ARC leader irate at alleged lobbying

Auckland's public transport agency has outraged a regional council leader by allegedly lobbying the Government for a larger role for a successor organisation within the Super City.

Although the Auckland Regional Transport Authority denies the charge, acting council chairman Michael Barnett said yesterday he was sure the subsidiary organisation had lobbied Transport Minister Steven Joyce in direct opposition to the council's position.

"I am concerned that we can have an agency actively lobbying against decisions of this council," he told a transport committee meeting yesterday.

"I find it unacceptable that a CCO [council-controlled organisation] is out there actively lobbying against the ARC."

Mr Barnett said the minister had told him of the authority's support for a Government plan to fold all Auckland transport functions - including responsibility for local roads - into a grander CCO governed by an appointed board of directors rather than elected politicians directly accountable to ratepayers.

Transport authority chairman Mark Ford denied any attempt to lobby the minister, saying management had simply responded to information requests from the Government.

His chief executive, Fergus Gammie, acknowledged the organisation had, in submissions to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, advocated for a new transport authority. But the only advice it had provided since then was that if the Government intended to set up such a body, it could "sensibly" be built on the basis of the existing organisation.

Mr Joyce said he had received correspondence from the authority supporting the Government's plan.

Regional chairman Mike Lee wrote earlier to Mr Joyce to convey his council's support for removing duplication of transport organisations - but by incorporating these into one agency within the proposed council.

"It is not clear what further benefits would be achieved by the establishment of a new regional transport authority in addition to a 'Super Council'," Mr Lee told the minister.

He said the ARC's experience over the past five years, as sole shareholder in the existing transport authority, was that it was "very difficult to ensure effective delivery and responsiveness in an arm's length entity".