Transport forum agrees on one thing - city's a mess

By BERNARD ORSMAN

A forum at Premier House, the Prime Minister's private residence in Wellington, has failed to find a quick fix to the governance crisis facing Auckland transport.

The crisis is felt daily by commuters, sick and tired of trains being late, overcrowded buses and duck-shoving by politicians and bureaucrats.

Local Government Minister Chris Carter, who chaired the all-day forum between ministers and Auckland local body leaders, said everyone agreed that Auckland's transport governance was a mess.

Prime Minister Helen Clark displayed a diagram showing the complex lines of communication among Auckland's seven councils, the Auckland Regional Council and other public organisations with a finger in the transport pie. Her message was that everyone had to work together to find a lasting solution.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen and Transport Minister Paul Swain promised action but when it came to canvassing options on Auckland transport governance being drawn up by officials, nothing was provided to the mayors, their deputies and council chief executives.

Ministers are due to discuss the matter further with the councils in Auckland at the end of the month and again in mid-December.

Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis told the forum that the answer was a new Auckland transport authority.

"The Auckland region is suffering because of a lack of concerted and focused leadership in transport, a lack of integrated planning and fragmented funding," Sir Barry said.

He had an open mind about having a stand-alone transport authority taking over the ARC's transport duties or alongside the ARC.

Auckland City Mayor John Banks said he fully supported Sir Barry's call for a Greater Auckland transport authority.

"It can't be business as usual."

As well as discussing the transport governance crisis, Dr Cullen and Mr Swain updated the mayors on alternative ways of funding roading and public transport projects in Auckland.

The forum, attended on and off by 10 ministers, discussed ways of reducing crime and drugs, the chances of pushing out consultation deadlines for the new Gambling Act and issues to do with sustainable cities and the Local Government Act.

Mr Carter said the North Shore and Waitakere councils also expressed a desire to open migration centres after the success of centres at Three Kings and Manukau.

Mr Carter and Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel promised to look at ways of funding more migration centres in Auckland.