The Aucklander has launched the OUR AUCKLAND campaign today to give Aucklanders their right to have a say on the "Super City". Read all about it here:
http://www.theaucklander.co.nz/local/news/our-auckland/3913141/
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
John Key on Auckland
Read what John Key had to say in Question Time when pressed on Auckland issues here:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/0/9/7/49HansQ_20100427_00000003-3-Auckland-Local-Government-Reform-Input.htm
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/0/9/7/49HansQ_20100427_00000003-3-Auckland-Local-Government-Reform-Input.htm
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
HAVE YOUR SAY ON OUR AUCKLAND
PRESS RELEASE
Embargoed until 8am on Wednesday 28 April 2010.
HAVE YOUR SAY ON OUR AUCKLAND
A regionwide coalition called Our Auckland is urging Aucklanders to have a say on the Government’s “Super City” proposals.
Formed by a broad range of community groups and individuals from across the Auckland Region, the group plans to launch its campaign on Thursday 29 April.
Our Auckland spokesperson Mels Barton said “Despite the Government promising to consult Aucklanders’ about their plans for the reorganisation of councils in the Region, they have never done so. We think it’s about time someone asked ordinary people for their views, since they are the ones paying for these changes. The Government hasn’t done it, so we will, because after all it’s our city, our assets and our rates and Aucklanders deserve to have a say.”
Find out more by reading The Aucklander on Thursday 29 April (The Aucklander comes free with the NZ Herald or from your local library).
The Our Auckland website will go live this week at www.ourauckland.org.nz
Comment:
Mels Barton 09 816 8337 or 021 213 7779
Embargoed until 8am on Wednesday 28 April 2010.
HAVE YOUR SAY ON OUR AUCKLAND
A regionwide coalition called Our Auckland is urging Aucklanders to have a say on the Government’s “Super City” proposals.
Formed by a broad range of community groups and individuals from across the Auckland Region, the group plans to launch its campaign on Thursday 29 April.
Our Auckland spokesperson Mels Barton said “Despite the Government promising to consult Aucklanders’ about their plans for the reorganisation of councils in the Region, they have never done so. We think it’s about time someone asked ordinary people for their views, since they are the ones paying for these changes. The Government hasn’t done it, so we will, because after all it’s our city, our assets and our rates and Aucklanders deserve to have a say.”
Find out more by reading The Aucklander on Thursday 29 April (The Aucklander comes free with the NZ Herald or from your local library).
The Our Auckland website will go live this week at www.ourauckland.org.nz
Comment:
Mels Barton 09 816 8337 or 021 213 7779
Monday, April 26, 2010
Phil Goff's speech on Auckland 26 April 2010
You can read Phil Goff's speech on what Labour will do about the Super City if elected here.
Just to clarify, he was asked a question re Maori representation and confirmed that yes Labour continued to support Maori seats on the Auckland Council.
Just to clarify, he was asked a question re Maori representation and confirmed that yes Labour continued to support Maori seats on the Auckland Council.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Phil Goff speaks about Labour's vision for Auckland
Labour leader Phil Goff is going to give a major speech, setting out Labour's vision for Auckland and their plans to fix the Super City.
You are welcome to bring friends and family along if they're available. The speech is open to the public.
Monday, April 26, 2010
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, Corner Wairere Avenue and New North Road, Mt Albert
You are welcome to bring friends and family along if they're available. The speech is open to the public.
Monday, April 26, 2010
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, Corner Wairere Avenue and New North Road, Mt Albert
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Supercity Concerns Real
Manukau Courier
Last updated 05:00 20/04/2010
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/3596471/Supercity-concerns-real
OPPOSITION to the new Auckland supercity structure is well-founded and not simply a media campaign as claimed by Local Government Minister Rodney Hide, Manukau mayor Len Brown says.
Speaking on talkback radio last week Mr Hide claimed most of the issues around the Auckland supercity have been substantially misrepresented.
Criticism of the structure of the new community boards and the set up of council controlled organisations amounts to a political media campaign, rather than a considered analysis, he says.
But Mr Brown says there is a genuine lack of knowledge about what is happening in the community.
"At the many public meetings I am doing around the region, I spend a lot of time explaining the structure and how the council will function," he says.
"The Government only has itself to blame for that and the widespread concerns. The supercity plan put forward by the Royal Commission has been substantially altered and many in the Auckland region now fear for their local voice in the new structure." He says the Government has made a number of major mistakes including:
- It needed to put into legislation clear roles, functions and responsibilities for the local boards. It refuses to do so;
- It should not have legislated for council-controlled organisations – these should have been left to the new council to decide and establish;
- It should not have established a powerful transport council-controlled organisation when that will be a key issue for the new mayor and council to grapple with;
- Having bulldozed ahead with the council-controlled organisations, the Government should be giving councils a say on the directors but it refuses to do so.
"Failing to listen to the concerns of Aucklanders is the reason for widespread discontent – not any media campaign," Mr Brown says.
"Mr Hide and the Government still have time to amend the third bill. `If they did so they might find some of the opposition might lessen."
Last updated 05:00 20/04/2010
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/3596471/Supercity-concerns-real
OPPOSITION to the new Auckland supercity structure is well-founded and not simply a media campaign as claimed by Local Government Minister Rodney Hide, Manukau mayor Len Brown says.
Speaking on talkback radio last week Mr Hide claimed most of the issues around the Auckland supercity have been substantially misrepresented.
Criticism of the structure of the new community boards and the set up of council controlled organisations amounts to a political media campaign, rather than a considered analysis, he says.
But Mr Brown says there is a genuine lack of knowledge about what is happening in the community.
"At the many public meetings I am doing around the region, I spend a lot of time explaining the structure and how the council will function," he says.
"The Government only has itself to blame for that and the widespread concerns. The supercity plan put forward by the Royal Commission has been substantially altered and many in the Auckland region now fear for their local voice in the new structure." He says the Government has made a number of major mistakes including:
- It needed to put into legislation clear roles, functions and responsibilities for the local boards. It refuses to do so;
- It should not have legislated for council-controlled organisations – these should have been left to the new council to decide and establish;
- It should not have established a powerful transport council-controlled organisation when that will be a key issue for the new mayor and council to grapple with;
- Having bulldozed ahead with the council-controlled organisations, the Government should be giving councils a say on the directors but it refuses to do so.
"Failing to listen to the concerns of Aucklanders is the reason for widespread discontent – not any media campaign," Mr Brown says.
"Mr Hide and the Government still have time to amend the third bill. `If they did so they might find some of the opposition might lessen."
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Alex Swney: One simple step to avoid spectacular failure
* Alex Swney is chief executive officer of Auckland's Heart of the City business organisation.
4:00 AM Thursday Apr 15, 2010
The message came from Apollo 13 40 years ago: "Houston, we have a problem." A similar message sounds over Auckland today.
Proposals for Auckland to be run by seven large council-controlled organisations with appointed boards have quite rightly drawn a lot of flak. The current proposals render Auckland's elected representatives - our mayor, councillors and local board members - relatively impotent.
We need to modify the proposals to restore elected representative authority and power, giving our mayor and councillors more direct and fast control over all of the operations of the city council and its implementation agencies.
If you want Aucklanders to engage with local government, you don't go hiding decisions in the board rooms of appointed directors.
Luckily for the Government, the change required is straightforward and feasible. Keep the controlled organisations but drop the appointed boards. They would essentially add a contradictory third tier to the two-tier (one council, 20 local boards) system we have finally decided on.
Surely the Minister of "getting back to basics", Rodney Hide, isn't supporting what is, in effect, an extra tier of government?
There has been plenty of opposition raised about the unelected council-controlled organisations. The recent Herald headline "Who'd be mayor if you can head a CCO" successfully summarised much of it.
The suggestion past politicians have failed Auckland so now we must replace them is off beam and provides no justification for having unelected appointed directors running the show.
What happened in the past is we've had eight councils and eight bureaucracies - that has been the problem.
Appointed directors will have too much power with no requirement to listen to the public. These organisations are going to make decisions which shape our communities, and we and our elected representatives should have greater control over them than that offered by Statements of Intent and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
For example, a deal was struck between the Ports of Auckland, Sea+City and Golden Bay Cement for the latter to build a cement distribution centre on the waterfront, underpinned by a 35-year lease. Yes, we need to look at supporting commerce, but the point here is the ink was dry on the contracts before elected representatives such as the mayor and the chairman of the Finance Committee even knew about it.
We've finally got rid of seven councils, but under this proposal all we are doing is replacing seven cities with seven council-controlled organisations, which will have their own boards, chief executives, senior management teams, communications and media teams, legal advisers, planners, consultants and more. That spells more fragmentation, more duplication, more cost and less cohesion.
We now have the Auckland Regional Council, Auckland City, Auckland Regional Holdings, Sea+City, Ports of Auckland and Auckland Regional Transport Authority all having some say about our waterfront today. Under the new proposals, we'll have the Auckland Council, Council Investments, the Waterfront Development Agency, Ports of Auckland and the Transport Authority all having a say tomorrow. What has really changed?
Policies, priorities, plans and even large projects should be determined by the mayor, council and local boards and the work of the controlled organisations, where they are needed, limited primarily to implementation.
All of the issues above can be solved in one simple step: replace the proposed appointed directors with elected representatives. Use the functional committees of council as boards, and have the controlled organisations and chief executive reporting to them.
We should redefine the role of the council-controlled organisations more clearly as organisations that carry out the work agreed on by our elected politicians. After all, it's how they do it at central Government.
Quote from the Ministry of Education's website: "The Ministry of Education works directly for the Minister of Education and Minister for Tertiary Education, and the Associate Ministers of Education." There is no intervening board of directors.
Similarly, the chief executive of Auckland Transport should work directly with the chair of the Land Use and Transport Committee. So would the chief planning officer of council, to get better integration at all levels of council's work.
There is also an opportunity to consider the role of an ombudsman office to provide an impartial source of assistance in the resolution of disputes between council organisations, or the council and the Auckland public.
At present, public issues and concerns are often muffled by the bureaucracy. The independence of an ombudsman would go a long way to correct that.
Retaining the council-controlled organisations but dropping the appointed directors in favour of councillors fixes myriad problems, and the third bill provides the opportunity to make any changes to previous acts to effect this.
If Government ministers do not make this sort of change to their plans, then they run the risk of the Auckland governance changes they are responsible for being remembered in the same vein as Apollo 13 - a "successful failure".
4:00 AM Thursday Apr 15, 2010
The message came from Apollo 13 40 years ago: "Houston, we have a problem." A similar message sounds over Auckland today.
Proposals for Auckland to be run by seven large council-controlled organisations with appointed boards have quite rightly drawn a lot of flak. The current proposals render Auckland's elected representatives - our mayor, councillors and local board members - relatively impotent.
We need to modify the proposals to restore elected representative authority and power, giving our mayor and councillors more direct and fast control over all of the operations of the city council and its implementation agencies.
If you want Aucklanders to engage with local government, you don't go hiding decisions in the board rooms of appointed directors.
Luckily for the Government, the change required is straightforward and feasible. Keep the controlled organisations but drop the appointed boards. They would essentially add a contradictory third tier to the two-tier (one council, 20 local boards) system we have finally decided on.
Surely the Minister of "getting back to basics", Rodney Hide, isn't supporting what is, in effect, an extra tier of government?
There has been plenty of opposition raised about the unelected council-controlled organisations. The recent Herald headline "Who'd be mayor if you can head a CCO" successfully summarised much of it.
The suggestion past politicians have failed Auckland so now we must replace them is off beam and provides no justification for having unelected appointed directors running the show.
What happened in the past is we've had eight councils and eight bureaucracies - that has been the problem.
Appointed directors will have too much power with no requirement to listen to the public. These organisations are going to make decisions which shape our communities, and we and our elected representatives should have greater control over them than that offered by Statements of Intent and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
For example, a deal was struck between the Ports of Auckland, Sea+City and Golden Bay Cement for the latter to build a cement distribution centre on the waterfront, underpinned by a 35-year lease. Yes, we need to look at supporting commerce, but the point here is the ink was dry on the contracts before elected representatives such as the mayor and the chairman of the Finance Committee even knew about it.
We've finally got rid of seven councils, but under this proposal all we are doing is replacing seven cities with seven council-controlled organisations, which will have their own boards, chief executives, senior management teams, communications and media teams, legal advisers, planners, consultants and more. That spells more fragmentation, more duplication, more cost and less cohesion.
We now have the Auckland Regional Council, Auckland City, Auckland Regional Holdings, Sea+City, Ports of Auckland and Auckland Regional Transport Authority all having some say about our waterfront today. Under the new proposals, we'll have the Auckland Council, Council Investments, the Waterfront Development Agency, Ports of Auckland and the Transport Authority all having a say tomorrow. What has really changed?
Policies, priorities, plans and even large projects should be determined by the mayor, council and local boards and the work of the controlled organisations, where they are needed, limited primarily to implementation.
All of the issues above can be solved in one simple step: replace the proposed appointed directors with elected representatives. Use the functional committees of council as boards, and have the controlled organisations and chief executive reporting to them.
We should redefine the role of the council-controlled organisations more clearly as organisations that carry out the work agreed on by our elected politicians. After all, it's how they do it at central Government.
Quote from the Ministry of Education's website: "The Ministry of Education works directly for the Minister of Education and Minister for Tertiary Education, and the Associate Ministers of Education." There is no intervening board of directors.
Similarly, the chief executive of Auckland Transport should work directly with the chair of the Land Use and Transport Committee. So would the chief planning officer of council, to get better integration at all levels of council's work.
There is also an opportunity to consider the role of an ombudsman office to provide an impartial source of assistance in the resolution of disputes between council organisations, or the council and the Auckland public.
At present, public issues and concerns are often muffled by the bureaucracy. The independence of an ombudsman would go a long way to correct that.
Retaining the council-controlled organisations but dropping the appointed directors in favour of councillors fixes myriad problems, and the third bill provides the opportunity to make any changes to previous acts to effect this.
If Government ministers do not make this sort of change to their plans, then they run the risk of the Auckland governance changes they are responsible for being remembered in the same vein as Apollo 13 - a "successful failure".
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Auckland Community in Danger of being Flogged-off by ATA
PRESS RELEASE by Dr Grant Gillon
"It is disturbing to learn that the Auckland Transition Authority is assessing community assets, across the region, for their potential for sale" said North Shore City Councillor Grant Gillon today.
North Shore communities will be rightly concerned that an unelected body is eyeing up their hard-earned facilities apparently to pay for Auckland Council transition costs.
I am pleased that Council has for some time worked hard to ensure the stability and security of lease for most if not all of our valued community groups. But it is worrying an appointed body is assessing the City's property for possible disposal. It is also concerning that our community groups might be forced to pay unaffordable 'market rates' for council owned halls and park use.
Most of our facilities sit on reserve status land and should be safe from sale however this does not prevent the imposition, by the ATA, of imposingunaffordable market rentals when leases are up for renewal.
However, there are community groups using Council faciliies in designated commercial or residential areas and not on reserve land. These properties are in danger of being flogged off to pay for Rodney Hide's experiment. Those most at risk include some of our community houses.
"The decision of what community property the Auckland Council should retain or sell must be solely the prerogative of the existing Council and community board members and then after November 1st the incoming elected members of the Auckland Council and the new Local Boards", said Grant Gillon.
Dr Grant Gillon
0274764679
Grant.gillon@northshorecity.govt.nz
North Shore City Council
1 The Strand, Takapuna
Private Bag 93500, Takapuna,
North Shore City, New Zealand
"It is disturbing to learn that the Auckland Transition Authority is assessing community assets, across the region, for their potential for sale" said North Shore City Councillor Grant Gillon today.
North Shore communities will be rightly concerned that an unelected body is eyeing up their hard-earned facilities apparently to pay for Auckland Council transition costs.
I am pleased that Council has for some time worked hard to ensure the stability and security of lease for most if not all of our valued community groups. But it is worrying an appointed body is assessing the City's property for possible disposal. It is also concerning that our community groups might be forced to pay unaffordable 'market rates' for council owned halls and park use.
Most of our facilities sit on reserve status land and should be safe from sale however this does not prevent the imposition, by the ATA, of imposingunaffordable market rentals when leases are up for renewal.
However, there are community groups using Council faciliies in designated commercial or residential areas and not on reserve land. These properties are in danger of being flogged off to pay for Rodney Hide's experiment. Those most at risk include some of our community houses.
"The decision of what community property the Auckland Council should retain or sell must be solely the prerogative of the existing Council and community board members and then after November 1st the incoming elected members of the Auckland Council and the new Local Boards", said Grant Gillon.
Dr Grant Gillon
0274764679
Grant.gillon@northshorecity.govt.nz
North Shore City Council
1 The Strand, Takapuna
Private Bag 93500, Takapuna,
North Shore City, New Zealand
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Super City Information
If you'd like to find out more about what's happening in Auckland's reorganisation of local government there is a lot of information on this AUT site:
http://www.ipp.org.nz/lgpastseminars.htm
http://www.ipp.org.nz/lgpastseminars.htm
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Community organises to win ‘Super’ City elections
A new community coalition, Future West, has formed to make sure West Aucklanders get the best possible outcome from the ‘Super’ city mess. The coalition’s goal is to get strong, progressive local people elected, so the Waitakere way is kept alive in the new, amalgamated structure. The coalition backs community-power and keeping community assets like libraries, pools and water in community control. It wants safer streets, local jobs, better public transport and to see the Eco-City values spread across the region. It also supports Maori representation on Council.
Future West will co-ordinate, support and fundraise for a group of candidates that share these values and invites applications from people interested in standing in the Waitakere and Whau wards for Council, the Local Boards, Health Board and Licensing Trust seats this year. The coalition will be working with the City Vision team to select the best possible candidates for the Whau Ward.
Future West is also asking for volunteers to fundraise, deliver leaflets or display signs. People from all walks of life, all ages and all ethnicities are warmly invited to seek support as candidates or to get involved in the campaign.
The coalition includes independent West Auckland community groups and is supported by both the Green Party and the Labour Party. The first ‘Super’ City elections will be held in October this year and will be crucial in determining the future West Aucklanders enjoy.
For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation contact Mels Barton at mels@wombatsenvironmental.co.nz or phone 816 8337 or 021 213 7779.
Media contact: For more information contact
Mels Barton on 021 213 7779 or mels@wombatsenvironmental.co.nz
Tony Dunn on 021 812 840 or tony.dunn@greens.org.nz
Or Greg Presland on 021998411 or walaw@paradise.net.nz
Future West will co-ordinate, support and fundraise for a group of candidates that share these values and invites applications from people interested in standing in the Waitakere and Whau wards for Council, the Local Boards, Health Board and Licensing Trust seats this year. The coalition will be working with the City Vision team to select the best possible candidates for the Whau Ward.
Future West is also asking for volunteers to fundraise, deliver leaflets or display signs. People from all walks of life, all ages and all ethnicities are warmly invited to seek support as candidates or to get involved in the campaign.
The coalition includes independent West Auckland community groups and is supported by both the Green Party and the Labour Party. The first ‘Super’ City elections will be held in October this year and will be crucial in determining the future West Aucklanders enjoy.
For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation contact Mels Barton at mels@wombatsenvironmental.co.nz or phone 816 8337 or 021 213 7779.
Media contact: For more information contact
Mels Barton on 021 213 7779 or mels@wombatsenvironmental.co.nz
Tony Dunn on 021 812 840 or tony.dunn@greens.org.nz
Or Greg Presland on 021998411 or walaw@paradise.net.nz
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