Kedgley slams 'Rogernomics 2'

Act leader Rodney Hide has been accused of staging "Rogernomics part two" by passing a law under urgency that begins the Government's Super City plans for Auckland.

Green MP Sue Kedgley yesterday said that Act leader Rodney Hide, with the backing of fellow Act MP Sir Roger Douglas, was ramming legislation through Parliament stripping Auckland's eight democratically elected councils of all meaningful power.

In a coup d'etat, Mr Hide was appointing his cronies to the Auckland Transition Agency with draconian powers over 1.4 million Aucklanders amounting to "Rogernomics part two", she said.

Sue Kedgley was speaking after the Government began passing legislation under urgency to set up the agency, whose job will be to restructure the eight councils into a single entity by October 31 next year.

The Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill gives the agency wide powers to do the job, including the power to constrain the decision-making powers of the existing councils and their subsidiaries.

Mark Ford, chief executive of the region's water wholesaler Watercare Services, is the frontrunner to head the agency. Other Auckland businessmen in the running to join the five-strong board are accountant John Waller, Wayne Walden and Chris Mace. The agency is also expected to have a woman member.

A second bill, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill, was also due to be introduced last night under urgency. That bill sets out the broad outline of the Super City structure and representation issues. It will go to a special select committee for public submissions. Mr Hide said he was genuinely interested in what the people of Auckland had to say "because this is a matter of governance".

The select committee, made up of seven Government MPs and four Opposition MPs, will consider a number of controversial aspects about the Super City plan.

These include the powers and functions of the 20 to 30 local boards, Maori seats and the issue of councillors elected at large. The Government favours eight councillors elected at large to the Super Auckland Council to provide a regionwide view and 12 councillors elected in wards representing more than 100,000 people each.

Prime Minister John Key assured Parliament on Tuesday that "Aucklanders who want to put in a submission before the select committee on issues of Auckland governance will be able to".

Labour's MP for Manurewa George Hawkins said there needed to be change in Auckland, but the reorganisation bill "castrates" Auckland's existing councils and amounted to a massive power grab by the Government.

Meanwhile, an academic said the wrong report was going to the select committee.

The director of Institute of Public Policy at AUT, David Wilson, said the select committee should be considering the royal commission's proposals instead of the Government's plans.

Mr Wilson said the royal commission's proposals were a "solid piece of evidence-based work", whereas the Government's alternative accepted the Super City council but undermined local government.

Better regional governance would result from considering the most informed piece of work - the royal commission's report.