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Epsom MP Rodney Hide has taken up the call for a single council to govern Greater Auckland - claiming staff costs under the current set-up are rocketing and Auckland needs to have a powerful voice to be heard in the capital.
Reform of Auckland's governance has been a slow-moving process, and with the next local body elections in October it appears too late for any changes before voters go to the ballot box.
In a speech to be delivered today Mr Hide will say Auckland has been set up to fail and is in desperate need of reform.
Wellington politicians fear the might Auckland would have if it ever pulled itself together and presented a united voice, Mr Hide believes, and therefore they have avoided taking any drastic action to reduce the number of councils in the region.
"Our capital city has never been able to get over the fact that, while it makes the rules, it is Auckland that makes the money," Mr Hide will say. "Eight councils, seven mayors and 6000 bureaucrats - it is a cruel hoax."
The demands of running Auckland through the various councils have seen council staff numbers rise 38 per cent in five years, while in Auckland City almost a third of rates go on paying staff, Mr Hide has found.
"It's the same wherever you look: over-staffed and over-managed."
Talks about how to reform Auckland's governance last year saw a group of mayors come up with an idea for a new structure, but without the input of some of the region's other mayors.
Some want a reduction in the number of councils but others are not so sure, and there is no agreement on what the optimum number of councils would be.
The lengthy saga has gone back and forth between the Beehive and Auckland several times. Mr Hide advocates one mayor elected from wider Auckland and one council of 15 people elected by wards.
He says the existing councils could then be turned into community boards with "much reduced numbers" and clearly defined responsibilities.
"No more mayors of Rodney, Franklin, North Shore, Waitakere, Auckland, Manukau and Papakura, no more Auckland Regional Council."
