Referendum a golden opportunity to give greater Auckland a say on the super city says North Shore Mayor

Next month’s $9 million citizens’ initiated referendum offers the government a golden opportunity to put the ‘super city’ back into the hands of residents and ratepayers and to give the reforms the public legitimacy they lack, North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said today.


“People all over Auckland are questioning the merits of spending $9 million on a referendum that the government says will not change anything, but by including a simple question on the ‘super city’ they could salvage some real value from the referendum and give Aucklanders what they are overwhelmingly asking for, a direct say in the ‘super city’ reform,” Mayor Williams said.


“The ‘super city’ issues are well known, the electoral systems are in place, the voter rolls are up to date, and all that is missing is the political will to ask the greater Auckland public for their endorsement. It can’t be too difficult or expensive to print off another ballot paper and drop it into the same envelopes being sent out to greater Auckland voters.”


Mayor Williams said many people seem now to accept that there should be one council and one mayor, but people are unhappy about the way the government has rammed through these reforms without them being given the chance to decide for themselves.


“The ‘super city’ will never be fully accepted by the people of greater Auckland simply because they have not been given the chance to vote for or against it. Despite having the ability to elect the new councillors and board members onto the new council and local boards, these new institutions themselves have no real and genuine democratic legitimacy. The easy way to fix that is to ask the voters of greater Auckland a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question: should the existing seven local councils and one regional council be replaced with one council and a number of local boards?” Mayor Williams said.


“Many people now seem to be resigned to the government’s ‘super city’ plan, so a referendum will likely pass, but without a clear mandate from the people of greater Auckland the new Auckland Council will never be fully legitimate and will always have been imposed on them.”


“Cabinet has just signed off on a Rodney Hide plan to use referenda to decide local government issues that are “significant” and “irreversible” and the super city fits the bill perfectly and the referendum gives the government the opportunity to show the public it can actually ‘walk its own talk’.”


“The timing could not be better, with the Auckland Bill before the special select committee in July and August, the official result of the government’s referendum due on 25 August, and the amended Auckland Bill due to be reported back to Parliament by 4 September,” Mayor Williams said.


Mayor Williams said he was not deterred by likely claims that it is too late for a referendum on Auckland governance, that there had already been enough public consultation on the issue, and that the Parliamentary process is too far advanced now to throw a spanner in the works by allowing the public a direct say.


“What is the government so afraid of? Do they have no faith in the public to decide what is right for themselves and for their city? If this super city plan is such a great idea and will actually solve all the problems of greater Auckland for the next 50 years as promised, then the ‘super city’ will fly through the referendum,” Mayor Williams said.


Mayor Williams said he is equally undeterred by likely claims that adding a ballot paper with a super city question would be too difficult and too costly for the Justice Ministry officials to organize.


“I’m sure the Wellington bureaucrats will have a million excuses why it can’t be done, which is what Auckland has been up against for decades and just goes to prove that they are a big part of the problem,” Mayor Williams said.


Mayor Williams added that the latest Shape NZ poll showed that 70 percent of people say that the ‘super city’ plan should be put to a referendum or vote and that back in 2006 John Key promised the people of greater Auckland a referendum on governance changes in his Private Members Bill.

“I’m calling on the PM to be bold on this one, have an extra questionnaire on the super city dropped in each referendum envelope, and listen to the feedback from the people.”