Sir Barry Curtis: Three cities better than one monster

I am disappointed that many people, including the media, have jumped to the conclusion that one "super city" is the solution for the Auckland region's woes.

I believe it would be a disaster. Change is needed but there is much about the current system which is successful and should be kept.

Under one large city with just one council, there would be a tragic loss of democratic representation and a dangerous accumulation of power. The council could easily come under the control of a single group with a very narrow agenda.

We do need more efficiency and unity in decision-making on regional issues, and faster transport improvements.

But we can get that without creating a monster. A super-city council would effectively be a monopoly supplier of its services and there would inevitably be a loss of democratic representation by areas such as Mangere and Henderson, which have a unique character and perspective.

The past record of having one large organisation responsible for everything in the region was disastrous.

Take health services, for example. Under the former Auckland Hospital Board, health service funding was poorly distributed and areas such as Waitakere and Manukau were treated shabbily. The lion's share of spending went on centralised services in Auckland City.

A far better alternative is three cities, each representing and reflecting the natural geographic communities of the region.

Here is how a three-city structure could work.

The existing seven city councils, with the ARC, would be disestablished, and three new ones formed.

The region is naturally divided into three areas which represent clearly different geographic communities, each with their own character. So there should be a northern city, a central/western and a south/eastern city.

The northern city would include the existing North Shore City, plus Rodney and the northern part of Waitakere City. It would be known as North Shore City. The central city would be made up of the existing Auckland City plus southern parts of Waitakere City, and keep the name Auckland City.

It would not include Otahuhu which is more suited to be part of a southern city. This city would take in the existing Manukau, plus Papakura and Franklin, which, like Rodney, are too small to be sustainable in the long term. Its name would be Counties Manukau City.

The existing ARC does not work well with other councils in the region and in many ways is a handicap to development.

So the ARC would be disestablished and its functions handed to other regional bodies which greater capacity for making strategic advances. There is nothing to be gained by retaining the ARC.

There would be three mayors, all of whom would also make up an overarching board with responsibility for regional initiatives.

One of the mayors would also be a Lord Mayor to represent and speak for the whole region.

The board would direct strategies in areas such as transport planning, environmental monitoring, parks and regional assets and programmes. This would remove rivalries and clashes which are holding the region back.

The board would oversee cross-boundary regional organisations with shared responsibility for services including regulation, in order to get more consistency than we have now.

Regional parks would be operated by a trust, funded by the three councils.

Shared services would become the norm, including library services, IT, rating systems, and planning of economic development and transport. There are great savings and cost reductions to be made in sharing of services as there is a lot of duplication now.

However, the three councils would have different planning policies, to maintain healthy competitive tension, and indeed rivalry.

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) would retain responsibility for public transport.

There is no need to change ownership of Watercare. It would continue as a stand-alone business because it is efficient and effective. Similar organisations would be created and operated as stand-alone businesses on a corporate model, controlled and owned by the councils.

Each city would retain wards with a community board in each.

The three-zone model already exists. The police, health boards and many sporting groups already have their areas of responsibility divided on those lines.

For example, there are three police districts, Counties Manukau, Auckland City and North Shore-Waitakere.

The three councils would be big enough to generate adequate funding through rates but close enough to their communities to keep strong democratic representation.

In Manukau we take great pride in the variety of community input into decision-making from areas such as Otara and Howick, which are unique and proud of it. The same goes for communities such as Oratia and Remuera.

I fear local input would be lost under a single city, particularly one likely to be dominated by central Auckland residents and influences to the detriment of other areas away from the centre, which will be neglected.

It's true that the rest of New Zealand so often gets the impression that Auckland can't work together. However, the solution is not to create one mega-city, as I believe that would only create one mega social disaster.

* Sir Barry Curtis is Mayor of Manukau City.