Shore, Waitakere back reform with conditions

Auckland's western and northern cities are calling for power and money for the new local boards that will replace them in the Super City set-up.

In submissions to the parliamentary select committee on Auckland governance, the North Shore and Waitakere city councils support reform on the condition there will be useful community boards or, as they prefer to call them, community councils.

North Shore is calling for 20 of them; Waitakere City Council thinks the number should be between 12 and 20.

Coverage by 20 to 30 local boards is proposed in the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill.

Submissions to the select committee about changing how Auckland is run close today.

The Government inserted local boards in place of a second tier of six local councils under the Auckland Council, which was the royal commission's recommendation.

But the bill's proposals have potential for a severe imbalance of power between the Auckland Council and community or local boards, said North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams.

"They need to be well resourced, bulk-funded, with real decision-making powers, and they need to be taken seriously by the Auckland Council," he said.

Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey said his council was also concerned that the bill took away the power of local communities to determine what was important to them.

"If local boards are not given sufficient powers and functions to deliver locally then the Auckland Council will get bogged down and will not be able to concentrate on the major regional issues," he said.

"Local boards must be able to make decisions in consultation with their communities, not just follow prescribed orders."

Waitakere Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse said that if local democracy was neutered Auckland would go backwards.

"The balance has to be struck between the Auckland Council setting policy and vision and the local boards delivering what their residents want and need," she said.

Mr Williams said his council had an "elegant solution" for power-sharing.

It proposes an Auckland Council, with a mayor elected at large, 20 councillors representing 20 wards and with 20 community councils to deliver services in each ward.

"Under this structure, each councillor would be a strong representative of their community and be held directly accountable to the people who elected them."

Both councils say elections for the mayor and councillors should be held under the single transferable vote (STV) system, where voters rank candidates in order of preference.

Twenty years ago, 27 city and borough councils were reduced to four city and three district councils, accompanied by the Auckland Regional Council.

WHAT THEY WANT
* Auckland Council.
* Elections by STV system.
* Mayor elected at large.
* 20 councillors elected from 6 to 20 wards.
* 12 to 20 elected local/community boards.
* Boards decide local issues and services.