The Titirangi Residents and Ratepayers Association welcomes the review of Council Controlled Organisations launched by Auckland Council and considers it long overdue.

The Association has this week sent a letter of complaint to the the Auditor General regarding Panuku’s (at the time Auckland Council Properties Limited) behaviour regarding the sale of public land to a private individual in Titirangi village in 2015.

“The CCOs are and always have been out of control” says TRRA Chair Dr Mels Barton. “They are not accountable to anyone, least of all the public who provide the enormous budgets that they spend with impunity on projects that no one has any ability to influence or prioritise.”

“This incident in Titirangi clearly shows the blatant disregard for any democratic oversight of decisions involving public land and public money that directly benefited a private individual rather than the community. We believe that is totally inappropriate and is a perfect example of why these organisations need to be held to account and the way in which they operate in future radically changed.”

The Association encourages the public and community groups to engage directly with the CCO review that has just been announced and let the independent panel know their thoughts on current CCOs and how this work could and should be managed in future. Feedback is being collected until 22 March on Auckland Council's Have your Say website.

© Scoop Media