Manukau reacts to Select Committee decision

Mayor of Manukau Len Brown says the findings released in the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee report today hold no real surprises but he is disappointed with some of the content.

“Whilst I was encouraged that the Select Committee visited Manukau and listened to the views of our, and many other of the region’s citizens and ratepayers, it has become obvious over the past few weeks that decisions were being made outside the Select Committee process,” says Mr Brown.

“The government has been leaking like a sieve, with reports in the media already advising that there would be no Maori seats and no councillors elected-at-large.

“I am disappointed that the integrity of the process has been eroded by these decisions being made prior to the Select Committee report being released, and still have concerns that the voice of Aucklanders has not been heard on some of the issues.”

Mr Brown says Manukau’s submission called for direct Maori representation on the Auckland Council and he is disappointed that this has not occurred.

However Manukau also said that all Auckland Councillors should be elected on a ward base, and that has been included in the committee’s report.

“We were very strident in our opinion on this,” says Mr Brown. “In my presentation to the committee I strongly urged them to drop the ‘elected at large’ representation. Manukau firmly believes that to ensure fair and equitable representation, the council must be made up of ward based councillors only.

“We believe it is appropriate for the Local Government Commission to determine the number of wards, and number of elected members from each ward and we would urge them to consider communities of interest when determining the new wards.

”We strongly support single member wards for the best democratic outcome for the communities.”

As a council, Mr Brown says Manukau advocated for between 12 and 17 local boards (community councils), and said that they should be empowered to
o Be responsible for making all local decisions within the regional strategic framework
o Have input into the development of regional policies, strategies and plans and must give effect to these regional policies, strategies and plans within their local areas
o Have a key role in place-shaping and community development
o Must undertake local long-term planning, including the development of a Long Term Community Plan and Annual Plan for their area.

“The Select Committee has recommended some amendments to local boards which will result in them having a key role in promoting social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of local communities.

“The report also supports our recommendations around place-making, providing input into regional decisions, and developing local plans for local services.”

Mr Brown says he is pleased to see some of the changes that have come through, but is concerned that the number of local boards, which remains between 20 and 30, is too high to make these new powers meaningful.

“The more boards there are, the more administrative costs associated with them,” he says. “Plus, it will be difficult for a board to make a decision which does not impact on a neighbouring community. This means, in fact, that less decisions are likely to be made at the local level.

“So, in effect, whilst the government says it is putting the local back into local and making it easier for boards to be better connected with their communities, it is actually making it harder for local boards to make effective decisions that impact only on their board area.

“This is a significant flaw in the Select Committee’s report, and Manukau would strongly urge the government to reconsider this.”

With regards to changes to the southern boundary, Mr Brown says Manukau City Council is disappointed that the Select Committee has not taken on board the council’s views.

The report shows that no changes have been made to the original recommendation by the government around boundary changes.

“This means that much of the Hunua Regional Park and all of the Whakatiwai and Waharau Regional Parks, plus two of the region’s largest water supply dams, will now sit in the Waikato region.

“Transferring regional assets to the Waikato is inequitable. The parkland, dams and water assets have been funded by ratepayers from the Auckland region and should remain with the Auckland Council.”

Mr Brown says the release of the Select Committee report is not the end of the legislative process.

A further bill will be introduced later in the year, which will be open for public submission. And the Local Government Commission still has a huge job ahead of it as it determines the ward and board boundaries.

“Manukau City Council looks forward to having further input as the process continues.”