Key stays silent on Rodney carve-up

The Government is resisting calls to explain what is happening to a plan to split Auckland's coastal playground from the Super City amid growing concerns from its own supporters.

Prime Minister John Key and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide fobbed off calls in Parliament yesterday to explain a Cabinet decision to split Rodney District, putting northern parts of it - including weekend and holiday spots such as Warkworth and Omaha - into Kaipara District.

Mr Key, who has a holiday home at Omaha, and Mr Hide are refusing to give details before the Auckland governance select committee reports back to Parliament on September 4.

Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee has led a "fight for every square inch" of north Rodney to stay in the Super City and the plan has been opposed by Rodney Mayor Penny Webster and Kaipara Mayor Neil Tiller.

Federated Farmers joined the debate yesterday, when Auckland provincial president Philip York said keeping Auckland together was vital to the viability of farming in the region.

"Any proposal to merge the Rodney and Franklin districts with the Kaipara and Waikato districts respectively is seriously flawed.

"The federation has thoroughly gauged the views of farmers in both areas and an overwhelming number want to be part of Auckland. It is not until you travel as far as Wellsford or Glen Murray that there is any real desire to be excluded from the Auckland Council," Mr York said.

On the southern side of the proposed Super City, the Government is expected to break up Franklin District, putting its northern half in Auckland and the southern half in Waikato.

Mr York said the Auckland Regional Council spent more than half the total budget of the Northland Regional Council in Rodney alone on transport, waterways management, pest control and other things.

"There's no way the Northland Regional Council would be able to afford to keep up the same level of service without a huge increase in rates," Mr York said.

Mr Lee said it would be an enormous injustice for Auckland to lose seven regional parks in north Rodney and peculiar for them to be Auckland regional parks in Northland.

Two councillors from north Rodney - Dr Grahame Powell, of Wellsford, and David Parker, of Warkworth - expressed alarm at the prospect of joining Kaipara.

Dr Powell said the district plans and planning rules were poles apart, and Mr Parker said it would be a step backwards for progressive communities such as Warkworth, Omaha and Matakana.

But Kaipara councillor and farmer Bill Guest said he could see only benefits from merging Kaipara with north Rodney.

"By getting the rural areas of Auckland into Northland you have people with the same interests, people with the same problems and you are not compromised by a big urban metropolis that has no bloody understanding of the needs of rural people."