Why Oppose the Local Government (Auckland Council) (Transport Governance) Amendment Bill
This Bill recentralises Auckland’s transport governance under ministerial control.
It removes real local authority, introduces multiple ministerial veto points, and risks confusion and delay during transition. What began as a promise of localism has become a blueprint for political leverage and administrative duplication.
Below explains what is wrong, why it matters, and how Parliament can fix it before Auckland loses democratic control of its own roads and public transport.
Principles at Stake
- Local democracy: Decisions on Auckland’s transport must rest with those Aucklanders elect — not ministerial appointees.
- Transparency: Public meetings, published papers, and visible voting are essential for accountability.
- Accountability: Local boards and councillors must hold real power backed by clear funding.
- Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Partnership in regional transport planning cannot be reduced to consultation.
- Public trust: Citizens must see that transport priorities reflect community needs, not central politics.
What the Bill Does Wrong
- Ministerial appointments: The new Auckland Regional Transport Committee (ARTC) gives ministers up to three voting seats and joint control of the chair — ensuring permanent central leverage.
- Multiple vetoes: The Minister must approve Auckland’s 30-year transport plan, roading framework, and Council delegations — a web of control unseen in any other region.
- Weak transparency: ARTC meetings may be held in private and report only to the Minister and Mayor, excluding the public from critical regional decisions.
- Underpowered local boards: Their authority ends at local roads, with vague override tests that can erase their influence.
- Rushed transition: The Bill allows just six months to transfer all transport functions, staff, and contracts — a recipe for disruption and lost expertise.
Why This Matters
- It reverses localism: After years demanding local control, Auckland will again answer to Wellington.
- It weakens accountability: Citizens can no longer hold those who make transport decisions directly responsible at the ballot box.
- It risks delay and waste: Every approval loop adds bureaucracy, cost, and uncertainty to delivery.
- It sidelines Te Tiriti: Partnership becomes token; Māori voices lose standing in regional planning.
- It erodes trust: When government controls both the plan and the overseers, transparency collapses.
What Real Reform Requires
- Full local composition of the ARTC: Only elected Auckland councillors should vote; ministers may advise but not decide.
- End ministerial vetoes: Replace approvals with objective consistency tests against the Government Policy Statement.
- Open meetings and reporting: Require public access, published minutes, and visible voting records.
- Empowered local boards: Give them ring-fenced budgets and fair decision rights over community roads.
- Longer transition: Extend to at least 12 months with independent oversight and staff protection.
- Te Tiriti partnership: Embed co-design with mana whenua across all long-term transport plans.
If You Care About Democracy, Delivery, and Trust
This Bill must be fixed before it becomes law. Local control is not inefficiency — it is accountability. Without amendment, Aucklanders will inherit a fragmented, politicised system that no one fully owns or understands.
If you believe Auckland should govern its own transport,
If you believe transparency protects democracy,
If you believe local voices must shape local futures,
Then this Bill must change.
“Localism without power is illusion.” — Ukes Baha
Read the full submission:
Submission to the Governance and Administration Committee: Local Government (Auckland Council) (Transport Governance) Amendment Bill