Rodney Hide: One council – nothing to lose but 89 councillors

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and Prime Minister John Key launch the first version of the new rules on April 7. Photo / Martin Sykes

This month, the Prime Minister and I announced wide-ranging changes to local government in the Auckland region, including the merging of existing councils into a single Auckland Council.

Instead of seven mayors and a regional council chair, there would be just the one mayor for the Auckland region.

Instead of eight rating authorities, eight long-term council plans, eight data systems, eight local transport entities, eight water and wastewater providers, there will be one of each.

Instead of seven district plans there will be one. Instead of 109 councillors, there will be 20.

So why have we made these decisions? Auckland cannot become a world-class city without change.

After wide consultation with Aucklanders and consideration of over 3500 submissions, the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance concluded that the complex structure of local government was hampering the region's development.

Duplication of facilities, competing leadership, complex and fragmented decision-making processes and weak accountability have been the hallmarks of the current arrangements.

Aucklanders are familiar with the consequences - congested roads, councils fighting each other in court over planning decisions, and repeated consultation on the same issues.

Creating a single Auckland City was the royal commission's key proposal, and ratepayers have much to gain from this simplified governance structure.

That's why the Government has taken up the challenge, knowing it will be resisted by those with a vested interest in the current complex and costly council structures.

Auckland's future depends on critical decisions being taken at a regional level.

Our view is that region-wide decision-making must have region-wide governance arrangements to overcome the competing interests, parochialism and factionalism that has held the region back for too long. The single unitary authority, the Auckland Council, is designed to overcome that.

These issues are also important in the way councillors are to be elected.

The royal commission recommended that 10 should be elected from local areas ("wards") and 10 elected across the whole region ("at-large"). The rationale is simple - if all councillors were elected from wards, there is a risk that the new council would recreate all the parochialism and competing self-interests evident in the current structure.

Councillors elected at large will have a strong mandate to make decisions in the broader interest of the region.

The Government supported the royal commission's recommendation on this, but chose to shift the balance in favour of local communities through having 12 people elected from wards and eight elected at large.

People will be able to make submissions on this issue when it goes to select committee, but it is important to understand the rationale for not having all councillors elected via wards.

Another factor to consider is the likelihood of at-large councillors standing in groups, or in what is often referred to as a "ticket", probably associated with mayoral candidates.

Given the ethnic diversity of Auckland, it is very likely that the makeup of at-large "tickets" will be a powerful mechanism for ensuring much greater ethnic diversity in the elected councillors.

The Government rejected the royal commission's recommendation for designated Maori council seats. The Local Electoral Act 2001 already allows for Maori wards or constituencies to be established if sought by a local poll of electors.

But it's important that the political structures we choose support minority representation. I believe that having both ward councillors and at-large councillors creates new opportunities for Maori, Pacific and other ethnic minority participation in the new Auckland council.

We will also be establishing advisory boards to give voice to Maori, Pacific and other ethnic communities. We have also enhanced the royal commission recommendations in respect of community representation.

In most cases, the communities people identify with are smaller than existing councils, and this needs to be reflected in the structure of local representation.

Just as region-wide issues need region-wide solutions, the functions that are best performed at the local level should have local advocacy and decision-making.

To ensure strong community representation, we will create 20 to 30 local boards, to develop local policies and advocate to the council for community needs.

Work is under way to determine what statutory roles and functions these local boards will have. Work is also under way to ensure that the local boards have a strong relationship with the council, through the ward and "at large" councillors.

With these changes we can create more engaged communities, improved connections across the region, and better value for ratepayers' money.

We can create a city that will encourage our children and grandchildren to build their futures here.

* Hon Rodney Hide is the Minister of Local Government.