My Account
A campaign for an independent North Rodney Council has moved one small step forward following a Local Government Commission decision released today.
Commission chair Sir Wira Gardiner says the Commission will assess the application by first determining what the area affected by the application is – North Rodney or the whole of Auckland – and then make an assessment as to whether there is community support for local government reorganisation in the affected area.
It was not the clear decision the Northern Action Group (NAG) was hoping for.
Chair Bill Townson says it is disappointing that this issue of ‘affected area’ is still being debated.
“We raised this issue in June 2013 and addressed it comprehensively in our proposal,” he says. “If the Commission decides to re-examine it, then under the Act they will have to show how the separation of North Rodney will affect the operational scale, scope and capability of the whole of Auckland. That will be a huge exercise.”
Sir Wira says that if the Commission is not satisfied about community support, it may at this point decline the application.
“If it is satisfied there is support, it will call for alternative applications before deciding on a preferred local government option. If the preferred option is not the status quo, the Commission will then begin developing a draft reorganisation proposal before consulting further with the community and gauging public support for it.”
The decision to assess the application follows a High Court decision in April which found against the Commission’s declining to assess the application on public interest grounds, but agreed with the Commission that NAG was required to demonstrate community support over the whole of Auckland, not just in North Rodney.
NAG has now provided further information to the Commission.
“If community support for local government reorganisation is demonstrable, the Commission looks forward to working with local stakeholders in North Rodney to consider the long-term challenges the community faces and looking at the options for local government that can best meet those challenges,” Sir Wira said.
Background
In summary, the process for local government reorganisations under the Local Government Act 2002 is:
- Individuals, organisations or the Minister of Local Government can apply to the Commission for reorganisation of local government
- The Commission decides what the affected area is – in this case either North Rodney or the whole of Auckland, depending on whether the Commission considers the operation, scope or capability of the Auckland Council to be materially affected
- The Commission assesses whether there is evidence of community support for local government reorganisation in the affected area
- If accepted, there is public notification of the application, including a call for alternative applications
- The Commission identifies options for change, chooses a preferred option and, if this is not the status quo, develops a draft proposal
- A draft proposal is subject to consultation including submissions and a series of hearings
- If the Commission decides to proceed it issues a final proposal. Otherwise it can choose to end the process, or identify a new draft proposal for consultation
- If requested by the community a poll on the final proposal is held
- If no poll is requested or the poll shows support for the proposal the reorganisation scheme is implemented
