6 May 2019

Phil Goff has today announced the first policy of his 2019 Auckland Mayoral campaign – a full and independent review of the Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) that were established as part of the Super City amalgamation in 2010.

“In 2020 it will be a decade since the Super City was established. It’s the right time to do a stock take on what’s working for our city and our people, and what’s not,” said Mr Goff.

“The performance of the CCOs and the role they will play in Auckland’s future is the obvious place to start.

“Public entities must act in the public good and must be accountable to the public – it’s as simple as that.

“There is much that the CCOs have accomplished which is good and they deserve credit for that.

“CCOs have not always understood that they need to carry communities with them and engage fully with them, in order to be successful.

“I share the frustrations of Aucklanders with some aspects of CCO performance and delivery, and concerns about whether they can be held accountable.

“I do not want to see any more examples of CCOs being unresponsive to communities and their concerns. The purpose of the CCO review I am announcing today is to ensure that stops happening.

“I am proposing that in 2020 there should be a full and independent review of how effectively CCOs have operated and whether the model legislated in 2010 ensures adequate accountability of the CCOs for their decision-making and actions to Council’s elected representatives and Aucklanders as a whole.

“As legislative change would be needed to implement reforms, Council will consult and work closely with Government during this process, as well as community stakeholders, the business community and mana whenua.

“The intention of the Super City legislation was to keep the CCOs at arms-length from Council and politicians, and some 75 percent of the Council’s service delivery functions were placed in the hands of CCOs.

“Auckland’s CCOs are making good progress in many areas, but there is widespread concern by Aucklanders that having operational decisions made by non-elected bodies means there is no way of ensuring CCOs listen to community concerns and respond to them. While they must operate in a commercially efficient way, they are still public bodies funded by Aucklanders and need to carry their communities with them.

“The Review will examine how the CCOs have been operating and what reforms may be required to ensure we achieve the right balance between operational independence and being properly responsive to the community and their elected representatives,” Phil Goff said.

Policy Summary

Complete a full and independent review of how effectively CCOs have operated and whether the current model ensures adequate accountability to elected representatives and Aucklanders
Review to be conducted within 12 months of the 2019 Auckland Council election by up to 4 independent reviewers who will report directly to Council
As legislative change would be needed to implement reforms, Council will consult and work closely with Government over this process

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