There has been a lack of thought and lack of care in the rushed Super City legislation process, Labour spokesman Phil Twyford told a public meeting on Waiheke last Thursday.

Waiheke people had been some of the most engaged, informed and politically active right through the process, he said, and it would be necessary to apply that energy through the final stages of legislation driven by National and Act politicians to set up the Super City.

The final submissions to the select committee on the third of the bills was going to be an important part of the process, and the litmus test of the entire process would be local board powers, he said.

“If you centralise power at the regional level, there is a need to counterbalance it with local board power. The Labour fear is that this is not going to happen.

“We believe it is the corporatisation of democracy. Government throughelected representatives has been put out to pasture and Rodney Hide, with National Party cronies, has devised a corporate governance model.

“A great majority of the business of council will be run by commercial entities with boards of directors.

“This is the commercialisation and corporatisation of our democracy.”

That the legislation had been hustled through in less than ten months was “really shoddy”, he said.

Nowhere in the short time frame had Aucklanders been given a chance to debate the findings of the Royal Commission on the Governance of Auckland, and citizens’ rights to a referendum – under the Local Government Act – had been specifically removed and the first two bills had been put through under urgency, the first without even a select committee process.

 “I urge you to give the select committee [on the third Auckland Bill] a cuff round the ears about the undemocratic way this has been done.

“This is in the grip of unelected bureaucrats responsible only to Rodney Hide.”

“Auckland deserves better.”

He introduced the audience of about 40 at the MORRA Hall, many of them veterans of several years of submission processes leading to the Super City proposals, to the “Not Yours To Sell” campaign concerning the obvious intentions of grooming utilities like the $2 billion monopoly Watercare for privatisation

Greens MP David Clendon described the Super City process as a major assets grab. And with Auckland’s $28 billion of assets so obviously up for grabs, other cities round the country were starting to be concerned that they would be next.

“It is really important nationally that we make this as hard as possible for the government to push through,” he said. “There is a lot at stake here. This is an outright attack on local democracy. It is taking away the right to local democracy and access to councillors.”

Local boards would be whipping boys, in place only as a shield for those on the council, he said. The CCOs would be running the day-to-day business of the city.

Even then, councillors were almost entirely and specifically excluded from sitting as directors on the CCOs which would have enormous powers and ability to drive agendas.

Aucklanders had been disenfrachised and “it will only get worse,” he said.•

Liz Waters