Submission Guide for the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill

Submission guide

Authors: Sue Bradford MP, Sue Kedgley MP

Tag: Local Government

The date for sending in a submission on this issue has passed.

The Government is moving fast to scrap the current Auckland councils and impose its Super City structure on our communities. You only have until Friday 26 June 2009 to have your say.

We recommend you make the following points:

Say you OPPOSE the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill and that you:

• Oppose the concentrated power of the Mayor and the executive in the Auckland Council

• Want increased powers for local boards- turning them into Local Councils with real resources and significant powers;

• Want Councillors to be elected from multi member wards, rather than at large and for Councillors to be elected by proportional representation;

• Want at least three Maori seats on the Council;

• Want public assets to remain in public ownership.

Submission format

Just write your submission as a letter including:

1. Your name, address, daytime phone number and email address

2. State that you WISH TO APPEAR before the select committee to speak to your submission - you can always decline later.

3. Give an indication of who you represent (e.g. landowner, business owner, community group member, yourself or your family, etc). If you represent a group, outline its purpose and how many members it has.

4. Clearly state your OPPOSITION to the Bill.

5. Outline your key concerns about the Bill clearly and concisely, using examples if possible. The committee requests that submissions address specifically the matters raised in the bill, as it will not be considering any other issues.

Submissions can either be emailed to AGL [at] parliament [dot] govt [dot] nz or mailed in paper form. Two copies are required of submissions sent in paper form.

Committee Secretariat
Auckland Governance Legislation Committee
Parliament House
Wellington

Phone: +64 4 817 8090
Fax: +64 4 499 0486

If you send your submission via email please do not also send paper copies.

Your submission must be received by the Local Government and Environment Committee by Friday 26 June 2009.

If you'd like help with writing, copying or submitting, please contact:

Karen 09 302 0166 karen [dot] davis [at] parliament [dot] govt [dot] nz
or
Ivan 09 303 0172 ivan [dot] sowry [at] parliament [dot] govt [dot] nz

If this is your first time making a submission to a select committee this official guide will help: Making a Submission to a Parliamentary Select Committee (167kb PDF)

Important details

Your submission can be as short or long as you like, but it is more effective if you write it yourself, rather than just sending in a form submission. If your submission is long, include a summary at the beginning, number the paragraphs, and attach any supporting evidence as appendices.

Details we recommend you cover:

It is not a requirement but it is easier if you submit on specific clauses within the Bill, as the Select Committee's job is to amend the legislation based on submissions.

Clause 8

Clause 8 creates a council with twelve single member wards and eight at-large councillors.

We recommend:

• All Councillors should be elected from Wards, none at-large. Auckland is such a huge city, that people would have to be wealthy or famous to be able to campaign effectively and get themselves elected to the Auckland Council as 'at large' Councillors.

• Mayor, City Councillors and Local Councillors should be elected by the more democratic Single Transferable Vote (STV) system in multi-councillor wards to ensure proportional and democratic representation, as well as better representation of ethnic groups and minorities. If Council elections are held by first past the post, then it is very likely that the Mayor and many Councillors would be elected by a minority of Aucklanders. Given the enormous powers of the Mayor, outlined in the bill, this could mean that a Mayor elected by a minority of Aucklanders is nevertheless able to force their agenda on Auckland.

• The number of Councillors should be increased for fairer representation. Twenty Councillors cannot properly represent 1.4 million Aucklanders. If the Auckland Council has just twenty Councillors on it, Councillors will have even larger electorates than MPs currently have.

• There should be a minimum of three Maori seats on the Auckland Council, as recommended by the Royal Commission.

Clause 9

Clause 9 outlines the proposed powers of the Auckland Mayor, which would be far more extensive than any existing New Zealand Mayor.

We recommend:

• The Deputy Mayor and all Chairs should be appointed by the Council, not the Mayor, as proposed in the Bill. We oppose the idea that the Mayor is able to appoint all his/her chairs. If the Mayor were able to do that, (s)he would be able to control the Council and push an agenda through, without proper debate and scrutiny. We believe the Auckland Mayor should have the same powers as all other Mayors in New Zealand.

Clauses 10-17 Local Boards

Clause 10 creates a very limited concept of a Local Board.

We recommend:

• There should be 20-30 Local Councils, with boundaries based on communities of interest and geographical identity.  

• Services should be planned, funded and delivered locally wherever possible. Only those activities that must be governed at regional level should be.

Clause 11 states that the Local Boards have no real basis in law.

We recommend:

• Local Boards should be recognised in statute as legitimate local authorities, with all the legal rights and responsibilities this entails. (See clause 14) Local Boards should have a clearly defined roles and powers in the Local Government Act 2002 and other statutes. (see clause 13)

Clause 12 outlines the election of Local Board members

We recommend:

• Local Board members, like the Auckland Councillors, should be elected by the more democratic Single Transferable Vote (STV) system in multi-councillor wards to ensure proportional and democratic representation, as well as better representation of ethnic groups and minorities.

Clause 13 outlines the limited powers of Local Boards

We recommend

• Local Boards should have clearly defined roles and representation in the development of all regional strategies, including:

  • Auckland's Regional Growth Strategy as outlined in Section 37SG of the Local Government Act 1974 No66;

  • Auckland's Regional Land Transport Strategy as outlined in Schedule 7 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003;

  • Any Auckland Regional Policy Statement as outlined in Clause 62 of the Resource Management Act 1991;

  • Any Auckland Regional Policy Statement as outlined in Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991.

• Local Boards should have the ability to deliver local services and to set their own budgets, within a funding cap agreed with the Auckland Council.

• Local Boards should collectively vote on any Auckland Council proposal to: make a rate, pass a bylaw, adopt an Annual Plan or Long Term Community Council Plan (LTCCP), and purchase or dispose of assets if such a proposal is not included in the LTCCP. 

Clause 14 states that Local Boards cannot have a code of conduct or delegate any local authority powers. (Because they are not considered a real local authority.)

We recommend:

• Clause 14 should be deleted completely and Local Boards should be recognised in statute as legitimate local authorities, with all the legal rights and responsibilities this entails.

Clause 15 states how Local Boards may delegate their limited authority, which includes provisions to completely subcontract all their responsibilities.

We recommend:

• Subclauses 15(4), 15(5) and 15(6) should be deleted completely, as they allow elected Local Board members to completely subcontract all their responsibilities to individuals or corporations.

• Subclauses 15(1-3) need to be re-written if real powers are to be given to the Local Boards

Clauses 16 & 17 assume that Local Boards have no budget and are not real local authorities. They would need to be amended in order for our other recommendations to take affect.

Keeping public assets in public hands

Part 4 clause 30A outlines how Auckland's water services will be integrated.

We recommend:

• Auckland's water and wastewater infrastructure remains in public ownership.

• Dividends from WaterCare are reinvested in its infrastructure or returned to ratepayers. They are not to be used to pay for the amalgamation or added to the general funds.

• Progressively priced block tariffs should be progressively rolled out to water consumers across the Auckland Region, as recommended by the Royal Commission.

Concepts not covered within the Bill, which could be added to it:

Public assets should remain in public ownership. No asset should be sold without an absolute two-thirds majority vote of Auckland Council and the Local Council(s) affected, and then only after a formal consultation process with Aucklanders.

Dividends should not be paid on any essential public assets -any excess should be re-invested in public assets or returned to the relevant ratepayers, not added to general funds.

A fully integrated transport should be maintained under the full control of the Auckland Council; Council should own and manage all the relevant assets.

Sustainability should be at the core of Auckland Council

Sustainability must be at the heart of the long term vision for Auckland-a city where there is a strong, healthy, safe and just society, living within environmental limits.

Democracy and open government

It is a fundamental right of democratic governance that any change to a system of governance should be agreed by the majority of those governed.

Aucklanders were not consulted on whether they wanted to abolish their eight existing democratically elected Councils. Nor were they given an opportunity to vote on whether or not they supported the proposed reorganisation despite this being required under Schedule 3 of the Local Government Act 2002.