Member's Bill Would Reduce The Number Of Auckland Local Boards
A new Member's bill that would reduce the number of local boards in Auckland from 21 to 15 would make local Government in Auckland more efficient, says National MP for Upper Harbour, Cameron Brewer.
'Last year, Auckland Council established a Joint Governance Working Group to explore options to reorganise local boards to improve efficiencies and better align governance structures.
'The working party's 'Local Board Reorganisation Plan – Next Steps' report estimated that the potential efficiencies to be $6.9m per annum. Identified one-off costs associated with the reorganisation were estimated at $1.9m.
'In the end, despite significant potential savings for Auckland ratepayers, the proposal did not proceed to public consultation last year. Most councillors chose not to advance it, nor seek the support or views from Aucklanders.
'My Member's bill would effectively align the number of local boards with the number of council wards. This would mean 13 local boards aligned with the 13 existing council wards. However, as the working party also proposed, the provision for two additional boards – one for Waiheke Island and one for Great Barrier Island, given their distinct characteristics and needs.
'The bill would amend section the Local Government Act to set a statutory cap on Auckland local board numbers at 15. However, this does not necessarily mean fewer local board members – currently at 149.
'This bill aligns with National's aim to achieve greater efficiencies for taxpayers and ratepayers, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, while maintaining strong and effective local representation. It now just needs to get drawn from the ballot, so Aucklanders can have their say,' says Mr Brewer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
New medical school at University of Waikato gets government go ahead
The government has green-lit a new medical school at the University of Waikato, ending months of delays due to coalition wrangling. But the announcement on Monday also heralded several significant shifts from National's original campaign promise. In a statement, Health Minister Simeon Brown said Cabinet had approved $82.85 million in government funding toward the project, with the university chipping in more than $150m. The numbers differ from National's policy heading into the 2023 election. Then, it pledged $280m for a third medical school at Waikato University, with the university to raise a further $100m. The school would also open in 2028, a year later than National had promised, but still with an initial roll of 120 students. Brown said that would be a "significant boost" to the homegrown medical workforce and came on top of the 100 extra training places being added this term at Auckland and Otago universities. "Today's decision will enable the University of Waikato to begin construction on new teaching facilities later this year and start planning for clinical placements, while giving more students the opportunity to study medicine in New Zealand," Brown said. "It's an innovative model that supports our focus on strengthening primary care, making it easier for people to see their doctor - helping Kiwis stay well and out of hospital." Universities Minister Shane Reti said the decision was a major milestone and real boost for tertiary education in Waikato. "By expanding access to medical training, we're creating new opportunities for students from across the region and beyond, while also helping to future-proof the local workforce." The proposal was controversial from the outset. Both Auckland and Otago universities argued they could train more students at a lower cost. ACT also raised concerns. During coalition talks, it secured a commitment that the project would not go ahead without a detailed cost-benefit analysis. In August last year, ACT leader David Seymour said he was "dissatisfied" with the initial evaluation and cited Treasury advice that the proposal did not offer value for money. In a statement on Monday, the ACT Party said it had saved the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars, with Semour saying it was "down to Waikato University agreeing to contribute a higher proportion of the medical school's costs". "ACT's rigorous questioning helped ensure a more efficient investment meaning Kiwis get better outcomes for less," he said. "ACT insisted that a full cost-benefit analysis be done before signing off on such a large investment. We demanded better planning, transparency, and accountability. We raised concerns about the initial analysis failing to consider other options to address the issue. As a result, officials and Waikato University revised their assumptions, refined the proposal, and delivered a plan that achieves the goal of more doctors trained for rural communities at a significantly lower cost to taxpayers. "ACT has always said we must save money where it counts so we can invest where it matters. This improved investment is a great example, with more money left in your back pocket and a solution found." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Newsroom
12 hours ago
- Newsroom
Auckland mayor's top executive liquidating personal firm owing $570k
A company belonging to a key official in Auckland mayor Wayne Brown's office is in liquidation owing $570,000 in tax, with the mayor unaware. Brown's chief of staff Jaswant Sailendra Singh (Jazz) called in the liquidators on June 4, for his property development company Traxx Investments Limited. The first report by liquidators Steven Knov and Kieran Jones, dated June 11, shows Traxx has no assets, and its sole creditor, listed as preferential is Inland Revenue with the sum of $569,739. A spokesman for the mayor said in a statement provided to Newsroom at the weekend that Brown 'has never heard of Traxx Investments nor has he received any advice about Jazz Singh's involvement with this company.' Singh told Newsroom his employer, Auckland Council, was not aware of the liquidation, which he described as 'unrelated altogether' to his work there. He said the existence of his business interest had been declared to the council, but not the liquidation. Asked about the circumstances leading to the liquidation, he said 'I don't plan on talking to you about that.' He said the liquidation was a voluntary thing which his advisors had told him to do. In the liquidators' first report it said 'the liquidators have been advised that the reason for the failure of the company, which led to the appointment of the liquidators, is due to the company having insufficient assets to satisfy its liabilities.' The report said they had yet to receive a claim from Inland Revenue. Singh is the chief of staff in the mayor's office, and technically an Auckland Council staffer. Photo: Auckland Mayor's office The role of chief of staff is the most senior position in the Auckland mayor's office and Singh has travelled overseas on occasions with Brown, and is one of the lead officials in discussions with the government and external entities. For example, one push by Auckland and other councils is to convince the central government to return a share of GST to local government. Singh, previously a solicitor, has held senior management roles at Auckland Council for 14 years, and has been in the mayor's office for most of this term. He was initially the head of Budget and Finance for the mayor, and became chief of staff in June 2024. Previously he had held roles in the council as general manager of procurement, head of risk, and manager of property and commercial legal services. Singh is the sole director, and co-owner of Traxx Development Limited, and Traxx Property Investments Limited, with Companies Office records showing the other shareholder in both as Paul Michael Davies. When Singh was made chief or staff, Brown was full of praise on Facebook: 'I'm pleased to announce that Jazz Singh will be my new chief of staff. 'As well as being a strong family man and a father of six, he's got strong business smarts and will be the first finance person in the role since the formation of the super city. 'Jazz is my current head of finance and budget and has played a key part in my long-term plan. He's well placed to deliver on my manifesto, bring the CCOs into line and stop wasting money! 'I'm glad he's agreed to lead my office's strong and capable team.'
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Council calls for tougher dog laws as attacks and euthanasia rates climb, rescuers overwhelmed
Auckland Council impounded over 12,000 dogs last year - more than half were euthanised. As shelters overflow, many like this are never reclaimed, prompting urgent calls for law reform. Photo: Auckland Council / Supplied Auckland Council is pushing for stronger powers under the Dog Control Act 1996 to address the growing number of roaming and uncontrolled dogs. Despite this, frontline rescuers and local leaders say the crisis requires immediate on-the-ground action. Saving Hope Foundation volunteer Jo Coulam said rescue groups were overwhelmed and felt abandoned. Coulam criticised the council's desexing pilot for not targeting the right communities and highlighted that rescue groups carried too much of the burden. Saving Hope has rehomed 637 dogs and puppies in the past month, with 46 requests received in a single day. "We spoke, in May, about the Kāinga Ora houses and now, as we predicted, we have newborn puppies dumped on train tracks and in rubbish bins," she says. "Rescues like ours are left to do the hard work, while trying to educate owners, but we can't do it alone. "By 1pm that day, we'd already had 32 more, including a mum and a litter of newborn pups. It's out of control." Frontline officers are stretched thin as Auckland Council faces record numbers of roaming dog reports. Photo: Auckland Council / Supplied Manurewa MP Arena Williams said the situation had worsened over the past two years, affecting families and elderly residents, particularly in South Auckland. "This is why I've been calling on the mayor and Councillor Josephine Bartley to pull together a taskforce," she said. "Central and local government need to work together for Aucklanders. "Roaming dogs have got out of control in the last two years in Manurewa. Our kids and elderly people are at risk. "Dog attacks are up and we're now seeing roaming packs of unowned dogs. Manurewa needs new solutions to deal with this rapidly escalating issue. "National has spent a lot of time telling councils what to cut . This is an opportunity for ministers to do something constructive, and actually help Auckland with something that will genuinely benefit people in Manurewa and other communities affected." Auckland Council animal management manager Elly Waitoa said public safety was their top priority and dog owners must take responsibility for their pets. Waitoa said, while desexing dogs was not the council's responsibility, it was stepping in , because of the scale of the problem. She said the council sought stronger enforcement powers through legislative reform, which could include establishing conditions such as requiring fencing upgrades before a dog is released, mandating desexing in certain cases and introducing mandatory reporting of serious dog attacks to enable timely intervention. "We've got children being attacked, people being attacked, animals being attacked," she said. "Children can't go to school, because they're being terrorised by aggressive dogs. "They can't walk to their local shop because of dogs. "We don't have unlimited resources. It is the dog owner's responsibility to desex their dog, but we are doing everything that we can at this stage with the funding that we have. "We're calling for more tools, like mandatory fencing standards and hospital reporting of dog attacks. It's about giving councils real options, when education alone doesn't work." Children cross the street on their way to school - safety concerns are rising as roaming dog incidents increase. Photo: Auckland Council / Supplied In the past year, the council received 16739 reports of roaming dogs, 1341 reports of dog attacks on people and 1523 reports of attacks on other animals. Only 42 percent of dogs were reclaimed by their owners and more than 6000 were euthanised - more than half of all dogs impounded. ACC claim data suggests the actual number of dog attacks is likely higher. Most serious attacks involving children happened in the family home and went unreported to council, said general manager Robert Irvine. "Introducing mandatory hospital reporting would allow us to intervene and put measures in place to prevent attacks from happening again," he said. To help reduce attacks and improve enforcement, Auckland Council is asking the government for powers to: "These changes make good common sense and would greatly improve our ability to protect Aucklanders from dog-related harm," said Irvine. "They would not affect the majority of dog owners, who we know are responsible." Council regulatory and safety committee chair Josephine Bartley said most dog owners were responsible, but stricter rules were now necessary. "There is a group that just doesn't seem to care. Their actions are putting our communities at risk, particularly our tamariki, so having stricter rules around things like fencing and desexing has become necessary." Manurewa-Papakura councillor Daniel Newman said local board budgets were insufficient to respond to the scale of the problem. "I don't want to have to be looking around at local boards trying to fund desexing vouchers and what-have-you," he says. "This has to be a regional response to a region-wide problem." SPCA national community outreach manager Rebecca Dobson said the council-SPCA pilot only began in June and was too early to judge. "Since 2022, SPCA has desexed 1294 dogs in Auckland. That's part of a national programme that's seen 55000 animals desexed and more than 200000 unwanted litters prevented." She said meaningful progress required a significantly larger investment, estimated at more than $75 million. "Rescue groups, SPCA, councils, vets and communities are all grappling with the fallout of people not desexing their pets. None of us can fix this alone. "Desexing needs to become a priority for all pet owners." Dobson also noted that enforcement was the council's role, not the SPCA's. "The public should contact their local council when it comes to roaming dogs, dog attacks or public safety issues. SPCA works under the Animal Welfare Act, focused on cruelty prevention." The council has committed $5.9 million to increase patrols and community education, and said further funding proposals were being prepared for next year's annual plan. The message to dog owners is clear - keep your dogs secure, desexed and under control. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
