SOME say it's a matter of perfecting the new council structure; others say the whole concept of the combined city needs to be ditched and replaced with something better.
They predict increasing tension between the Auckland Council and central government, particularly about major public works such as the central rail loop, while others want council spending plans curbed.
Justice Peter Salmon, who chaired the Royal Commission on Auckland's local government, says developing one united resource management plan for the whole of Auckland will be a "major task" and transport will present particular challenges.
"Auckland and central government will have to agree because Auckland can't do it on its own. Central government provides a major part of the funding. The Government has to balance the needs of Auckland against the rest of the country and Auckland has to accept that's so."
Commentator Bill Ralston says political games between Auckland and the Government around the CBD rail loop will depend on money.
"The Government is bound to front with some cash but is waiting to see whether the council can front with cash or come up with public-private partnerships."
He is confident the Government will come up with funding "at some time".
Ralston predicts the lack of strength within local boards would become a "sore point that will rub.
"Local boards will feel ignored and powerless. Ward councillors will feel the bite from their constituents and there may need to be a greater measure of power and control."
Best known as a comedian, but also a Waitakere city councillor and mayoral candidate at the last election, Ewen Gilmour says the council needs a good costing programme to deal with the city's debt. "I would like to know what the debt is now and what it will be in three years time and how much it's gone up."
He sees Auckland as a template for local government changes around the rest of the country. "Wellington will be the next to get the treatment ... the only problem will be implementing it in Napier and Hastings because they just don't get on."
Business and economic commentator Rod Oram foresees the big nightmare as rates. "We're jogging along with an existing rating system and at some point the council will have to make a big decision about the design of the new rating system. Those decisions will annoy everyone."
The Government should have found a new way to fund the city and move on from the old "hotch-potch" of a rates-based economy. "So much political goodwill, anguish, time and effort will be spent moving people on to the new system."
Massey University local government expert Andy Asquith says there will be "runs on the scoreboard" fairly quickly. "It's important for the council to show you and I it can deliver."
AUT Institute of Public Policy director David Wilson believes the role and function of regional government in Auckland - and New Zealand in general - need to be reviewed.
"There's promising signs coming from Labour, Greens and the Maori Party that they'd grapple with more complex issues. Once the flaws become apparent, we'll address them incrementally."
He predicts that in the next two years, Mayor Len Brown will create the 30-year Auckland Plan but have huge difficulty implementing it.
Adjunct professor at the Auckland University School of Business Mai Chen says Auckland's experience will have a significant impact on the rest of New Zealand, particularly in Canterbury as it rebuit after the earthquakes.
During the next two years there would be a bedding down of the new Auckland Council, including the implementation of the Auckland Plan, which was currently in draft and open for public consultation.
"As the transition progresses, we will also see a refinement of the Supercity model, which may result in further changes to legislation," says Dr Chen.
An Internal Affairs Department review of local government had noted the relationship between local authorities and central government was not clear.
"It may be that consolidating local government into a single tier, as opposed to the extant two-tiered structure which includes both regional and territorial authorities, would create a clearer and more constructive interface between central and local government," she says.
However Dr Chen says the Rugby World Cup experience had shown the tensions in the relationship can still flare under a unitary local government model.
The Auckland Council's first annual plan outlines a variety of important services and activities that will be undertaken across the region, including $783 million of major capital works such as the establishment of a Built Heritage Protection Fund, continued development of the Hobsonville-Westgate area, North Wharf and Wynyard Quarter.
THE AGENDA
Next 12 months
Twenty-one Local Board plans will be released at the end of November. They are the first plans to be produced and have been developed with the input of Aucklanders. They are the local boards' mandate for representing the views of their community during the next three years. The plans feed into other key Auckland Council plans, such as the Auckland Plan and the 2010-22 Long-term Plan.
Next 3 years
A range of local priorities are covered in the new plans, including local events and heritage, improving town centres, improving community facilities and responding to population growth.
The plans will be available online and in service centres, libraries and local board offices from late November.
Next 10 years
The council's Long-Term Plan is a 10-year strategic document outlining planned activities, services and priority projects delivered from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2022 and - importantly - how the council intends to pay for them.