Super City directors' fees $2.3m

Mark Ford has been lured from the agency designing the Super City to chair the mega-transport CCO. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Aucklanders will pay about $2.3 million a year for unelected directors to run most of the Super City services.

This compares with $1.84 million for the 21 politicians on the Auckland Council, including $240,000 for the mayor, and $5.65 million for 149 local board members.

The fees for the 50 directors of the seven council-controlled organisations (CCOs) start at $35,000 and rise to $105,000 for Mark Ford, who has been lured from the agency designing the Super City to chair the mega-transport CCO.

Mr Ford, one of the country's top-paid bureaucrats, is now one of the best-paid directors of a publicly owned body.

He will earn $25,000 more than Auckland District Health Board chairman Pat Snedden, who is paid $80,000 for the complex job of delivering a wide range of health services, meeting Government targets and balancing the books.

Last night, Labour's Auckland issues spokesman, Phil Twyford, attacked the appointment of Mr Ford, saying it was not right that the Wellington-appointed bureaucrat, as executive chairman of the agency designing the Super City and overseer of the appointment process for directors, should end up with the most powerful job.

Announcing the initial directors of the CCOs that will run more than 70 per cent of the Super City services, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide said the fees were benchmarked against comparable organisations.

Four existing or former politicians have been appointed by the Cabinet, including former Commonwealth Secretary-General and National Party Deputy Prime Minister Sir Don McKinnon. He will chair Regional Facilities Auckland, which will oversee arts, culture and heritage, leisure, sport and entertainment venues.

Sir Don is interim director at Auckland Museum after the tumultuous tenure of Dr Vanda Vitali.

Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, a former president of the Labour Party, will chair the Waterfront Development Agency, which has the immediate task of managing party central on Queens Wharf for the Rugby World Cup.

The other two former politicians are Tainui leader and former NZ First MP Tuku Morgan, to Auckland Council Property, and former Rodney Mayor John Law, to Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development.

Other notable appointments are arts patron Dame Jenny Gibbs as deputy chair of Regional Facilities Auckland; businessman Sir John Wells to chair Auckland Council Property; and Ngati Whatua o Orakei heritage manager Ngarimu Blair to the waterfront agency.

Mr Hide said all the directors were Aucklanders and included 11 people with experience of working on CCOs in the region. The directors will start work on November 1, when the Super City comes into being. Their terms range from one to three years and no directors can sit on a CCO for longer than three years.

The Government has left open two vacancies on most of the CCOs, and three on Regional Facilities Auckland, for the Auckland Council to appoint.

Meet the people who will be in charge of your city the CCO appointments

Auckland Transport

* Chairman: Mark Ford - executive chairman of the Auckland Transition Agency and former Watercare chief executive.

* Deputy chair: Philippa Dunphy.

* Other directors: Rabin Rabindran, Dr Ian Parton, Paul Lockey.

Auckland Waterfront Development Agency

* Chairman: Bob Harvey - long-serving Mayor of Waitakere City.

* Deputy chair: Adrienne Young Cooper.

* Other directors: Kerry Stotter, Ngarimu Blair, Terry Kayes.

Auckland Council Property

* Chairman: Sir John Wells - businessman, Rugby New Zealand 2011 director.

* Deputy chair: Richard Aitken.

* Other directors: Anne Blackburn, Peter Wall, Tuku Morgan.

Regional Facilities Auckland

* Chairman: Sir Don McKinnon - former Deputy Prime Minister and Commonwealth Secretary-General.

* Deputy chair: Dame Jenny Gibbs.

* Other directors: Hugh Burrett, Peter Stubbs, Derek Dallow, Rukumoana Tira Marie Schaafhausen.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development

* Chairman: Dave McConnell - McConnell Group managing director and Committee for Auckland director.

* Deputy chair: Peter Drummond.

* Other directors: Norm Thompson, John Law, Vivien Bridgewater.

Auckland Council Investment

* Chairman: Simon Allen - former New Zealand Stock Exchange chairman and ABN Amro New Zealand chief executive.

* Deputy chair: Miriam Dean, QC.

* Other director: Candis Craven.

Watercare Services*

* Chairman: Graeme Hawkins - businessman and former DB Breweries chief executive.

* Deputy Chairman: Pat Snedden.

* Other directors: Susan Huria, Jeff Todd, David Clarke, Peter Drummond, Ross Keenan.

* Watercare is an existing CCO and its current board stays in place for now.