common interests), to some ward boundary lines being drawn against the local understanding of what constituted their community.
More serious criticism was centred around the fact that urban wards contained significantly more people than some rural wards (and thus received less influence in the future Council per person) and in regards to the small number of Councillors for all of Auckland (with fewer Councillors per head than Aucklanders have MPs representing them in Parliament), and the institution of two-member wards (meaning that contenders would have to field much larger and more costly election campaigns). Editorialist Brian Rudman
Brian C. Rudman is a columnist and regular editorial contributor to ''The New Zealand Herald'', New Zealand's largest daily newspaper. He has his own column, 'Rudman's City', where he mainly focuses on issues relating to Auckland (New Zealand's l ...
accused the Local Government Commission of attempted gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
in its draft proposal for one particular ward.
Controversies over council-controlled organisations
In early 2010 a further dispute emerged. As set out in the third bill establishing the future Auckland Council, major functions (such as transport, water services and Auckland waterfront
The Auckland waterfront (rarely the Auckland harbourfront) is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitematā Harbour coastline in Auckland, New Zealand. Previously mostly dominated by Ports of Auckland uses, from the 2000s on it is becoming i ...
development) were to be devolved into council-controlled organisation
Council-controlled organisations (CCOs) and council-controlled trading organisations in New Zealand are what were formerly known as '' local-authority trading enterprises'' (''LATEs''). Introduced under Sections 6 and 7 of the ''Local Government Ac ...
s (CCOs) controlled by unelected boards, operating at "arm's length" from Council. This separation, as argued by backers of the move, had become necessary due to "local politicians avingfailed to deliver the results expected of them."
The Government's plan to outsource the majority of the council's functions was decried by numerous people (including the main mayoral contenders, Len Brown, and to a lesser degree, John Banks) and groups across the political and societal spectrum – from the Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The AR ...
and many community boards, to Local Government New Zealand, and organisations considered to be National Party-friendly such as the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Employers & Manufacturers Association. Supporters included the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development, a right-wing think tank.
The introduction of Auckland Transport
Auckland Transport (AT) is the council-controlled organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council responsible for transport projects and services. It was established by section 38 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, and operates under ...
, the CCO for transport functions (with more than half the city's future rate spend), was discouraged even by the government's own Treasury and Department of Internal Affairs, as well as other departments.
The main proponents of the CCO system, Prime Minister John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...
, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and Transport Minister Steven Joyce
Steven Leonard Joyce (born 7 April 1963) is a New Zealand former politician, who entered the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2008 as a member of the New Zealand National Party. In the same year he became Minister of Transport and Minis ...
, remained adamant about the introduction (and the appropriateness) of the system. Others like the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development called the claim that the mayor and council would have no ability to hold the CCOs accountable "farcial nonsense".
''The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'', Auckland's largest newspaper, ran a series of articles and editorials in March 2010 criticising the proposed move, which was described as "The lockout of Auckland", arguing that elected councillors would have little control over the day-to-day decisions, and potentially even over massive changes such as Auckland's waterfront development or the city's transport focus. The main ''Herald'' editorials noted that the CCO concept introduced "undemocratic elements" in a number of ways, and "could not stand". They also noted that saddling the super city with this system would be the most serious handicap, and a recipe for a "frustrated and disappointed citizenry".
Several editorialists went even further and accused the ACT party, and especially Rodney Hide, of preparing Auckland's assets for a sell-off, and of setting up the structure to allow it even before Aucklanders got to vote on the matter – all under the guise of a "manufactured crisis". Others, while criticising the lack of democratic oversight, dismissed concerns about asset sales, noting that amalgamation was likely to result in surplus real estate.
''The Sunday Star-Times
The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...
'' noted in an editorial that "we'll merely end up trading in political dysfunction for a quasi-commercial dysfunction forced on us by the National-led government." It also criticised, in the case of Auckland Transport, that with most of the expertise, staff and planning ability being held in the "semi-autonomous" CCO, the council would not have the central planning and policy role as claimed by the proponents of the system, but would instead have to share (or compete for) this role with Auckland Transport. It also argued that the Royal Commission suggested a strong council and subservient CCOs, not vice versa.
''New Zealand Local Government
''NZ Local Government Magazine'' is a monthly title published by Contrafed Publishing, an Auckland-based company. It was first published in 1964. Contrafed Publishing, which also publisheContractor Energy NZ, Quarrying and Mining, purchased the ...
'' magazine followed the story, and criticised the lack of transparency that would ensue from establishing independent CCOs.
The changes were seen as a potential "neutering" of the power of the new Auckland mayor to implement the policies on which he would be elected. Further criticised were lack of accountability of the proposed CCOs, which would not have to hold public board meetings, or provide agendas or minutes. Groups such as 'Heart of the City' (the Auckland CBD
The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson. It is New Zealand's lea ...
business association) also called for stronger oversight and mayoral powers over the CCOs.
Unelected Māori representation
One of the proposals that was hotly criticised by some during the initial Royal Commission proposal was the provision of elected Māori members of the council (analogous to the Māori seat representation in Parliament).
This was later dropped from the relevant establishing laws. However, it later became clear that instead, the city's new Māori Statutory Board, appointed by the Maori Affairs Department, would receive "broadly ordained powers". These included the right to send one or two delegates, with full voting powers, to any council committee meeting, and dealing with "the management and stewardship of natural and physical resources". This unelected representation of Māori on committees voting on matters such as transport and infrastructure, as well as the fact that the advisory board requested (and initially received) a $3.4 million yearly budget (called "exorbitant" by some), created significant public concern and debate.
Proposed Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux speaking event
In early July 2018, Mayor Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...
announced that the far right Canadian speakers Lauren Southern
Lauren Cherie Southern (born 16 June 1995) is a Canadian alt-right YouTuber, political activist and commentator. In 2015, Southern ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the Canadian federal election. Southern worked for Rebel Media until M ...
and Stefan Molyneux would not be allowed to speak at any Auckland Council premises on the grounds that their presence would stir up religious and ethnic tensions. The two Canadian speakers are known for their controversial views on feminism, gender, Islam, and migration. Southern and Molyneux had booked the Bruce Mason Centre in the North Shore for a speaking event on 3 August 2018.
In response to the Mayor's decision, a group calling themselves the Free Speech Coalition initiated a fundraising campaign to mount a judicial review of the Auckland Council's decision, raising NZ$50,000 within 24 hours of their launch. This group consisted of several business leaders, academics, lawyers, and journalists including the former Labour President Michael Bassett
Michael Edward Rainton Bassett (born 28 August 1938) is a former Labour Party member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and cabinet minister in the reformist fourth Labour government. He is also a noted New Zealand historian, and ha ...
, former National and ACT parties leader Don Brash
Donald Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940) is a former New Zealand politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from October 2003 to November 2006, and the Leader of ACT New Zealand from April to ...
, Property Institute chief executive Ashley Church, Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...
historian Paul Moon, left-wing commentator Chris Trotter
Christopher Marshall Trotter (born 1956) is a political commentator in New Zealand. He is the editor of the occasional '' Political Review'' magazine.
Biography
Chris Trotter has worked for unions and was on the New Zealand Council (the nationa ...
, and New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is a self-described taxpayer pressure group founded in 2013 to scrutinise government spending, publicise government waste, and promote an efficient tax system. It claims to be politically independent and not alig ...
Jordan Williams. On 18 July, the Free Speech Coalition filed legal proceedings against Mayor Goff and the Auckland Council after a failed attempt to broker a deal with Goff and the council to reinstate Southern and Molyneux's speaking event.
See also
*
References
External links
Auckland Council official website
Auckland Transition Agency
{{Authority control
Politics of the Auckland Region
City councils in New Zealand
Regional councils of New Zealand