KEY POINTS:
Manukau City without Sir Barry Curtis; its mayor's decision to retire at the coming election seems akin to the loss of a landmark from the region. Sir Barry, nearly 40 years on the Manukau City Council, 24 years its mayor, has been the face of his city since the departure of his equally long serving predecessor, Sir Lloyd Elsmore. But at that time a young Barry Curtis was already heir apparent and known to wider Auckland from his seat on the regional authority. No such successor is apparent this time. Sir Barry has so dominated his beloved city that no other voice has been heard to represent it.
He has been the model leader of local government, shamelessly, passionately promoting the city at every opportunity, not denying its social stresses but always positive and energetic in support of any improvement project. Manukau City is a difficult marriage of affluent Pakuranga and points east with the low income suburbs of South Auckland. Sir Barry, a waterside worker's son and resident of Bucklands Beach, has managed to bridge the social divide and make the marriage work.
Today both sides of the city are blessed with good arterial motorways, splendid civic and community amenities, thriving industrial estates. Today Manukau - always "Manukau", Sir Barry will not hear it called "South Auckland" - can claim to be New Zealand's third largest "city" and he is the country's longest serving mayor. But it is not a city, any more than North Shore, Waitakere or for that matter Auckland as defined for municipal government. Sir Barry's decision to stand down at the elections this year will have nothing to do with the latest campaign to unite the region but the campaign will be helped by his departure. He has not worked against the wider community and has lent his voice enthusiastically to regional projects, but he remains a staunch defender of Manukau's autonomy and deflected the push for a "single city" last year with a three-city proposal.
Manukau perhaps has more to lose than other parts of Auckland from a merger of all its councils. It has less natural definition than Waitakere, North Shore or the isthmus. Manukau is pure sprawl and lies on better agricultural soils than those north and west of the Waitemata. If a single authority was able to shape the growth of Greater Auckland it would probably draw the line at expansion south.
Sir Barry retires with confidence that projects he considers essential to Manukau's continued development are now too far advanced to be stopped. The civic centre, so long a collection of grand urban buildings looking lost in green fields, will be one monument to him. A planned railway spur from the main trunk to the civic centre and on to Auckland Airport, could be another.
The airport's ownership has been close to his heart. Manukau City Council under his leadership has held firmly to the shares it was given when the airport was floated and he will not hear suggestions the city should realise the value of its holding by accepting an offer such as that from Dubai Aerospace Enterprises. It is hard to know whether Manukau's attitude will change without him. The council is hardly known to the public except through him.
He has not endorsed any of the four candidates standing in his stead, which seems a pity. When a person dominates any organisation to his degree, and has been popularly elected eight times, albeit buy a whisker last time, he could surely leave voters with some succession advice. He leaves a fine example, though, of unremitting public service, fierce civic pride, enthusiasm, dedication and now receives the ultimate accolade in any elected office, a voluntary retirement.
