North Rodney and Waiheke Island are set to remain as part of Auckland after the Local Government Commission has decided against applications for establishing separate unitary councils in each area.
In its report released today, the Local Government Commission says that the applications for unitary councils for North Rodney and Waiheke Island, lodged by the Northern Action Group and Our Waiheke respectively, would not proceed and the existing local government arrangements for Auckland would remain in place.
The Commission has found that neither a North Rodney Unitary Authority, nor a Waiheke Unitary Authority meet the statutory legislative tests and no other alternative proposals put forward met the tests for a change to the current local government arrangements.
Auckland Council Governance Director Phil Wilson says Auckland Council is supportive of the Commission’s independent and statutory role.
“The Local Government Commission has made its decision on what it considers to be the best outcome for promoting good local government in Auckland as required by legislation," he says.
“The council is bound to the decision and acknowledges that the Commission has worked through a robust and thorough process and in consultation with local community groups.”
The Local Government Commission is an independent statutory body tasked with making decisions on the structure of local government.
The Commission has been considering the two separate proposals from the Northern Action Group and Our Waiheke to establish separate unitary council’s in North Rodney and Waiheke Island since 2015.
Any person or group can propose a local government re-organisation. The Commission undertakes its work independently of the local councils who have proposals in their area following a statutory process under the Local Government Act 2002.
More information is available on the Local Government Commission’s website at www.lgc.govt.nz, including a copy of the Commission's full decision.
