Michael Barnett: Excuses not to vote no longer stack up

A continuation of the old-style city council mentality will not deliver the expectations of Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell

Click here for the 'Idiot's guide to the Super City' to see how the new Auckland Council will work.

Successive governments have determined the governance for Auckland's immediate future. So none of the mayoral aspirants should shoulder the blame for what we are about to receive.

The fact is that Auckland under one council has the potential to lift its game.

But that will require a new style of leadership with some new ways of thinking and better participation by Aucklanders.

Paradoxically, most of us have been apathetic about participating in the city-region's three-yearly local government elections where, in theory, we should be able to elect quality leaders with the vision and skills to fix Auckland's problems.

However, barely 34 per cent of eligible voters bothered to vote at the 2007 local elections. We have traditionally blamed our apathy on the fragmentation of our local government arrangements - seven local authorities and a regional council - and its resulting failure to attract quality candidates.

But those excuses no longer stack up, or at least they shouldn't. When we started on the road to create a single, united city-region, the idea was of creating something new:

* A metro region with a new "can do" culture and leadership to address Auckland's big issues and enable improved participation at the local level.

* A fresh start and a step up in the status and organisation of Auckland in order to take decisive action helping lead New Zealand's economic recovery and long-term development.

Expectations of Aucklanders are that an efficiently executed reform will lead to better service delivery, lower rates and an end to feuding.

Even though there is growing scepticism that the reform will deliver these results, to accept anything less would be a betrayal.

The impression is gaining that the Super City structure is being designed and imposed on Auckland by a determined Wellington bureaucracy.

And as the election campaign heats up, there is a growing realisation that the trickle of mayoral aspirants who have declared to date are thinking and campaigning as if they are standing for an old-style city council.

They need to stop thinking of Auckland as a single city, and start acknowledging Auckland as a diverse regional economy whose future success and prosperity vitally depends on building strong partnerships with central government, business, education and the many voluntary community agencies doing good work across Auckland.

We can't stop the creation of the new Auckland Council - with its executive mayor, 20 governing councillors, 21 local boards and seven council-controlled organisations (CCOs).

But we can resolve to get the best possible outcomes from the radical changes we are being forced to accept. We owe it to ourselves and the generations of young Aucklanders who will inherit what we have done.

The job of the new executive mayor is very simple - to declare a vision for Auckland and get elected on a promise to empower the council, local boards and CCOs to spend their term in office implementing that vision.

Our mayoral candidates are falling well short of declaring a comprehensive vision for what they want Auckland to become.

Every sub-area of Auckland has major issues and concerns that need the full attention of a strong visionary leadership.

But strong and resolute leadership must not be confused with arrogance, nor strength of purpose with single-mindedness. Strong leaders must also be committed to participatory leadership, and listening to the heartbeat of Aucklanders engaged in and passionate about the region.

At one extreme, the vision of Auckland hosting the Olympics Games ignores the recent history of Auckland's efforts to secure the Commonwealth Games, a limited vision rejected by central government.

For Auckland to make headway, it needs a campaign to demand central government develop a major events strategy for New Zealand which includes a role for Auckland.

The same applies to our campaign to bring the world to Auckland. Tourism is a key economic driver and employer for Auckland.

Yes, we can drive some tactical campaigns but it is our relationship with government and our ability to leverage off successful national campaigns that will make a difference for Auckland.

The same applies for issues like people and skills. Consider the vast range of initiatives that are undertaken by central and local government to improve people-participation in our economy. Then consider the savings and improved outcomes we might get from a whole-of-government approach.

The qualities we should be seeking from our mayoral candidates are those of a collaborator with central government, a person who can bring disparate groups together and get action. Importantly, it should be someone who recognises that a repeat of the past will not deliver the expectations of Auckland.

Whether solving Auckland's transport issues, skill shortages, finding ways to attract investment, building export strength and establishing more innovative businesses, Auckland's new leadership must seek the participation of central government and demand it apply a whole-of-government approach to solving Auckland issues.

Equally, the mayoral aspirants shouldn't be campaigning around creation of a personality cult.

Getting Aucklanders interested in voting will only be successful if the mayoral aspirants have a compelling story to tell. It has to be a story that convinces Aucklanders that they have a campaign based on action to address Auckland's big issues.

Put it another way, I am confident Aucklanders will respond and get out and vote for a candidate for executive mayor who shows they want to disseminate leadership across the region. Not concentrate leadership at the Town Hall around the projection of their own personality.

A new mayor must help Aucklanders recognise their civic responsibility and encourage them to make an active contribution to lifting Auckland's game.

Unless and until Aucklanders make demands about what they want from our mayoral aspirants, they must be prepared to get what they will be given.

* Michael Barnett is chief executive officer of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce.