Phil Twyford

"The Local Government Commission's final decisions on the boundaries for the new Auckland Council highlight the need for Rodney Hide to ensure local boards are given real powers" Phil Twyford said today

Labour's spokesperson on Auckland Issues, Phil Twyford said, "I commend the Commission for listening to the views of Aucklanders and working hard to address the concerns people raised. . "However for the Commission decisions to work, Rodney Hide needs to live up to his promise to give real powers to local boards. "Fair boundaries are important but the Super City will fail if local communities aren't guaranteed real decision making powers. The Government has not delivered that yet. Twyford said the Commission had worked hard at tweaking the boundaries to eliminate the uneven ward populations which would have seen a vote in East Coast Bays worth one and a half times a vote in Waitakere. "But the Government dealt the Commission a bad hand by insisting that the number of Councillors remained at 20, when it was clear the number should have been increased to give effective representation to the 1.5 million Aucklanders who live in the region.

"The Commission's decision to split the Orakei/Maungakiekie ward should also be commended. Splitting that ward into two single member wards will guarantee better representation for the very diverse communities who live in the area"