Auckland Local Governance Structure To Change
In response to a report of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance in April 2009, the Government announced its plans to replace the existing eight local authorities in Auckland with one new unitary authority - the Auckland Council.
The new Auckland Council will be established on the 1 November 2010, replacing the existing eight local authorities in Auckland; Auckland Regional Council, Auckland City Council, Manukau City Council, North Shore City Council, Papakura District Council, Rodney District Council, Waitakere City Council, Franklin District Council and any associated community boards.
New Auckland Council Structure
The Auckland Council governance structure will consist of
- One elected mayor
- 13 wards, with 20 elected councillors
- 21 local boards, with members elected by local board areas
For more information on the Auckland Council and its structure, please visit www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Auckland Council Wards
Auckland has been split into 13 areas called wards, which are used for council elections. Because each ward may vary in population, the number of councillors who will represent the people within that ward will vary, to ensure there is fair representation in each ward.
Auckland Council Local Boards
Twenty-one local boards will be established to enable local representatives to be elected to make decisions on local matters and building strong local communities.
Local boards will have a significant and wide-ranging role; they will make decisions on local matters, provide local leadership and build strong local communities.
The areas for local boards have been established on the same principles as those used for the wards, with communities of interest, local service delivery and the ratio of elected members to population taken into account.
Auckland Council 2010 Election
Elections for the Auckland Council will be conducted by postal vote. Voting packs, containing voting documents and information about candidates will be sent out in mid September to those people whose names appear on the Final Electoral Role.
Voting will close at 12pm on Saturday 9 October.
For more information on the candidates and the election process for the Auckland Council, please visit www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Transitioning To The New Auckland Council
The Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) was established by the government to manage the transition from eight local authorities to one.
By October 2010, the major work of the transition will be completed in time for the local body elections. The new Auckland Council will operate from November 2010 with the interim Chief Executive, Doug McKay who was appointed by the ATA.
When the Auckland Council is established the ATA will be disestablished. For more information on the ATA visit www.ata.govt.nz
Future service delivery in Rodney
The ATA has now agreed on a number of issues relating to service delivery for the Auckland Council. In Rodney, services will continue to be provided in Orewa, Warkworth, Huapai and Helensville. For further information, see the March 2010 issue of the ATA Transition Times.
Background Information
The new local governance structure for Auckland was established by three different bills:
The Rodney District Council drafted a local bill to exclude Rodney District from the new Auckland Council, following feedback from residents. Unfortunately this was not passed in Parliament and Rodney District will become part of the new Auckland Council.
For general information about Auckland Governance please visit www.auckland.govt.nz.