KEY POINTS:
Two Mayors put aside a neighbours' spat yesterday to "sing from the same hymn sheet" when their territories come under scrutiny by local government reformers.
Waitakere's Bob Harvey and North Shore's Andrew Williams called a press conference to announce that their respective councils would put in similar submissions on reform to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance.
They said their councils rejected any notion of a super city, desired a more streamlined and accountable regional body and demanded theircities be allowed to continue as unique communities with distinctive cultures and local decision making.
Their united front in the face of the inquiry comes just weeks after they were eyeballing each other across a room, with Mr Williams saying his council was pulling out of a company formed to promote an airport at Whenuapai and Mr Harvey saying that would be impossible under the shareholders' agreement.
Yesterday, Mr Williams said he and Mr Harvey had "agreed to disagree" about that and in a two-hour conversation the day before, Whenuapai had not come up.
Mr Harvey said: "We're joined at the hips ... it's like Siamese twins fighting. Whenuapai is so far down the track. It's 10 years away."
Mr Williams said: "This [the commission's inquiry] is here and now and what's going to impact in the next two or three years on North Shore."
Yesterday, North Shore councillors shaped their submission and this morning their Waitakere counterparts will add final touches to theirs in order to make the Tuesday deadline forpublic submissions to the commission.
Mr Williams said his council was "gratefully impressed" that after separate public consultation processes and debates by the councils, therewas "huge uniformity and agreement in where the councils want tohead".
"We are singing from the same hymn sheet and there's excellent regional co-operation going on."
Mr Harvey said: "We both think the regional government needs to be grunted up but the cities' culturse need to be acknowledged. Both cities have important cultures that need to be kept.
"That's always been the problem - Auckland lacks a culture. Queen St is not a culture. Who else has the culture of the Westies?"
Mr Williams said both cities had a clear area of interest. Central Auckland had a more transient population but Waitakere and North Shore had long-term residents.
"They have grown up to be Shore or Westie people."
North Shore is content to stay within its present territory if there is a carve up of local councils' boundaries.
However, Mr Harvey offered people to the north and south of his city the chance to be Westies too.
"Waitakere would be happy to take the western side of Rodney District .
"It's a unique opportunity for Rodney to quit a difficult area for them as they focus on the eastern seaboard.
"It's way on the west coast, has few people, a couple of gannet colonies, a fire station ... and those wineries. It fits with Waitakere City."
Asked to comment last night, Rodney Mayor Penny Webster said: "I'm a bit speechless. Well, we could take Westgate in Waitakere, with all those issues about metropolitan boundaries and sort them out for Bob, if he wants.
"Those boys are playing games."
Mrs Webster said Mr Harvey's comments would make for an interesting meeting this morning when she was due to tell Waitakere councillors Rodney council's ideas for reform.
