Local Government Commission Proposals

This special edition of Local Matters has been prepared to help readers who may be thinking of making a submission to the Local Government Commission on its proposals for the constitution of local boards.

Local boards are going to be one of the most important elements of Auckland's new governance structure. Getting the mix right is a challenging task, especially given the statutory constraints under which the Commission is working.  It has produced a series of proposals which, within their own framework, are consistent and well argued.  They are not, however, the only possible outcome from the task which the Commission was given.

In the first of two articles Peter McKinlay considers whether the Commission's proposals are likely to meet the widely expressed demand, both in submissions to the Royal Commission, and to the select committee, that the new arrangements for Auckland should put the 'local' back into local government.

In the second article, Catherine Harland, the Centre's research officer, draws on her long experience as an elected member in Auckland local government to reflect on the commission's proposals, including how they relate to the communities of interest she has observed over her time as an elected member.

Both articles are a contribution to the public debate over the future structure of Auckland's local governance.  The Local Government Centre hopes that they encourage people to become engaged, and make their views known to the Local Government Commission.

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Friday 20th of November gave Aucklanders two different visions of the nature of local boards and the communities they will serve.  The Minister of Social Development, Paula Bennett, in her speech to the Passing Go Conference presented an intimate village style view of the type of community which the typical local board might serve:

• [Auckland is] likely always going to be interconnected and intersecting smaller village-style communities with their own style and feel.
• And that will work - I will ALWAYS be a Westie first and an Aucklander second. With all respect to my local council who I personally think have done a fantastic job in many respects for West Auckland - they don't define my identity.  The people, the place, the vibe - actually, I do.
• Local Boards representing these diverse areas will know what's best for the people living in their own communities.

It's a view about scale; of local board areas being small enough that the board's elected members will have an intimate understanding of their communities’ needs and aspirations.

At the same time the Local Government Commission was presenting its vision of local boards. Leaving aside the two small boards they were required by statute to establish (Waiheke and Great Barrier), the Commission proposes 17 local boards.  Two of these are essentially based on the single wards which the Commission is required to establish for the rural part of Rodney district, and that part of Franklin district coming within the Auckland Council area respectively.  Those can be seen as special cases in considering the Commission's overall proposal. To do that we concentrate on the 15 local boards proposed for the balance of the Auckland region.

Read more. . . (5 page pdf 356kb)

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Prior to the nationwide reforms to local government in 1989 there were 23 boroughs and cities and 21 ad hoc bodies within the Auckland region.  At the time of the amalgamation into 7 territorial authorities and the Auckland Regional Council, there were substantial concerns expressed about the change and the ‘loss of local democracy and community identity’ that would result.  A few local boroughs bitterly fought the changes and for some in the community today, the pre-1989 period is reflected on as a far better time when ‘you could easily identify and chat to your local councillors and personally know the Mayor’.  So 20 years on, what are some of the impacts arising from the Local Government Commission’s proposed changes from 262 elected members to 147 elected members.

A substantive change in focus and step-up in roles
If you compare the make-up of the proposed new structure of 1 Mayor, 20 Councillors and 126 Local Board Members to the current structure of 7 Mayors, plus 1 ARC Chairman, 109 councillors and 145 community board members, the most notable change apart from one Mayor, is the reduction in councillors from 109 down to 20.  The role these 20 councillors will play as the governing body of the new Auckland Council will be substantially different from those that existing councillors undertake, noting that the responsibilities of existing councillors varies dramatically.  Compare councillors on authorities with relatively small rating bases and populations (Papakura) and large land areas (Rodney and Franklin) to the most populous and business intensive (Auckland City) and the Auckland Regional Council with its particular focus on air and water quality, growth and development, regional parks, public transport, the coastal and marine environment, and natural and cultural heritage sites. 

Read more. . . (6 page pdf 388kb)
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