Seeds of a pleasant revolt

Matakana bar owner Daniel Baturic declared the area a recession-free zone. Photo / Doug Sherring

When the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance announced its super city proposal last week, the loudest voices of dissent were raised in the far north of the Auckland region, in Rodney District.

Up there in Orewa, Warkworth and - 85km north of Queen St - the rural town of Wellsford, the idea of suddenly being Jafas did not go down well.

There is even a hint of revolution in the air, with Rodney's political leaders considering breaking away from the city. "We have talked about that," says district mayor Penny Webster. "Maybe becoming a unitary authority or something like that. We are looking at our options."

The border posts are not about to be erected outside Albany just yet, but feelings are running high.

There is no denying Rodney is different from Auckland. With its 1400km of coastline, both west and east, countless beaches, vineyards, farms, forests and lifestyle blocks, the district is, quite simply, one of the most desirable places to live in the world.

Some might say it has everything good about the city, without the problems of overcrowding and pollution, and the high crime areas of south and west Auckland.

Not only is it desirable, it's also rich. Once a rural backwater of farms and holiday homes, it is now rated the fifth most affluent place in the country, according to Stephen Hart's TopSpots report.

It also boasts the highest proportion of chief executives, company general managers and legislators in its population (5.3 per cent) of any place in New Zealand. At the beginning of the year, Rodney's median house price was $485,000 compared to the national figure of $325,000, and bucked trends by rising between December and January.

In a 2007 national Quality of Life survey, Rodney residents topped the country for happiness and contentment and rated highly in health, emotional wellbeing, satisfaction and lack of stress.

No wonder people have been moving there in droves. Population growth of 3 per cent a year between 1997 and 2007 far outstripped the national average of 1.2 per cent, making it the second-fastest growing area, behind Tauranga.

The district now has more than 90,000 people and the population is expected to rise to 102,000 by 2016.

Employment has grown by 3.7 per cent a year compared to 2.4 per cent nationally. The recession has slowed house sales, but non-residential consents soared 12 per cent in the year to last April.

While the median house price might be just under $500,000, large numbers of homes in Rodney are valued in the millions.

Anyone viewing the luxury holiday "baches" of Omaha, the thriving marina at Gulf Harbour or the many palatial lifestyle properties and olive groves around Kumeu, Kaukapakapa, Wainui or Matakana would be hard-pressed to believe there was a recession.

So, how did it happen? One obvious answer is Rodney's proximity to Auckland. The city is such a powerhouse, pushing its hinterland ever further north, that growth in Rodney has been inevitable.

More than half of Whangaparaoa's workforce commutes outside the district and the Northern Gateway toll road will doubtless convince many more chief executives and lawyers that they can have their cake and eat it too.

"There are some people who don't want to live in central Auckland," says Webster.

"They want the lifestyle and green spaces and a horse, or whatever. When we get the four-lane road up to Wellsford, as the Government has promised, it will open up even more."

That lifestyle factor is the other secret to Rodney's success. Matakana, nestled in the middle of the country's trendiest new wine-producing region, is that dream incarnate.

Once a blink-and-you'll-miss-it village on the road to Omaha and Pakiri, Matakana is now a destination, famous for its farmers' market, cinema and shopping.

Matakana bar owner Daniel Baturic erected a sign announcing the village was a "Recession-free Zone". "There was so much doom and gloom around, I just wanted to cheer people up," he said.

The sign may have been a self-fulfilling prophecy though. Baturic says he's just enjoyed his best trading year ever.

The real estate market is also showing signs of resurgence. Mark Macky from Bayleys North of Auckland says the company's five offices in Rodney have just enjoyed their busiest four weeks in the past 18 months. Several $1 million-plus sales were concluded in the past week.

Macky says prices are down 20 per cent and, with the new road making access to Rodney even easier, buyers are searching for good deals.

But the man behind the rebirth of Matakana, developer and winemaker Richard Didsbury, reckons it would be "dangerous" for Rodney to imagine it is immune to the recession.

There have already been high-profile collapses of housing developments and last month more than 100 workers were laid off at Irwin Industrial Tools in Wellsford.

However, Didsbury believes the predominance of small owner/operator businesses means they are able to reposition more easily. He says, despite being the "playground" of Auckland, Rodney is built on more solid foundations than in the past.

"Ten or 20 years ago somewhere like Snells Beach was holiday-based. Now they're building a new primary school. There's an idea that Rodney is all Omaha, a mental image of Omaha with its fancy cars and multi-million-dollar houses.

"But that's a small part of it. The rural towns are solid rural towns. We all use the Warehouse. There's more of a perception of elitism than it being a reality."

Didsbury says there is no question Rodney's success is linked to its proximity to Auckland - "the magic one-hour" drive. He's not opposed to the super city proposal, believing it might be beneficial for his district, which covers some 2500sq km, with relatively few ratepayers to prop up its widespread infrastructure.

"From a funding perspective, I could say there is a benefit."

Webster also believes Rodney is well-placed to ride out the recession, but she is concerned about the prospect of being subsumed by the super city. "We are not metro," she insists.

"Even in Orewa or Whangaparaoa they don't think of themselves as Aucklanders. We are going to end up with a council which is allowed to look after dogs and parks and that's it. The way it's being proposed is, basically, they are relegating us to a rural backwater."

Which would probably suit some long-time Rodney residents down to the ground. For others, it's enough to make them choke on their merlot franc malbec.