Local mayor vital in bad times, says councillor

The murder of pizza-delivery man Michael Choy was a reminder of how a local mayor pulled a community like Papakura together when things went horribly wrong, MPs heard yesterday.

"It was the mayor whom the community looked to, the person with the mana to bring community, social agencies and the police together, to work out the way to heal the hurt in the community. This is local government," said Papakura's Deputy Mayor, Peter Goldsmith.

Mr Goldsmith was part of a green-T-shirt-wearing Save Papakura brigade that appeared before the Auckland governance legislation select committee at Bruce Pulman Park in Papakura.

The committee of MPs is trekking around Auckland hearing submissions on the Government plan for a Super Auckland Council and 20 to 30 local boards.

Committee chairman and Associate Local Government Minister John Carter has said there will be "significant" changes to the legislation and has shown a strong interest in the principle of subsidiarity - that is, local decisions being made at the locallevel.

Papakura's "town and country" community of 47,000 people has been united in the desire to continue its civic identity under a Super Auckland Council.

Mayor Calum Penrose said Papakura was happy, comfortable and achieving success at the local level. It would be a sad day if the roles and functions of Papakura were left at the whim of the centralised Super City, he said.

Save Papakura member Janet Phare said: "If we are not going to receive any tangible benefits from the Super City, please make sure we do not lose what we already have."

Mr Goldsmith and former deputy mayor Glenn Archibald raised the issue of councils' social roles, a subject barely touched on during three weeks of hearings by the select committee.

Mr Archibald said a recommendation from the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance for a social issues board for local and central government to work together on the region's critical social issues seemed to have got lost.

"Papakura is like a lot of the southern part of Auckland in that it has enormous social issues that need to be enhanced.

"If you don't go with a social issues board then you have left us with an ongoing problem," Mr Archibald said.

The Government rejected the recommendation for a social issues board that would have developed a social wellbeing strategy and implementation/funding plan for $12 billion in social spending in Auckland.

In its place, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has announced an Auckland social policy forum made up of herself, the Auckland Mayor, chairs of relevant Auckland Council committees and some local board members.

Last week, Ms Bennett, who is keen to give local boards real powers, said she was keeping an eye on what people were telling the select committee.

"I'm fascinated to see how we can get that support staying in local communities to combat those local issues ... There are some really good ideas coming out of community groups that are quite in line with my thinking," the minister said.

Mr Goldsmith said the haste at which the "monumental changes" were being pushed through reflected badly on the Government and was likely to lead to things going wrong.

He said the super mayor should be elected at large by the single transferable vote method.

WHAT PAPAKURA COUNCIL BACKS

* Supports having a Super Auckland Council and a super mayor with limited executive powers elected at large by single transferable vote.
* Wants 29 councillors, all elected from wards.
* Wants 12 to 15 local boards, renamed community councils.
* Does not want Maori seats, but Maori included in decision-making processes of council.
* A council which provides local services - roads, water pipes, community facilities and events.
* Rates set by local people who know what we can reasonably afford.
* Accessible councillors and a mayor who listen and make decisions in a matter of weeks.
* Friendly and knowledgeable council staff within a 10-minute drive.
* A council office where you can pay rates in person and get everyday issues dealt with quickly and efficiently.
* A feeling we are understood by those making decisions because they are our neighbours and live and raise children in our community.
* Council support in partnership with community groups is what makes many of our community events take place.