Greens call for formal consultation on Auckland super-city, as required by Local Government Act

The Green Party is calling on the Government to undertake a formal consultation process, as required under the Local Government Act (Schedule 3), before it finalises its proposals for an Auckland Super city.

Many facets of the Government’s proposed structure were not recommended by the Royal Commission and Aucklanders have not been consulted on them.

“Rodney Hide effectively threw the Royal Commission’s report in the bin, meaning the Government’s proposed restructuring is radically different from the Royal Commission’s recommendations,” said Local Government Spokesperson Sue Kedgley.

“The Local Government Act stipulates very clearly that before any significant local body reorganisation can be made, an extensive public consultation process must take place.

“This must include consultation with stake-holders, notification of the draft proposal, a public submission process and a poll of electors to determine by simple majority whether the proposal should proceed or not.
“The Auckland super-city proposal is the biggest merger in New Zealand history, involving $23 Billion in assets and over 6,000 staff, so the Government must follow similar processes of consultation as called for in the Local Government Act.

“The Green Party therefore calls on the government not to bulldoze ahead with the proposal, but to set aside several months to undertake a formal consultation.

“The Government must immediately begin a formal consultation with stakeholders,” Ms Kedgley said. “It must also formally notify their proposal, call for public submissions and conduct a poll of electors in the Auckland Region.

“Until these consultation processes have been completed, the Super-City proposal must be put on hold.

“We cannot understand why the Government chooses to ignore the statutory consultation processes required under the Local Government Act when it is undertaking the most significant local body reorganisation in recent years. Those processes are essential to safeguard local democracy.

“We cannot have one process for all local body reorganisation in New Zealand, and a different one for Auckland. It is ridiculous and undemocratic,” Ms Kedgley said.