PSA MEDIA RELEASE
May 22, 2009
For Immediate Use

PSA seeks meeting with Auckland Akld transition agency

The Public Service Association wants to meet the Auckland Governance Transition Agency that will establish Auckland’s new ‘super city.’

The government has this afternoon announced the members of the transition agency created under legislation rammed through Parliament under urgency last weekend.

Mark Ford will be executive chair of the agency that also includes Miriam Dean, John Waller, John Law and Wayne Walden. They will oversee the restructuring of Auckland's existing city, district and regional councils into a single super council by October 31 next year.

“We want to meet the transition agency as soon as possible,” says PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff.

“That’s because it appears they’re responsible for deciding what happens to 6800 local government workers who provide essential services to 1.4 million Aucklanders.”

“Auckland Mayor John Banks has talked about 2700 of these workers losing their jobs in the transition to the ‘super city’.”

“He then tried to back away from his statement on Radio Live, that 40% of Auckland’s local government workers could lose their jobs in the move to the ‘super city’, but it sounded like he was giving a considered opinion on the issue.”

“We’re talking about 2700 hardworking New Zealanders with families having their jobs cut during a recession.”

“We’re talking about a massive loss of skilled and experienced workers who provide essential services like clean water, waste and rubbish removal, roading, parks and pools, recreation centres and libraries to 1.4 million Aucklanders.”

“The loss of skilled and experienced workers on this scale puts the delivery of these services at risk,” says Richard Wagstaff.

This is why the PSA has consistently supported the Royal Commission recommendation that Auckland’s local government workforce be retained during the transition to the new council structure.

The Royal Commission made this recommendation because it recognised the need to ensure there was “business as usual” for Aucklanders during the transition to the single Auckland council.

The government and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide rejected the recommendation.

“Their instruction to the transition agency is to rationalise staff at existing councils as part of the transition to the ‘super city’ with the work to be completed by October 31 next year,” says Richard Wagstaff.

“We want to meet with the transition agency and ensure that it’s aware of the need to retain Auckland’s local government workforce to ensure Aucklanders continue to receive the essential services that they provide,” says Richard Wagstaff.

ENDS

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