Commission seeking Auckland community views
Commission seeking Auckland community views
The Local Government Commission will be in Rodney and Waiheke Island from September 20 to September 29 to hear from the public about local government services in Auckland.
The engagement programme, comprising a series of public meetings and drop-in centre opportunities, as well as an online survey, is happening because the Commission received two applications for council reorganisation in the Auckland Council area. These applications, one from the Northern Action Group in North Rodney, the other from Our Waiheke on Waiheke Island, triggered the statutory process the Commission is now following.
Each sought the establishment of a unitary council separate from Auckland Council and, as part of the process, the Commission first had to determine the “affected area’’ for the proposals. This was decided to be all of Auckland Council area.
In this first phase of this public engagement, the Commission is seeking a wide range of community views from the areas in which the main applications were received – to assist it in assessing those applications. This will be followed in October and November by discussions and meetings with interested parties in other parts of the Auckland Council area.
The timetable for community meetings and drop-in centre sessions is as follows:
|
Date |
Drop-in centres (11am-4pm) |
Date |
Community meetings (7pm start)* |
|
Tue 20 Sept |
Wellsford War Memorial Library |
Tue 20 Sept |
Wellsford District Community Centre |
|
Wed 21 Sept |
Warkworth Library |
Wed 21 Sept |
Warkworth Shoesmith Hall |
|
Mon 26 Sept |
Matakana Cinemas |
Mon 26 Sept *8pm |
Matakana Cinemas |
|
Tue 27 Sept |
Kumeu Library |
Tue 27 Sept |
Kumeu Community Centre |
|
Wed 28 Sept |
Oneroa Waiheke Community Library |
Wed 28 Sept |
Oneroa Morra Hall |
|
Thur 29 Sept |
Ostend War Memorial Hall |
Thur 29 Sept |
Ostend War Memorial Hall |
An additional lunchtime public meeting has been arranged for Snells Beach on Tuesday 27 September, 12-1pm at Mahurangi East Community Centre.
The Commission wants to hear from anyone with an interest in local government issues and services either at one of the community meetings or at the drop-in centre sessions.
Pamphlets with further information on this process will be available in local libraries or service centres and some shops or cafes. This information can also be found on the Commission’s website.
The process so far
August 2015:
- the Commission agrees to assess a reorganisation application from Northern Action Group (the North Rodney application)
December 2015:
- a reorganisation application is received from Our Waiheke (the Waiheke application)
April 2016:
- The Commission publicly notifies the North Rodney application and calls for alternative applications
May 2016:
- The Commission advises it will treat the Waiheke application as an alternative application to the North Rodney application
June 2016:
- Alternative applications close
September-November 2016:
- Public engagement
What happens next?
- The Commission will collate feedback from community meetings and the online questionnaire
- Local Government Commissioners will then identify and notify the reasonably practicable options for local government in the Auckland Council area, which must include the status quo
- If there is more than one reasonably practicable option, the Commissioners will need to determine a preferred option
- Further engagement will be needed before change, if any, happens