Hide rejects mayor's criticism 

Source: ONE NewsAuckland's CBD

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has denied accusations he misled Prime Minister John Key about his consultation with Auckland's mayors over restructuring plans.

The government says it will adopt the Royal Commission's idea for a single council for Auckland, but will appoint 20-30 "local boards" instead of six "local councils" to look after community matters.

North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams says Key told the Sunrise programme last Tuesday that "Rodney Hide did a lot of great work in the last sort of week or so, working closely with all the officials and listening to the community, spent time going out and talking to the various mayors and different people".

However, Williams says the only mayor Hide consulted with was Auckland City Mayor John Banks and he questions whether "the Local Government Minister misled the Prime Minister that his plan for Auckland, a radical knee-jerk deviation from the Royal Commission's recommendations, had some sort of buy in from the mayors around Auckland."

But Hide says he spoke to other mayors the day the Royal Commission released its report, a day when Williams was in the South Island.

"Andrew Williams wasn't there when the Royal Commission released their report, and I don't know why, so we did our best," he told NZPA.

"What we've done is talk to civic leaders, business leaders and to the people of Auckland, and they were very clear that they wanted one mayor, one city.

"Their big concern was the loss of local representation and that's why the government ensured local boards to ensure local representation for within Auckland."

Hide says he isn't worried about Williams accusing the Act Party of hijacking the governance reform programme.

"What we have done as a government is work out what's best for Auckland and for Auckland governance and I think Mayor Williams sees it as always about himself. I don't know what it is that Mayor Andrew Williams particularly wants," Hide says.

"I think it's time for Andrew Williams to decide what's best for Auckland and indeed for local representation, understand that following the Royal Commission, decisions have been made.

"It's now times to work for the best interests of Auckland and the people that the mayor represents, and throwing around these sorts of accusations doesn't help Auckland at all."