Dialogue: Enough talk - let's agree on an action plan and get going

By ALASDAIR THOMPSON*

Auckland is under siege. The realities of daily traffic snarls, stormwater reticulation, secure water supply, and sewage and waste disposal haunt us. Businesses keep packing and leaving, and confidence is ebbing. So where do we get a sense of urgency to rip into Auckland's problems?

Everyone agrees on where the bottlenecks are, and they agree on what is required to break through them. We all agree we don't need any further studies to determine what has to be done.

The Herald's series on traffic congestion is an excellent case study. The top priority for absolutely everyone canvassed was the implementation of a strategic transport network, one that offers alternative routes and options for private and public transport, and with the public transport initiatives backed up by realistic cost-benefit analyses.

To get traction on this and other regional needs, Auckland's mayors are having a go. Their forum has put out a discussion paper on the future of local government for the region based on the idea that we need to amalgamate into two, three, four cities or more, or less, with or without a regional council.

Unfortunately, the range of options provided is more suited to a menu in a fast-food outlet. One mayor has backed away from the concept already.

Practical, business-minded Aucklanders will not be impressed. There is no sign in all the super-city talk of urgency. There is no action plan and no critical path to achieve what all Aucklanders know needs to happen: a transport network, region-wide action on drainage and water supply, and so on.

Besides, the mayoral discussion paper starts off on the wrong foot. After stating that "form follows function," it does not follow its own premise. It gets into a tangle because it is unclear where to draw the boundaries between the roles of local and central government, what services should be paid for out of rates, and which should be user-pays.

It does not answer the question: "What do Auckland's ratepayers want its councils to do?" Instead, it puts local government, itself, at the apex of the discussion.

Neither does the description of Auckland's region-wide communities of interest help decide what would be the best form of local government. It might be useful in the long term, but Auckland can't wait for the debate to work through.

The Government, too, shows no sign of wanting to bang council heads together to spark action. But it has appointed a cabinet minister for Auckland, Judith Tizard, an initiative that attracted more raised eyebrows among Wellington's constitutional bead-game players than it did attention in Auckland.

Ms Tizard has not indicated any support for more wholesale local government reform, but has pointed out we can do better with improved management of the infrastructure already in place.

In addition, she supports minor changes to the Local Government Act to give further powers to the Auckland Regional Council so it can implement some of its plans. But is this enough?

The ARC's planning role restricts it from taking a forthright lead. Infrastructure Auckland is plainly a "fund" more than a planning agency, and unable to drive plans into action. Auckland's city councils serve their own patches with no mandate over wider regional interests.

So who is empowered to set Auckland ablaze with forward-looking infrastructure development? Auckland needs a champion, and the need is great.

Business thinks Ms Tizard should set up a taskforce specifically to galvanise action. We do not need a rehashing of Auckland's council structures with the formation of another boundary-constricted authority trying to oversee the participation and cooperation of our cities' councils.

The mayoral discussion paper can be laid to rest. We are assured the existing local government legal structures can deliver the goods.

The objectives of the taskforce would be to ensure accountable, hands-on leadership. A taskforce, with all the authority which that implies, needs to be charged with developing a sense of urgency, to bring together a plan for action and establish a critical path to completion.

The business of Auckland is business. The business of local government is to provide local infrastructure so we can get on with it. A taskforce suitably empowered could do the job.

* Alasdair Thompson is chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern).