KEY POINTS:
The reason there is a Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance has become crystal clear in the past week. The region's seven territorial councils and regional council have come up with eight different models for Auckland.
The Auckland disease of parochialism, rivalry and divisiveness has been working overtime to ensure no clear message emerges for the three commissioners charged with reshaping Auckland for the next 50 years.
Political workshops, draft reports and varying levels of consultation have led to a lot of material for the royal commission to digest, with upwards of 1000 other views so far, some the size of a phone book.
It was Wellington's frustration at the timid and self-serving proposal by Auckland's warring councils last year that led the Government to establish a royal commission to come up with something bolder than tinkering with the region's longstanding and complex governance challenges.
The desire is for Auckland to head in the direction of the Sydneys and Melbournes with an international buzz and single cheerleader - a system of democracy that engages with communities as the region grows and becomes more ethnically diverse.
So what can be taken out of the councils' submissions, which form an important part of the commission's considerations?
The first point to note is that the diverse range of views comes as no surprise. The smaller district councils of Franklin, Papakura and Rodney were always going to perceive the threat of being gobbled up and react accordingly. Franklin, part in Auckland, part in Waikato, wants to escape its metropolitan clutches and move into rural Waikato.
Auckland City, the largest council under right-wing masters, has taken up the invitation to be bold by proposing a single Greater Auckland Council. Chief executive David Rankin went even further than business groups and proposed virtually trashing local democracy before commonsense prevailed.
Manukau, North Shore and Waitakere cities have proposed either strengthening the regional council or setting up a new regional body, but want to keep or increase their fiefdoms.
The big surprise was the Auckland Regional Council, which wants to abolish itself and establish a single Greater Auckland Authority, supported by about 30 community councils. Its submission was by no means unanimous, but did show a selfless approach to a serious matter.
The councils disagree on whether the mayor of the regional body should be elected at large or by his or her peers. There are varying models for local democracy.
It is now the job of the royal commission to put these ideas into a workable plan that marries the big regional issues with the needs and desires of local communities. It's just a shame the commission didn't get a clearer steer from elected representatives.
