Tuesday, March 31, 2009
‘Super' city’ is not so super for local democracy

The royal commission proposal on Auckland governance has tackled only one half of the issue and ignores the issue of community representation, says local government specialist Dr Andy Asquith.

Dr Asquith, a lecturer in the Department of Management and International Business at the University's Albany campus, has followed the issue closely and was involved in submissions to the commission by the One Auckland Trust and others.

He warns that what has been recommended – a single, unitary council running the region, with six local councils implementing its decisions – will lead to a loss of democracy as councils become removed from the communities they represent.

“The creation of six local councils representing large populations will not result in organisations that are closely connected to their communities,” he says. “Under the current structure, community boards were created as an option specifically because the four cities and three districts were deemed to be too distant from actual communities.

“In effect the commissioners are totally disregarding this aspect of the current system, instead proposing a structure that is anything other than 'local' in nature. For instance, citizens in the proposed local council, Tāmaki-makau-rau, will have to relate to one local council, rather than the current structure of Auckland City Council, underpinned by a strong network of 10 community boards.

“The commissioners are, in effect, removing the word 'local' from local government in Auckland.”

As a trustee of the One Auckland Trust, Dr Asquith was heavily involved in not only their submission but also the submissions made by the Council for Infrastructure Development, the university staff union and the northern Employment and Manufacturers Association.

“All these submissions called for an approach to the Auckland question which brought together the essential nature of regional leadership with the underpinning support of localism – the need to provide an effective community voice for all Aucklanders,” he says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media