Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has fired a shot across the bow of Kaipara’s proposal to combine with North Rodney under local government restructuring plans.
Kaipara District Council (KDC) is backing a North Rodney Action Group proposal to combine with Auckland’s North Rodney in a new local government entity – and wants the Government to consider it.
Brown said KDC and the North Rodney Action Group should be careful what they wished for.
“We live in a democracy, so good luck to them.”
Kaipara Deputy Mayor Gordon Lambeth said the proposal provided another option for the Government to consider.
KDC is including the new Kaipara-North Rodney Unitary Authority proposal as part of its submission on local government restructuring, due to the Government by February 20.
North Rodney occupies about 30% of Auckland Council’s footprint.
Combining its 50,000 residents with Kaipara’s near 30,000 would create a new entity of about 80,000 people.
North Rodney Action Group chair Bill Foster, from Leigh near Warkworth, said that population was a good minimum size for a local government entity.
The proposed local government entity would dramatically wipe the current local government boundary between Northland and Auckland.
Brown did not comment on whether the entity should be part of Northland, Auckland or stand alone.
Neither did he comment when asked on how much difference it would make to Auckland if Rodney was no longer part of the Super City.
KDC’s call for the proposal to be considered comes in spite of the Government stipulating Auckland Super City, set up under its own legislation in 2010, is not part of its nationwide local government change plans.
Brown warned the new Kaipara-North Rodney entity would need a legislation change.
It would also inevitably require further investment “at a time when cost of living pressures and purse strings were tightening for government and ratepayers”.
“It also pays to remember that (Auckland’s) Watercare has invested $450 million to transform wastewater services in the Warkworth area, including the new Snell’s Beach wastewater treatment plant that will service Warkworth, and is designed for future population growth.
“This investment was only possible because Warkworth sits within Auckland Council boundaries,” Brown said.
“Good luck with getting that level of investment under a new unitary authority,” he said.
Brown said he backed the Government’s current major local government shake-up.
“It’s no secret I’ve been a long-time advocate for stopping wastage, so I get why the Government’s doing a major shake-up of local government to streamline, simplify and give ratepayers relief.”
Brown unsuccessfully pushed for Northland local government amalgamation when he was mayor of the Far North District Council (FNDC) from 2007 to 2013.
He did not comment when asked on how Northland’s local government restructuring should be set up under the latest reforms.
Brown’s 2012 amalgamation push kick-started what became a three-year process.
He wanted FNDC to become a stand-alone unitary authority combining the Far North’s district council functions and those of Northland Regional Council (NRC).
At the time, he said Northland local government was too fragmented and “Whangārei-centric”.
Brown sought his proposal rather than the creation of a single, giant Northland council.
But the Local Government Commission (LGC) rejected his call, saying it would have too much of a regional impact.
The commission instead proposed a single region-wide unitary authority as preferable.
This would abolish the Far North, Kaipara and Whangārei district councils with the Northland Regional Council.
The LGC’s draft Northland super-council proposal was released in 2013 for public consultation.
By 2015 the commission ruled the Northland super-council would not go ahead because of lack of support and concerns it could not be successfully completed.
Brown’s Far North mayoral call came two years after Auckland Council was formed as a stand-alone unitary authority by amalgamating eight councils – seven city and district councils plus Auckland Regional Council.
The 2010 Auckland Super City combined Rodney, Auckland, Franklin, Manukau, North Shore, Papakura and Waitākere local councils.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.