KEY POINTS:
The Government is close to finalising the membership of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Governance of Auckland and its terms of reference.
The commission is to report on the organisation of Auckland's local bodies and make recommendations about the region's future structure towards 2008.
Helen Clark said yesterday that senior officials had worked on Auckland issues for some time and had been talking to Internal Affairs about terms of reference and membership.
"There has been a lot of brainstorming within officialdom and a lot of people are coming forward to volunteer their own services for the royal commission. So we need to appoint the most credible group we can," Helen Clark said.
Auckland has four city and three district councils, as well the Auckland Regional Council.
Last year, the four city mayors discussed the proposal of a super-council.
But the idea was shelved after opposition from the Rodney, Papakura and Franklin councils and the ARC, who were all shut out of the discussions.
It also met opposition from several of the mayors' own councillors.
At the same time the Government announced the commission, it also approved Auckland councils' move towards stronger regional leadership on some issues, such as tourism management, regional economic development and the management of significant events.
- NZPA
