Amalgamation advocate talks super advantages

Local authority amalgamation in Auckland has been an overall success, Franklin Local Board chairman Andrew Baker says.

Mr Baker has been in the Wellington region, as the amalgamation debate heats up here, to provide a perspective about how the new Auckland Council model is going.

He said before the Auckland Council happened, a poll showed 85 per cent of people in Franklin didn't want a bar of a supercity. The concerns were about losing identity, not being heard, no local democracy, toothless local boards.

"In short, none of those fears have been found to be true."

Local democracy had improved, he said.

"The local boards have been an absolute key to improving local democracy.

"We had so much to lose going into Auckland. We're a rural local board in an urban dominated environment, but the gains we've had have been unbelievable. The power we have and the power we have to influence is very very strong."

Asked if there was anything negative about amalgamation for Franklin, Mr Baker said no.

"I think we've gained in identity and community strength because we're now very conscious of our need to fight.

"In Franklin, we could have trucked on the way we were, but we were just going into a slow spiral of decay, we wouldn't be having the growth now, our town would be starting to decline because we couldn't leverage off the bulk of Auckland."

Franklin rates were going down this year by an average of $23 per household as the capital value rating system kicked in. Those closer to the city with more expensive homes and who are closer to a lot more amenities paid more in rates.

"Not often do you pay less in rates but on top of that we've had huge investment in Franklin that the old district council could never afford.

"We are accused in Franklin of having our snouts in the trough because we were this little council off to the side at the bottom end of Auckland, small rating base, huge roading network, massive infrastructure problems, and now we're part of this huge rating base where things on a priority basis gets fixed."

He said local boards had budgets, responsibilities, and decisions to make, especially for local stuff, and could also advocate for big projects handled by the governing body.

"The governing body can't make decisions about local things."

Local board funding was still a work in progress though.

I don't think there would be too many who'd say we're worst off than we were.

Andrew Baker

With no intercouncil fighting, and a single vision, Auckland was "absolutely humming.

"I don't think there would be too many who'd say we're worst off than we were."

Mr Baker, whose visit was facilitated by Better Kapiti, didn't have a view on the Wellington region amalgamation debate.