Expert slams Supercity plans

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The Government introduces its Auckland supercity legislation to parliament today and has earned itself a stinging rebuke from an expert.

The director of the Institute of Public Policy at AUT University, David Wilson, says the Government has got its Auckland supercity plan wrong but is not listening to calls to back down.

He launched a broadside against the Government's plans today.

The Government had "taken one of the headlines of the Royal Commission's report but removed many of the mechanisms that would have achieved better regional governance."

He said the Government should go back to the original Royal Commission report instead of its own Making Auckland Greater proposals.

The first two Bills to create Super Auckland are introduced to Parliament today, the first under urgency to establish the new Auckland Council as a legal entity and setting up the agency that will lead the transition process. The second will go to Select Committee and outline the structure of the new council.

The Government plan was so flawed it was doubtful it would work, said Mr Wilson.

He said it left too much to chance and was "but a shadow of the Royal Commission's report."

"There is a real disquiet that a genuine opportunity has been lost by the Government's handling of this."

Nor was he confident the Government would listen and change its approach.

"The Royal Commission's proposal is the result of 18 months of research, over 3500 submissions, and discussions with leading international advisors on metropolitan governance. It is a solid piece of evidence-based work," Mr Wilson said.

In contrast, the Government had "fundamentally misunderstood" the problem in Auckland.

He said Rodney Hide seemed to think he needed to "fight parochialism and crack heads together," but that wasn't the issue.

Aucklanders wanted local, parochial government, but overlaid with better regional decision making. The Royal Commission successfully married the two together.

Government cherry picking undermined what was an integrated plan.

One controversial move was to ditch the Royal Commission plan for six local councils sitting underneath the centralised super council. Instead the government wants 20 to 30 Local Boards.

Mr Wilson said those community boards lacked the size, resource and authority to make effective decisions for Auckland communities, rendering them pointless.

- © Fairfax NZ News