Eke Panuku, responsible for urban regeneration projects like what it has in mind for Northcote's town centre, has been abolished today.
Eke Panuku, responsible for urban regeneration projects like what it has in mind for Northcote's town centre, has been abolished today.
The curtain has come down today on Auckland Council’s urban regeneration body and the job begins bringing its functions and staff in-house.
Councillors today voted to abolish Eke Panuku, and to strip a second council-controlled organisation Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) of its economic development role inthe first round of Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s CCO reforms.
After talking with the tourism sector, the mayor has backpedalled on stripping TAU of major events and destination marketing roles.
Eke Panuku was established in 2015 to lead urban regeneration in Auckland, has a property management role, and manages Westhaven Marina, Viaduct Harbour, and Silo Park. The CCO has about 220 staff.
The changes are planned to come into effect in July next year. In the case of Eke Panuku, it could become a separate in-house unit and have an expert advisory panel but decisions like this will be made over the next few months.
Eke Panuku chief executive David Rankin supported the status quo, but councillors vote on scrapping the CCO.
The mayor’s biggest goal - “restoring democracy to Auckland Transport” - has the backing of Transport Minister Simeon Brown, and will take 18 months to repeal legislation for AT and bring its planning/strategy and policy functions in-house.
Brown said further tinkering with the CCO model will not cut it, saying since he announced his reforms last month he had only received feedback that Aucklanders want change “and we will give it to them”.
“Now is the chance to fix things and not to hide from tough decisions currently kept at arm’s length from democracy … I want Aucklanders to have a clear understanding of what we do, and why, and rebuild their trust and confidence by being accountable to them,” he said.
The mayor said he had heard concerns that urban design expertise doesn’t exist within the council, but this was the result of removing the urban design office.
“By bringing expertise in-house we can get rid of silos and the environment where problems are moved from one organisation to another.
“Ultimately this is about getting more from what we have and being smarter with ratepayer dollars,” Brown said.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown (left) and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown (right) plan a shake-up for the functions of Auckland Transport. The mayor has also pushed to abolish Eke Panuku.
Eke Panuku bosses and urban planning experts have warned losing an independent focus on urban regeneration comes with risks, including three-yearly political interference with long-term planning horizons.
In a letter to Brown this week, urban planner Ben Van Bruggen said: “We cannot afford mediocrity. Auckland needs a leading urban regeneration agency empowered to transform our city.”
Some councillors did not go along with Eke Panuku being a highly successful and effective body.
Councillor Mike Lee said the body was spending $10 million to fix the Viaduct Basin bridge that cost $2m to build, and involved in the sale of the Civic Administration Building and surrounding land for $3m, which was unsecured and unpaid.
Other councillors took a different view.
Councillor Chris Darby said the expunging of Eke Panuku is a sad day for Auckland, saying he seriously questioned the expectations that bringing it in-house will move the dial.
He said the CCO reform package in the mayoral proposal was ill-informed and padded out with rhetoric, not evidence, saying the assumption about a lift and shift in talent will be the reverse with staff leaving.
“The loss of people will lead to a loss of momentum and tired town centres remaining tired,” he said.
Councillor Lotu Fuli said Eke Panuku had worked successfully for Manukau. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Councillor Lotu Fuli said from her experience Eke Panuku had done an awesome job in her community of Manukau, and was also concerned about the paucity of evidence that bringing the body in-house would strengthen urban regeneration.
Councillor Josephine Bartley said she opposed the CCO model in 2009 and the joint council-Government Tāmaki Regeneration Company, but is now grateful it went ahead and achieved so much for her community of Maungakiekie-Tāmaki.
“It shows the benefit of arm’s length decision-making,” said Bartley, who voted against scrapping Eke Panuku.
Said Councillor Chris Fletcher: “Let’s get on with it. This could be a really good beginning for 2025.”
The mayor’s CCO reform package has the support of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB), chairman David Taipari told today’s meeting. IMSB members sit on council committees with voting rights but do not have voting rights at the governing body.
