Len Brown: Speak out now Aucklanders, while you still have a voice

Len Brown

What a travesty for local democracy. The Government has delivered a governance model for Auckland that has marginalised communities and taken away their power.

It has looked at Auckland and decided it is the business powerhouse for the country. And they are right.

But Auckland is also home to 1.4 million people and they have the right to have their quality of life protected and improved - whether they live in the Auckland CBD, urban Otara or rural Wellsford.

The Government's model for Auckland marginalises local communities. It marginalises ethnic representation. By diluting community representation into 20 to 30 local community boards, it takes away the local voice, not strengthens it.

Royal commissions are set up for a reason. A problem or issue has been identified and a neutral body, with respected skills and expertise, is asked to investigate and report back with a finding.

In the case of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, it was set up in October 2007 by the then Labour Government to respond to growing concerns about the workability of local government arrangements in Auckland. Terms of reference were set, and objectives set down.

The commission went into the local Auckland communities as part of the consultation process and received 3500 written and 550 oral submissions. It visited overseas cities to see how they are structured. And it considered a range of options, from retaining the status quo through to a larger number of empowered community boards or smaller ward-based councils.

The commission considered Maori representation, and gave consideration to boundaries and functions.

On March 25 it delivered an 800-page report to the Government and made 100 recommendations.

The Government, after only two weeks, has ripped the guts out of local democracy in the Auckland region by rejecting the commission's recommendations and changing the model of Auckland governance beyond recognition. In the guise of promoting grassroots representation, it has stripped the Auckland region of its unique identities, namely Manukau, Waitakere, Rodney, North Shore, Franklin and Papakura; and has decided to create between 20 to 30 community boards whose only role will be to advocate for local communities. They will have no power, no staff, no funding. They will not create policy, they will not deliver local services.

The boards will not even have representation on the new Auckland Council which will control the budgets and resourcing. The community boards in the Government's model are toothless; and it is an insult to democracy to call them community representatives.

Yes, Auckland needs a strong voice and will benefit from having one district plan and one rating system. Yes, Auckland will benefit through efficiencies - what city wouldn't?

But what about our communities? What do they gain from this new structure?

Auckland residents need to speak with one voice now. We must address our concerns with our local MPs and we must do it quickly.

We must influence the process formally through the select committee, and most importantly we need to let the Government know that they must rethink their decision around local community boards.

The Government's solution for Auckland is flawed. Let's make sure we get this right.

Len Brown is Mayor of Manukau.