KEY POINTS:
Carving off the rural areas of Rodney, Franklin and Manukau from the rest of Auckland is among the ideas being floated for discussion by the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The commission today issued a discussion document and open letter to the people of Auckland, calling for submissions on the shape of local government.
To help residents and organisations make submissions, the commission has listed the main issues it will be addressing: What kind of local government would help Auckland become a successful world-class city, what should happen at regional and local levels, the level of shared decisions in the region and how to ensure local government remains accountable to the people of Auckland.
Among the contentious ideas are an urban-rural carve-up, having a separately elected lord mayor for greater Auckland, appointing "expert members" to councils, and creating a super-city.
The commission said the region was a mix of predominantly rural and urban councils, and asked if Auckland would be better off covering only urban and future urban areas.
"Would the rural parts of Rodney, Franklin and Manukau be better served by being part of a different regional council?"
Definitely, said Franklin Mayor Mark Ball, whose district council is split between Auckland and Environment Waikato regional councils.
"Having part of the district in one region, and part in another has always been challenging and somewhat confusing for our community," he said.
"This is really noticeable where the boundary runs through a country town like Waiuku and there are different rules on either side of the street."
Mr Ball said it made sense for Franklin to go with a council that dealt predominantly with rural issues.
Unlike Franklin, Rodney District Council could find its urban and rural areas carved up.
This could lead to the heavily-populated Hibiscus Coast and growth area of Kumeu-Huapai staying in Auckland, and the largely rural area north of Waiwera joining the Kaipara District Council.
Rodney Mayor Penny Webster said locals were not interested in a boundary carve-up, but in the delivery of infrastructure in a timely and cost-effective way.
The commission said it had to consider whether a super-city was the best solution for improved efficiency and infrastructure and how to meet other objectives, such as accountability.
That led to the question of electing a regional leader. The chairman of the Auckland Regional Council is now chosen by elected councillors.
The commission chairman, retired High Court judge Peter Salmon, QC, said the three commissioners hoped to get submissions from a wide range of residents and organisations in Auckland and of New Zealand.
Submissions close on April 22.
