KEY POINTS:
This NZ Herald report, which has been prepared in association with the Metro Project team, is the first in a series that will focus attention on Auckland's drive to increase its international competitiveness and attract and retain the necessary talent and investment to ensure the city-region becomes a thriving metropolis.
Project Auckland 2006 focuses on the city's importance to the New Zealand economy, the potential of Rugby World Cup 2011 to catalyse growth, the Metro Action Plan which has been formed by leading city organizations and champions with the assistance of an international review team, and the debate raging over future governance options for Auckland. In future reports, Project Auckland will run the ruler over the progress that has been made on implementing the Metro action plan's key goals, examine the city-region's infrastructural deficit, look at potential growth industries that could be attracted to Auckland and much more.
Auckland is an internationally competitive, inclusive and dynamic economy; a great place to live and conduct business; and a place buzzing with innovation, where skilled people work in world-class enterprises. Ann Sherry is adamant it's "time to be bold" about Auckland and not just the controversial proposal for a waterfront stadium to host Rugby World Cup 2011 ("just make a decision")- but all the other decisions to be made if the city is to lift its game and get internationally competitive.
Sherry, who is Westpac's NZ chief executive, has developed a keen insight into the city's potential during her time as chairman of the Government's Growth and Innovation Advisory Board.
She quickly ticks off priorities: Getting infrastructure working ("so that Auckland works as a city") using Rugby World Cup 2011 as the impetus to get things done in the way Australia, her home country, used the Sydney Olympics and Melbourne Commonwealth Games to "ramp up" developments, and build tourism and investment growth. Then there's the focus on skills and education - so vital in ensuring a viable future workforce and exciting jobs to keep our young here, or attract them back from overseas. Or help youngsters from low decile schools get an even break.
Other CEOs such as Vector's Mark Franklin, who also supports the Metro action plan to transform Auckland into a leading city-region, are upbeat about the transformational challenge.
"You can't be introspective," says Franklin. "It requires an aspirational view and leadership with a common purpose to get there."
Franklin suggests New Zealand, and in particular Auckland, needs to rise to the challenge and establish itself as a "model economy". With debate over global warming raging worldwide there is an opportunity to make some smart decisions that will enable NZ to position itself at the leading edge in the way it deals with energy challenges and other vital infrastructures like communications.
Enabling technology, like the internet and broadband, will ultimately turn the world upside down as convergence takes place.
"New Zealand needs to be at the forefront of that."
The Committee for Auckland, a group of leading Aucklanders from business, academia and community organizations, has produced a report, The Case for Auckland, that forecasts Auckland will be the third fastest growing city-region in Australasia over the next 20 years. It will represent two-thirds of all NZ population growth and grow at double the national rate through both strong natural increases and migration. Auckland is not a drain on the NZ economy, despite other New Zealanders' complaints about 'Jafas'.
There are some concerning trends: Auckland's relative quality of living is trending down as the relative cost of living increases (since 2002, Auckland has climbed 40 places to be the 100th most expensive city in the world from 236 surveyed); there has been a 10.3 per cent decline in housing affordability in the last year; Maori and Pacific Island participation in the workforce is low - unemployment rates: Maori (6.7 per cent) and Pacific Islanders (6.5 per cent) are nearly twice the Auckland average of 3.4 per cent; widening social gaps threaten social cohesion, and, Auckland's income per head (measured as GDP per capita) is 27 per cent lower than Australian counterparts.
The report makes a strong case for greater central government investment in the only NZ city with the prospect of becoming a super-city like Sydney or Singapore, a tough ask in the short-term.
The privately funded New Zealand Institute says while Auckland has a slight productivity edge over other NZ cities, it will have to lift its game significantly to compete with Australia's best.
"Countries matter, but often the location choice is not between Australia and New Zealand as much as Sydney and Auckland," says chief executive David Skilling. "For Auckland to attract and retain people, it needs to be able to offer the wages that are generated by higher productivity growth.
"Cities with which Auckland is competing, like Sydney and Melbourne, also offer compelling lifestyle options."
Most of NZ's largest international companies, such as Fonterra, Carter Holt Harvey, and Air NZ, are located in Auckland as well as smaller high-growth companies like Navman, Phitek and Right Hemisphere.
Skilling suggests Auckland needs to make a "disproportionate" contribution to NZ's economic performance and create an environment that encourages more NZ firms to go global. Auckland is well-placed to achieve this as it has:
A large migrant community and lots of foreign students;
Major international connections, especially air linkages;
A strong professional advisory community;
Critical mass with its labour pool;
NZ's top ranked research university.
While the building blocks are in place, Auckland is "under-delivering on its potential."
"The challenge is not just to raise Auckland's exports to the world by a few million dollars a year, or by a few hundred million dollars. The gap between NZ's international economic activity and that of up other countries is in the billions of dollars. Small-scale initiatives will simply not cut it."
The Government, which does have the ability to invest significant capital in Auckland's future growth, has made the city a major focus for its third term economic transformation agenda. Business initially was sceptical of the Government's focus, but attitudes shifted when Finance Minister Michael Cullen decided to invest some of the $800 million special Meridian dividend into speeding up the completion of Auckland roading.
Economic Development Minister Trevor Mallard emphasizes Auckland is key to his own strategy.
Mallard recently released Cabinet Papers which show key points on the Government's action plan to make Auckland an internationally competitive city.
The papers disclose Ministry of Economic Development officials worked alongside local government agencies to support the emerging Auckland leadership group, 'Auckland Champions', that developed the Metro action plan.
The government has also been involved in Start (Sustaining the Auckland Region), a programme to ensure regional growth is sustainable.
Other areas where the Government is active include: Skills programmes, workforce plans for Maori and Pacific Islanders, a Digital Strategy that includes support for urban fibre networks, electricity transmission upgrades, the development of a "widely embraced and applied Auckland brand/identity", protection of volcanic cones, urban design protocols, and, the development of an "Auckland way of doing business" that builds on competitive strengths and fosters innovation and productivity by researching the city/region's market advantages and developing programmes to assist firms exploit gaps.
Up for discussion are road tolls and regional petrol taxes to fund moves.
