Myths of the metropolis

By CATHRIN SCHAER

The rest of New Zealand is absolutely right. Auckland is different and so are the people who live there. The dreaded Jafa is alive and well and roaming the streets of Ponsonby, a double-decaf latte with soy in one hand and a fancy mobile phone with a blinking blue screen in the other.

It may be difficult to work out whether Aucklanders drink more coffee a head than other New Zealanders, but Telecom can certainly confirm that the city folks do use more mobile phones.

In the business sector 76 per cent of Aucklanders have a mobile phone, compared with 69 per cent elsewhere in the country, and in the consumer sector 50 per cent do, compared with 45 per cent elsewhere.

But its not just that old urban stereotype that makes Auckland different. That's only a tiny part of the city's personality.

Auckland is becoming more of an international city and less of a New Zealand city, says Alistair Helm, executive director of Competitive Auckland, a trust started by the private sector to boost Auckland.

In a short time, pundits say, Auckland will have more in common with Sydney or Singapore then Wellington or Christchurch, let alone a little southern town where they grow sheep and play rugby for a good time.

So what exactly makes Auckland the city most likely to be accused of un-New Zealand activities?

The most obvious difference is simply size.

"If the population of New Zealand was 100 people, 31 of them would be living in Auckland," reports a forthcoming Auckland Regional Council document called A Day In the Life of Auckland.

Every day the Auckland region grows by 49 people. Compare this to growth of just 5 a day for Wellington and 7 a day for Canterbury.

At this rate, Auckland will have two million people by 2050, though in reality it probably won't take this long.

And more people means more of everything, including more houses (the ARC reports there are 21 new homes every day in Auckland), more cars (23 new vehicles on the road every day) and more business.

"Auckland has more international relevance in the global business community because we have reached a critical threshold," Helm explains.

"If you're sub-one million you simply don't cut it. For instance, if you were an international telecommunications company interested in making profits, would you set up in Christchurch with 300,000 people? Or would you connect up in Brisbane where there are 1.5 million?"

The population is one of Auckland's biggest bonuses, but it is also one of its top problems.

"Infrastructure," is Lesley Baddon's curt reply when asked what problem Auckland has that the rest of New Zealand's cities don't.

Baddon is the manager of the socio-economic group at the Auckland Regional Council and was largely responsible for initial work on the Auckland Regional Economic Development Strategy (or Areds).

By infrastructure, Baddon means transport systems, the state of the environment, energy, water, education and even broad band access. "If we want to be a modern city, we need the infrastructure performing," she says. A survey during a councils-run project called Quality of Life In New Zealand's Largest Cities found that relatively high proportions of citizens in Wellington and Christchurch were "very satisfied" when asked how their city looks and feels.

Aucklanders were not quite so cheery. "And this may well be related to the relative size of the urban areas, that is, the Auckland cities are part of a much larger urban area with inherent transport, congestion and pollution problems," explains Leigh Gatt, director of the project.

But, as they say, size isn't everything.

Auckland is also different because of how the population is made up. When you consider that this is the biggest Polynesian city in the South Pacific, then add to that the fact that at least 13 per cent of Auckland's population is now Asian of some kind, then most of the rest of New Zealand starts to look very pale-faced.

Aucklanders are also relatively young compared to other cities. This is partly to do with higher birth rates among some ethnic groups, in particular Pacific Islanders and Maori.

"But," says Baddon, "Auckland's comparative youthfulness could turn out to be quite handy if we wish to see ourselves as an international city.

"While there are some big skill gaps, having a relatively young workforce could be positive when you see the workforce in many European and North American cities ageing rapidly."

Auckland is also a relatively wealthy region. When figures are averaged out, Wellingtonians have the highest average annual income. But the capital's urban population comprises a lot of professionals, consultants and white-collar workers employed by the Government.

As Gatt says: "The four Auckland cities have a lower median household income than Wellington, which is much smaller. But collectively they make up a larger percentage of the New Zealand economy."

But that's not all - there's still more to Auckland's differences than size, a sunny climate, several volcanoes, two harbours and a bit of demographics.

Once Auckland's prosperity used to ride on the back of New Zealand's farming and commodity sectors. But this has changed.

"Although in the late 80s we lost a lot of our manufacturers, [Auckland is] still the country's largest manufacturing base," Baddon explains.

"But very little of what is produced goes back into New Zealand. The bulk of it is exported. And yes, it's true that the service sector has been growing quite rapidly. But that is what big cities everywhere are doing. Service sectors all over the world are increasing."

And Baddon thinks this is happening faster in Auckland than elsewhere because, as the tourist information says, Auckland really is the gateway to New Zealand.

Unlike Australia, where international banks and multinational businesses have a choice of either Sydney or Melbourne, in New Zealand there is really only one viable option.

So maybe it's because of the international visitors and those fancy sailors on the Viaduct, but observers believe there are big differences in Auckland's social culture, too.

For instance, even the television viewing patterns differ in and out of Auckland. TV3 tends to do better in the big city.

And Aucklanders also watch less television. "The further south you go, the more people watch television," explains Alistair Jamison, national media director for Saatchi and Saatchi advertising.

Reasons may include the fact that Aucklanders are more exposed to different forms of media and communication and their commute to work takes longer. Different nationalities such as Chinese or Korean might not be quite as desperate to watch Shortland Street. And after all, if you live in a one-cinema town and you've seen the film that's on there, you may as well stay in and watch telly. Not a problem in Auckland.

Aucklanders also tend to look outward for their culture, fashion and lifestyle trends.

"While the rest of the country tends to be influenced by Auckland, Aucklanders look toward the world," says Peter Moore, general manager of Saatchi and Saatchi advertising.

"Which is why Aucklanders tend to be early adopters - particularly of all things West Coast [of America]."

So doesn't anyone think it's a little sad that the country's biggest region doesn't necessarily represent the "real" New Zealand any more?

"No, I think it's healthy," Helm answers. "It's made Auckland confident and exciting. And the reality is that New Zealand needs a city of scale to make a stand on the world stage.

"When we first arrived 14 years ago, Aucklanders were quite apologetic about Auckland," recalls Baddon, who's originally from Britain.

"Now I think there's a real confidence growing. People are saying, we're Jafas and proud of it."


Although the differences between Auckland and the rest of the country are likely to grow, it does not necessarily mean that Aucklanders are no longer going to be New Zealanders.

"It's just that Auckland is the New Zealand of the future, rather than that mid-70s, rugby-playing, heartland image we still have," says one commentator.

"Aucklanders still respond to things that are quintessentially New Zealand," reports Moore of advertising successes by the likes of Mainland Cheese, Toyota and Speights.

Traditional New Zealand values still ring true.

"We all dream of that idyllic bach at the beach and that long summer we remember from when we were kids - even though the reality might be that were stuck on the motorway, heading for Orewa."

Herald feature: Mighty Auckland