The report is expected to recommend a focus on stronger regional government for Auckland. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
The report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance, to be made public today, will recommend a focus on stronger regional government.
Several sources said the commission would recommend the Auckland region be governed by a beefed up regional council with six local councils underneath it.
Other sources
said the proposal was more complicated and councils would not continue in their current form.
"It's a model created for the vagaries of Auckland," one source said.
Last night, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide said one regional council/six local councils was not the recommendation. But he would not give any details until he issued a 42-page summary at 2pm today after briefing the region's mayors and chief executives on the report.
He said he had been working with Prime Minister John Key, other ministers and officials to assess the commission's recommendations.
The Herald understands the report has met with a mixed response from the Government. Some MPs are reported to be underwhelmed and described it as a bit of a shambles.
This could be why the Government has changed its mind about releasing the report with its response. It will be able to get public feedback before deciding how to respond to the recommendations of the commission.
The concept of a regional council with six councils underneath is not that different from the current one regional council, four city councils and three district councils.
There is a chance a beefed-up regional council will effectively become the single super city favoured by many of the 3537 parties who made submission to the commission, including the Auckland City Council, Auckland Regional Council, Committee for Auckland and business interests.
How the council structure below the regional council will pan out remains to be seen. It could be good news for the North Shore, Manukau and Waitakere councils which opposed a big break-up.
North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said he would be delighted to see a revamped Auckland Regional Council given more power and councils have some say around the regional table.
