Too many local boards fragments our distinct and vibrant communities says Unitec Chief Executive

Presenting to the Auckland Governance Committee hearing submissions on the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill today, Unitec Chief Executive Dr. Rick Ede urged the Committee to consider having fewer local boards and to retain the local enterprise agencies established by some of the existing local councils.

“The move to establish 20 to 30 local boards will less accurately reflect the distinctive and vibrant ‘communities of place’ making up the Auckland region and overly fragments Auckland,” Dr. Rick Ede said. “Somewhere between six and 10 local councils would be more representative of the socially, economically, and culturally defined ‘communities of place’ in greater Auckland and would better allow Auckland to both take advantage of the opportunities presented by this diversity, while being able to more directly address the social and economic challenges in these communities.”

Dr Ede said Unitec operates from four campuses across greater Auckland located in Auckland City, Waitakere City and North Shore City and that while Unitec has greatly valued the ability to engage with the current city and district councils, he sees advantages in infrastructure planning and consistent decision making across the region.

“One area of particular value has been the opportunity to work with territorial local authority based enterprise agencies, such as Waitakere Enterprise, Enterprise North Shore and Auckland Plus, in order to better understand and respond to the differing needs and ambitions of these distinct communities and neighbourhoods,” Dr. Rick Ede said.

“Education is a profoundly transforming activity not just for individuals but also for communities with both huge social and economic benefits. The local enterprise agencies have helped Unitec to identify the needs and demands for tertiary education in their communities and give graduates access to information and employment opportunities spanning key sectors of the local economy including business services, construction, creative industries, education, health and social services, and information technology.”

“We urged the Committee to retain these local enterprise agencies, perhaps in the form of a new regional economic development agency operating across greater Auckland.”

Dr Rick Ede also urged the Committee to require the new Auckland Council to develop a Social Well-being strategy and a formal delivery mechanism for the strategy, and for the new Auckland Council to be given a clear mandate by changing the Bill to explicitly state the purpose of the new Auckland Council to include the promotion of the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of communities within its boundaries.

“We see great potential for the new Auckland Council to take a strong leadership role in the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of the residents and communities of greater Auckland and the region as a whole,” Dr. Rick Ede said. “If the Council doesn’t have that mandate, who does?”

Unitec is the country’s largest Institute of Technology and educates about 25,000 students per annum with a comprehensive portfolio of programmes extending from certificates to diplomas through to degrees and doctorates, across a wide range of applied professional and vocational areas.

ENDS

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