A new Member’s bill that would reduce the number of local boards in Auckland from 21 to 15 would make local Government in Auckland more efficient, says National MP for Upper Harbour, Cameron Brewer.

“Last year, Auckland Council established a Joint Governance Working Group to explore options to reorganise local boards to improve efficiencies and better align governance structures.

“The working party’s ‘Local Board Reorganisation Plan – Next Steps’ report estimated that the potential efficiencies to be $6.9m per annum. Identified one-off costs associated with the reorganisation were estimated at $1.9m.

“In the end, despite significant potential savings for Auckland ratepayers, the proposal did not proceed to public consultation last year. Most councillors chose not to advance it, nor seek the support or views from Aucklanders.

“My Member’s bill would effectively align the number of local boards with the number of council wards. This would mean 13 local boards aligned with the 13 existing council wards. However, as the working party also proposed, the provision for two additional boards – one for Waiheke Island and one for Great Barrier Island, given their distinct characteristics and needs.

“The bill would amend section the Local Government Act to set a statutory cap on Auckland local board numbers at 15. However, this does not necessarily mean fewer local board members – currently at 149.

“This bill aligns with National’s aim to achieve greater efficiencies for taxpayers and ratepayers, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, while maintaining strong and effective local representation. It now just needs to get drawn from the ballot, so Aucklanders can have their say,” says Mr Brewer.

Read the bill here.

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