Last night, some of the new local boards had their first meetings. Herald reporters went along to see what happened.
MAUNGAKIEKIE
The seven members of the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board were sworn in at their inaugural meeting in front of red velvet curtains and a screen showing glamour shots of Auckland.
Auckland Council chief finance officer Andrew McKenzie chaired the meeting and began by welcoming the new board members and calling them part of "the fabric of Auckland's future".
Each board member was sworn in - in alphabetical order of their surnames - to great delight of some of the members of the audience.
After Chris Makoare was sworn in, three rows of people stood and did a haka, while his family draped leis around his neck.
Once the declarations were completed, Leila Boyle was elected chairwoman and Bridget Graham was chosen as her deputy, both unanimously and the only nominations.
In her first address as Maungakiekie-Tamaki board chairwoman, Ms Boyle said one of the most interesting things about the declarations was learning everyone's middle names.
She also acknowledged the diversity among her fellow board members:
"We have come from all parts of Maungakiekie-Tamaki ... We are in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and some of us are a little bit older than that." She then outlined the issues that the local board would focus on for the next three years.
"We want to rectify the substandard service and lack of infrastructure that has been dealt to us by successive Auckland City councils."
She also said the board would aim to stop the sale and closure of community facilities - which met applause - provide better access to the foreshore, fight tolling on roads and create an alcohol plan for the area.
- Amelia Wade
KAIPATIKI
First he was narrowly edged out of a new Auckland Council seat, then last night former two-term MP Grant Gillon missed out on chairmanship of the Kaipatiki Board after a motion for him to share the seat with fellow contender Lindsay Waugh was voted down.
Ms Waugh, a designer and businesswoman, was voted in as the new chairwoman of the local board in a meeting at the Netball Centre in Northcote, attended by Mayor Len Brown and Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman, who is also MP for Northcote.
"I am deeply honoured, delighted and ... somewhat daunted, to be selected as chair of the Kaipatiki local board at the inception of this new and exciting period of local government of Auckland," she told a packed hall.
Mr Gillon's supporters proposed that the leadership be shared between them, for a period of 18 months each, but the motion was voted down 5-3.
The board covers a wide and culturally diverse area, from the bush areas of Birkenhead to business zones in Glenfield. Other members of the board are John Gillon, Chris Marshall, Richard Hills, Nick Kearney, Vivienne Keohane and Kay McIntyre.
- Lincoln Tan
MANUREWA
The two-day-old Manurewa Local Board's first action was to choose a young politician as its head.
Former councillor Daniel Newman was elected as the board's chairman after being nominated by the board's most high-profile member, former Police Minister George Hawkins.
Mr Newman said: "Having served as a councillor before ... this journey excites me the most."
"There are few things as humbling as to be elected by one's community ... and to serve them in public life."
Mr Hawkins, who has said he will stand down from Parliament after being elected to the board, said Mr Newman was "an upcoming young personality - you have to give these people the reins".
A strong turnout of 100 people witnessed the swearing in of the board members, a process which brought at least one member to tears.
Mr Newman said the board would begin working quickly to lay out its policies. Other members spoke of the issues at the forefront of their minds for Manurewa - new recreation centres for youth, cleaning up social problems and ensuring a new prison was not built in Wiri.
- Isaac Davison
WAITAKERE
Waitakere Ranges chairwoman Denise Yates last night promised to fight hard to make sure their community voice wasn't lost in the crowded new local government landscape.
Mrs Yates, who was elected unopposed at yesterday's inaugural meeting, said board members would "advocate and demand" Waitakere got its fair share of all the "goodies" the new Super City promised.
"We intend to keep the local in local government. We will focus on your street - not Queen St," she told about 60 members of the public, to applause.
They would be vigilant to ensure no services were lost or assets sold, and she vowed the district plan would not be diluted.
Interim Auckland Council chief executive Doug McKay told the meeting he thought the changes brought about by the new council would succeed or fail depending on what support the local boards received.
He said the board members would "'breathe new life" into decision-making in the Waitakere Ranges.
They had been empowered with significant budgets and control beyond what the old local boards had before the Super City changes.
Mr McKay promised the new Auckland Council would provide enough resources and support to the boards but said it would take time to get everything right.
"I would encourage people to talk around and listen to each other over the next few months ... while we figure out the best way to connect the new parts of council."
Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse said it had been an emotional few months as many in the community fought to stop the Super City. She said the past few days had shown there were councillors committed to "bringing the community back in".
- Andrew Koubaridis
