Auckland City Council Must Distinguish Its Roles

Mayoral candidate Dr John Hinchcliff has stated that the City Council must distinguish between its management and governance roles.

"The responsibilities of Councillors are to represent the electors by developing the most appropriate vision and values for the city, ensure the policies reflect this vision and empower, and hold to account the CEO for managing and monitoring the implementation process.

"All-too-often the elected representatives become bogged down in the details of management. Consequently, there is insufficient time for us to reflect about the significant issues and future of our city.

"The Boobs on Bikes episodes illustrates the problem of how the public becomes confused. The New Zealand Herald newspaper stated 'The Auckland City Council granted a permit' and 'Council tried to stop the parade.'

"There is a difference between the management team who issued the permit and the governing elected representatives who voted against it. This difference needs to be made clear."

Dr Hinchcliff headed the management of ATI-AIT-AUT for twenty years and recognises the different but crucial roles of governance and management. His solution is to differentiate the two roles: the elected representatives should be called 'Auckland City Council' and the management 'the Auckland City Administration'.

"The competent and highly paid Chief Executive and executive should give a lead in presenting the arguments to assist Councillors think critically and creatively about the issues. His report should be the first item on the agenda - not tucked away at the end. Councillors should empower the CEO to lead in the management role.

It is of paramount importance that the two dimensions understand and respect their separate responsibilities. If not, there will be confusion among the public and Councillors and poor performance."

ENDS

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