Auckland's potential 'world class'

The Auckland region needs a strategic organisation with the power and resources to tackle the “strategy deficit” the region currently faces, says senior lecturer in public sector management Dr Andy Asquith.

“Auckland has a unique opportunity to strike a balance between strategic governance and a localism that would re-connect citizens with their institutions of governance,” he says.

Dr Asquith says the current organisational fragmentation raises questions about the ability to deliver a Rugby World Cup which matches expectations. Failure to deliver, he says, will almost certainly mean New Zealand will cease to be considered to be a suitable venue for high profile sporting events.

“This is the chance to create lasting, credible institutions capable of meeting the expectations of a complex and varied populace, while at the same time creating a vibrant, economically prosperous, world class city.

“Existing institutions and organisations are seen as parochial and ill-equipped to focus on the bigger picture of an increasingly complex society. This weakness is one which is being levelled at existing governmental administration arrangements in the Auckland region.”

Dr Asquith has worked extensively on local government research projects both in New Zealand and in Europe and says there is a need to raise the level of the debate to “one which has meaning and relevance to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance”.

“There has been an alarming level of comment and debate from so-called experts with little academic credibility or those with vested interests in maintaining at least part of the current local governance structure.

“A patchwork of the eight existing local authorities - the Auckland Regional Council and seven territorial local authorities - is unable, and indeed apparently unwilling to begin to grasp and appreciate the scope and scale of major strategic issues facing the region as a whole,” he says.

“Globally, both city and regional management are recognised as complex activities. Not only do politicians and public sector managers have to deal with local and national pressures, they also have to deal with the implications of globalisation.”

Dr Asquith, who is based at the College of Business on the Auckland campus, has provided the background research for the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) submission to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. He is also a member of the One Auckland Trust – the organisation that argues for a single voice to provide Auckland with a new strategic direction.