Discussion: Regarding Auckland
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With a clutch of hostile mayors, angry tangata whenua and a deadline of next year's local body elections, how will the making of a "super-city" fare? And for that matter -- how is Auckland in general?
318 Responses
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I've said it before, I'll say it again: nobody has even conclusively convinced me that Auckland exists yet. I've been at something called Auckland airport, but that proves nothing.
(As you were. You can only raise the level of the discussion from here.)
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And just why are you showing us all the bits that fall back into the sea when the next big quake hits? Am I missing a metaphor?
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Oh, sorry. I though this was just somewhere we could dump interesting links.
Are we supposed to talk seriously about Auckland now?
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Seriously, Auckland in general isn't - you can't generalise about Auckland even though everyone does. It's got specific bits. And they're all different from each other. I'm a westie - a very distinct breed.
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You do realise that whatever they do here is coming your way next, Don?
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Sue,
why have royal commissions spending 2.3 million of taxpayers money if the government ignores them
i found it really interesting listing to willie and jt on radio live yesterday. those guys werte really disheartened, JT even said he would have been happy for 3 elections worth of Maori seats with a sunset clause.
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Our Prime Minister has already told us that the consultation period is over. This thread must stop.
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Before we go further, I should clarify that I work with several of the Councils concerned and am currently a part-time employee of one of them. Nothing I say here is on behalf of any of them.
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You do realise that whatever they do here is coming your way next, Don?
Do your worst Auckland. Sling Banksie along. We can cope.
I am struggling to engage on the pros and cons of this topic anyway. Will it make Aucklanders more or less likely to continue whipping gift horses to death?
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I suspect Paul is right - this could be what will pass for consultation from now on. A straight to the point (westie) response about that:
Waitakere’s Deputy Mayor, Penny Hulse, says the model is not seen anywhere else in the world. “And there is a reason for that - it’s not going to work. Local councils have been reduced to talk-shops. They don’t have any funding - they are not masters of their own destiny. They can listen to their communities but they can’t do anything.”
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I am struggling to engage on the pros and cons of this topic anyway
I noticed... :)
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Sacha - would I need to move there to be a candidate?
If you nominate me I'll stand. I think Akl could do with a little homespun Wellington Wisdom.
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Whatever Auckland is, I like it a lot.
In all seriousness I've now visited and lived in a few cities, some famous some not. There are a whole bunch of things I like about Auckland but in the end I think you can tell how rich Auckland is by the fact that we have such a diverse range of really high quality restaurants.
So will having John Banks as Super Mayor (you do realise that he will be the first mayor) make much of a difference? Personally I doubt it. The real business of managing Auckland happens in offices with cheaper carpet.
The merger is meant to reduce bureaucracy - it won't (nothing ever does). And perhaps it shouldn't since the actual business of managing a city is bureaucratic.
Do I care that we won't (for some reason not having reserved spots means no Maori will ever be elected) have Maori local politicians. No. Or at least not more than I care that we won't have women or Samoans or Tongans or Westies - unless of course we elect them. And I know "The Treaty" should make me care more about Maori but in my heart I care just as much about all the other people.
I know I should believe that local bodies have a real impact on what Auckland is - but I don't. In the end Pacifica will still happen as will the big gay out and that local indian thing that happens in the park down the road each year.
I believe Aucklanders (all of us, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Chinese, Veitnamese, Thai, and yes even Westies) will continue to be the people that make Auckland the place it really is - and the place I like. Be it "super" or otherwise.
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I think Akl could do with a little homespun Wellington Wisdom.
It could also do some good IT advice, what with the proposed move to '1 IT data system' for the entire region and all.
I wonder how soon the report reckons that will happen...
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I think Akl could do with a little homespun Wellington Wisdom.
I'd make that your campaign slogan, Don.
(That was sarcasm. I'm trialling tagging all my sarcasm as sarcasm to see if it really would be simpler to do it the other way around.)
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Here's a question for those of you with more knowledge/time to check Wikipedia: are there any other cities *of a similar population size and geographic area* which we can compare this set-up to? Most of the comparisons I've seen have been to places like Sydney (5 million in the urban area) or London (11 million.) They don't quite work for me.
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Don't buy the Brisbane one that gets trotted out by Banks and others - much of their budget comes from State level, not from local rates.
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It could also do some good IT advice
So, Don for CIO. That's the kind of Wellington Wisdom that might make a difference.
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I have been giving this subject a lot of thought over the last few days and the more I think about it the more worried I become.
As others have said, Auckland is not easily generalised. There are some areas that would seem to require some sort of regional oversight (and I dont mean flying over it in a helicopter) and for that we already have the ARC albeit a little dysfunctional.
the biggest worry to me is the psychological aspect of how the residents of Auckland feel about their communities and how they are represented. As it stands we have North Shore City which extends from the harbour north-wards until the "City" peters out into rural New Zealand, Rodney District (I always loved the concept of an area called Rodney, if we end up with a "Supercity" can we call it Brian?) Waitakere City which extends out from Avondale to the wonderful west coast beaches and Manukau City which extends out from Onehunga and sprawls out almost indefinitely to places where Dragons and wild creatures be. The last one is a worry. As it is the people of Manukau have a center that they can relate to, a place that has a vast population of disparate peoples, from some of the poorest to some of the richest, from some of the most violent to some of the most funnymentaly religious, from the right wing to those that may even have wings. I could go on but I think you get my drift. I we lose any of those local councils we run the risk of marginalising a great deal of the people who need the most representation, services and help. The south will become a ghetto of the dispossessed and I shudder to think of the consequences. -
With any luck the diversity in Auckland will be the one saving grace from having Banksie rise to the position of super mayor. Time will show if the voting is as diverse as we may claim to be.
In even mentioning his name I perpetuate the media bias to him being the only option.
Good luck Wankland, good luck NZ.
(Before you take offense, I like Auckland.) -
Lucy, you piqued my interest. Wikipedia tells me that San Antonio in Texas has a similar population and is almost exactly the same size geographically. They have ten council districts, a mayor, and a 'city manager' person who seems to do all the actual work.
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I always loved the concept of an area called Rodney, if we end up with a "Supercity" can we call it Brian?
Brian seems a possibility. Just so you're aware, Bruce is taken (the area around Milton was formerly the Bruce County).
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The San Antonio model could be money-saving. "Council members are paid $20 a meeting, while the Mayor earns $4,000 a year". Umm, although perhaps only the independently wealthy could afford to donate their time at that rate.
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Wikipedia tells me that San Antonio in Texas has a similar population and is almost exactly the same size geographically. They have ten council districts, a mayor, and a 'city manager' person who seems to do all the actual work.
Ah, I thought she meant cities that had gone the way of the super city but previously weren't. If that's not the case, I can report that the municipality of Milan has much the same population as Auckland and has been run by a mayor for a few centuries. (He looks after himself, obviously.) We also have area councils, which have absolutely no power other than a very symbolic consultative one, as well as a regional council and a provincial council. Nobody really knows what the provincial council does, other than employing a whole lot of people. (This isn't a joke, and I'm not oridinarily an anti-bureaucracy guy).
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