KEY POINTS:
The public are too smart to elect a celebrity as executive mayor of Auckland, says Committee for Auckland chairman Sir Ron Carter.
The lobby group, whose objective is to improve the prosperity of Auckland, yesterday made a strong pitch for an executive mayor of Auckland along the lines of London.
At public hearings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance in central Auckland, Sir Ron said the evolution of local government had run its course and it was time for significant change.
That mood was echoed by the One Auckland Trust, formed two years ago to advocate for a single city to be known as "Auckland City" with about 26 local area community boards.
Trustee and businessman Bob Fenwick said Auckland would not fulfil its full potential while it was held back by three levels of clumsy and ponderous local government comprising the Auckland Regional Council, seven local councils and community boards.
The executive director of the New Zealand Business Roundtable, Roger Kerr, said a single city was not the right way to go. Smaller councils could be more democratic and provide useful competitive tensions, he said.
Regional government was the focus for the Committee for Auckland, with the proposal for a new regional authority made up of about 12 elected members and a smaller number of appointed members.
Its primary role would be planning and strategy, including high-level social matters.
Regional services and issues like water, transport and the Auckland waterfront would operated like state-owned enterprises. The mayor would be elected at large with executive powers set out in legislation and be the primary channel of communication with central government.
Fiona Barrington, a member of the Committee for Auckland's future leaders programme, said the group was acutely aware the proposal was a momentous step change for the region.
Talking for other future leaders, she said: "Collectively we embody a hunger for a bright future and a system that will not let us down. It is essential our children inherit an Auckland where they can aspire to stay and realise their aspirations."
One of the commissioners, Dame Margaret Bazley, queried the Committee for Auckland on many submitters' view that electing a mayor at large would lead to a celebrity winning.
Sir Ron said the public would be far too smart to elect someone with a household name who could not spell out how they would do the job.
Nick Main, Deloitte's chairman and another committee member, said: "This is not a show pony job but a job to attract people with passion and vision to take Auckland to another place."
In its presentation, the One Auckland Trust said the 7000 staff and $3 billion cost of running Auckland could be trimmed to 4000 staff, with annual savings of $150 million from being bold and starting with a "blank sheet of paper.
This was based on "common-sense" rather than robust analysis.
Trustee and public relations consultant Cedric Allan said Aucklanders should elect a mayor rather than a backroom post-election appointment.
