Auckland needs a Super City it can support, says Labour's Phil Goff.
Two thirds of Aucklanders polled say that they don't support the new Super City which has been imposed on them by the National Act Government.
This is a disastrous start for the Super City, the vision around which most Aucklanders at the start might have embraced enthusiastically.
The idea around which the Royal Commission reported was to make Auckland, New Zealand's only international-sized city, a world beating city and a great place to live.
We have an unparalleled natural environment with twin harbours, regional parks and volcanic cones. We have a waterfront which, when public access is restored to it, can be a vibrant and exciting heart to the city.
We need to preserve the best of our heritage and avoid some of the appalling built environment city planners have given approval to.
We need in partnership with the private sector and central government to build a high skill, high tech and high wage economy to create opportunities for talented young people to stay in New Zealand
We need a strong public transport system and infrastructure to support a strong economy and community.
We need to ensure that we address the social needs of all Aucklanders in a city where central government pays out $12 billion a year in benefits and spending, not always to the best effect.
But this vision appears to be lost in a Governance structure that sees the city as a corporation not a community.
The local has been taken out of local Government with the local boards being left without formal powers.
Three quarters of the city's revenue will be spent by seven council companies with appointed boards and too little accountability.
The Government has legislated to remove the need for public approval before privatisation of assets can occur, leaving it open for any council to hock off assets built up by generations of Aucklanders.
No wonder Aucklanders are disillusioned with what has been imposed on them.
The Super City will be a reality after 9 October.
Labour is committed to fixing the problems the Key and Hide Government have left as their legacy and ensuring that we can achieve the underlying vision of making Auckland a great place to live.
* From the New Zealand Herald feature, 'Project Auckland - our city'
