“Auckland City could be the best there ever is or it could be the worst of times,” says Councillor Casey. With people voting for the first time in what will be a new model of local government, she says there has never been a more important election.
Four city councils, three district councils and one regional council will be replaced by a governing body and twenty-one local boards. Aucklanders will have until Saturday, Oct. 9, to choose a mayor, 20 councillors and District Health Boards.
Cr Casey is urging people to vote for Council members who are clear on how democracy has been ‘usurped’ by the super city and who will ensure that there is no block in the flow of information between the different levels of the new Council.
In low-income areas like Otara, Owairaka and Oranga people will struggle to be heard if they have to weed their way through the “hierarchy of linkages” from the local board, to the council and the mayor and if required, the Council Controlled Organisations. (CCO’s).
“If you elect a council that supports democracy and supports local boards, we will try and devolve as much delegation of authority as possible to the boards,” says the grass roots campaigner.
Business oriented, CCO’s have been set up to run 75 percent of council services including Watercare and Manukau Water and to develop Council Investments such as tourism.
Councillor Des Morrison, Citizens & Ratepayers candidate, is fighting to make sure that the needs of rural communities like Franklin ward where he has lived for 50 years, do not become overwhelmed by issues piling up in urban areas.
“It’s really taking the key principles of the district growth strategy and embedding them in work that has to be done on the regional basis.”
He has reservations about the new council. Deploring the lack of vision shown by some of the mayoral candidates, he warns the whole structure could implode if a huge effort isn’t put into getting it right.
Getting two crucial documents, the spatial plan and the LTCCP (long term council community plan), right and a very heavy hand monitoring the performance of the CCO’s are critical to achieving an effective organisation, he says.
The council has to retain absolute control over the CCO’s. “Over the initial three years ... there are going to be some very hard decisions taken to ensure the CCO’s are actually working for Council,” said Cr Morrison.
Rates could rise substantially if planning is not carried out well.
Mayoral candidate and businessman Colin Craig’s campaign is prioritising transparent government, a solution to the leaky homes fiasco and a point to point shuttle system to solve Auckland’s public transport miseries.
This is the biggest amalgamation in New Zealand’s history, he says, but rushing the transition in just 6 months has led to mistakes.
Citing the new $180 million council computer system that is behind, he says huge cost overruns are already happening and warns that people will pay higher rates if contracts and costs exceed predictions.
A firm believer in democratic processes and referenda, he says there should be an open tender process for big council contracts with the public being able to freely access information.
“To my mind they should have meetings in public, they should have to openly disclose all major contracts, the minutes of all major meetings and decision making (powers) should be given to council.”
Heritage Concerns
Concern for Auckland’s has heritage galvanised independent candidate Gary Russell, into running for office. Provisions set for the new Council have left historical societies, art groups and volunteers out in the cold.
When heritage buildings, the testimony of Auckland’s culture and its identity are being ignored, the ‘heart’ is being taken out of the city, says Mr Russell. As a member of Civic Trust Auckland he has been battling for 40 years to preserve the city’s historical legacy.
“We are Third World when it comes to looking after our social and cultural heritage.”
Two weeks into the three-week voting period, 24.8 percent of voting papers have been returned compared with 19.2 percent at the same stage of the voting period during the last election in 2007 says an Auckland City Council media release.
In total, there are 23 mayoral candidates, 102 council candidates and 420 local board candidates. In the Auckland Council, there will be one mayor, 20 councillors representing 13 wards, and 149 local board members representing 21 local board areas.
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