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A radical plan for an Auckland super city and four smaller councils will be unveiled today by the Auckland City Council.
It will propose abolishing the Auckland Regional Council and three of the region's seven councils. The plan is the council's submission to a royal commission that will decide how the region should be governed.
The Herald understands it involves replacing the ARC with a Greater Auckland Council (GAC) made up of about 25 councillors and an elected Lord Mayor of Auckland.
The GAC would be responsible for water, transport, a single district plan and arts and sports facilities.
The region would still have four territorial councils based on Auckland City, North Shore, Waitakere and Manukau city councils. Rodney, Papakura and Franklin district councils would be abolished and absorbed into other councils. Part of Franklin could be absorbed into the Waikato.
Auckland City is proposing to abolish community boards and replace them with community councillors, who would have a local office along the lines of electorate offices run by members of Parliament. The four councils would still have elected mayors, each of whom would sit on the GAC.
The plan is part of a draft submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance. It has been prepared by council officers and will go to the regional governance committee on Thursday.
Auckland City is the first council to publicly declare its ideas on the future of local government. The royal commission has given the public until April 22 to make submissions. Public hearings begin on May 7.
