Auckland City Council has learned valuable lessons from the inquiry of the Office of the Auditor General into the Gulf, says Mayor Chris Fletcher.

“The report is fair, and we accept its findings. This is a large organisation, and it has to be open to learning. The report has been specific about the ways in which Auckland City Council needs to get it right; that’s very helpful, and we are taking it seriously,” Mrs Fletcher said.

“The Auditor General recognised the Gulf as a unique environment and, all things considered, felt we have done a pretty good job. The report found nothing that resembled Owen Jennings’ allegations. Instead, we were pleased to see the Auditor General’s office has been satisfied, by and large, with the processes in place to meet our statutory role under the Resource Management Act.”

Commenting on the areas where the Auditor General’s office provided constructive comment, she said that as Mayor, she admitted to being a bit disappointed that the City fell down on its obligations to train staff and closely monitor them, in some cases.

“I’m told this has been rectified and I’ll be very interested to make sure that it has,” she said.

“Interestingly, the report acknowledges implicitly that Auckland City Council has a great deal of rural land, and environmentally important land, under its guidance in the Gulf. The issues we face in this area are similar to those faced by many other rural councils when protecting important environments - the “natural tension” referred to in the report is only to be expected.”

For more information please contact:
Stephen Rainbow, Public Affairs and Advocacy, Auckland City telephone 3077374.
Scott McMurray, Mayoral Communications, Auckland City telephone 3077581.

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