Protecting communities and local representation drives boundary submission says Mayor Andrew Williams

Protecting the Shore’s established communities and retaining local representation to give people stability and continuity into the new Auckland Council arrangements are the goals of the North Shore City Council submission to the Local Government Commission, North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said today.

“North Shore people have made it clear to council and community board members alike that keeping strong local representation and a sense of local identity, and maintaining good quality local services, are the top priorities when it comes to setting the boundaries for the new council wards and local boards under the ‘super city’,” Mayor Williams said.

“The North Shore City Council has prepared its submission with the objective of leaving the best legacy possible for the North Shore and wider Auckland community in the new structure.”

Mayor Andrew Williams said the Council recognises that the Local Government Commission will be making its decisions based on the area that comprises the new Auckland ‘super city’ region, not just what suits the North Shore . As a result, the Council has factored into its proposal the area that currently constitutes ‘urban Rodney’, as the representative arrangements for rural Rodney have already been set by the government in legislation.

“Councillors and community board members met with the Local Government Commission earlier this month and were told by the Commission that the main considerations they take into account relate to distinguishable communities of interest, that is, where people believe their communities fit within the new arrangements, including factors such as where people shop, where their children go to school, where their local facilities such as libraries and parks are located, and where they go to work,” Mayor Andrew Williams said.

“Ultimately, the Council recognised that what is most important is keeping existing defined local communities of interest together, rather than carving them up to fit in with a prescribed population formula. It also provides people with some much needed familiarity and stability in a time of enormous change.”

“The Council has presented three possible scenarios for consideration by the Commission, based on the broad consensus reached among councillors and community board members, having considered seven variations. The first option is based on the current North Shore City ward boundaries and would provide three Auckland Council wards each with one elected Auckland Councillor, and six local boards. The other two options suggest either maintaining the rural area of North Shore , or moving this area into what would become the new urban Rodney ward, with one Auckland councillor and containing one local board.”

“The beauty of having one councillor elected from each ward is that it delivers direct accountability to voters, who will know their local representative is from their local area and is responsible for advocating for their community on the new Auckland Council. The great danger in multi-member wards is that the regional focus will take over, and local communities on the Shore will lose their voice at the top table.”

Mayor Andrew Williams said many of our current community boards have made their own independent submissions, some of which do not align perfectly with the Council position, because the community boards are, by nature, representatives of their own local area whereas the Council has to represent the best interests of North Shore city as a whole and factor in the wider ‘super city’ arrangements.

“The speed of the process, forced on us by government, means that the Council, community boards and other organisations have made their respective submissions before we have the full picture. For example, we do not yet know the legislated powers and functions of the local boards which will be dealt with in the third Auckland Governance Bill not due to be introduced into Parliament until November or December this year, around the same time as the draft boundaries are due out of the Local Government Commission,” Mayor Andrew Williams said.

“However, people will get a second opportunity to have a say on the draft boundaries between their publication by the Commission on 20 November and the closing of submissions on 11 December. The final decisions on the new boundaries are not due from the Commission until 1 March next year.”

Mayor Williams said the proposed Auckland Council wards contain around 70,000 people each, and the local boards range between 18,000 people in the Devonport Local Board area up to 47,000 people in the Takapuna Local Board area.

“The Local Government Commission has made it clear to us that although they have some flexibility in the size of local boards to take account of local communities of interest and place, for example Devonport, they will require the local board boundaries within each Auckland Council ward to align,” Mayor Williams said.

“Local communities can rest assured that there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge before the final boundaries are decided, and urges people to make their views heard loud and clear once the draft boundaries come out next month.”

Mayor Williams thanked his fellow councillors and the community board members for engaging with the boundary process and bringing the views of their local communities to the table, and thanked the many community groups and individuals who attended the recent NSCSS public meeting to discuss the boundary process.

ENDS

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