Politicians feel ‘strung along’

Local board politicians believed Auckland Transport was considering their requests but emails suggest the politicians were just being strung along.

Following community lobbying, the Kaipa¯ tiki Local Board opposed AT’s plan to extend the operating hours of a contentious transit lane on one of the North Shore’s most congested roads. At a December 2017 meeting, the local board made a resolution requesting AT investigate another solution.

On the back of the local board’s resolution, AT’s manager of the elected member relationship management team, Jonathan Anyon, prepared an official line: ‘‘In response to strong advocacy from the Kaipa¯tiki Local Board, Auckland Transport has agreed to delay the implementation of the extended hours of the Onewa Road T3 lane, while it considers whether there are any viable alternatives.’’

However, emails between Anyon, and AT’s chief stakeholder relationships officer communications and corporate relations, Wally Thomas, days after the local board meeting, released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, suggest AT had no intention of following through. ‘‘We would need to reassure them [AT staff] that we’re not considering any alternatives to those agreed times,’’ Anyon wrote to Thomas.

In response, Thomas replied: ‘‘Just to be clear, we are not looking at alternatives.’’

Kaipa¯ tiki Local Board chairman John Gillon, said he was surprised to find out about the apparent deception.

‘‘It appears they strung us along and then went with a predetermined decision,’’ Gillon said.

Thomas responded to questions from Stuff about his comments, and those of Anyon, by saying the emails in question did not show a broader context.

Massey University Associate Professor Grant Duncan, who teaches political theory and New Zealand politics, said conflicting priorities between the local board and the council-controlled organisation was ‘‘predictable’’ and ‘‘not surprising’’.

‘‘There is a lot more of this going on than what we are hearing about,’’ Duncan said.

Duncan pointed to another conflict – between Panuku, DevonportTakapuna Local Board and local residents over a car park in Takapuna.

Duncan said the weakness of the governance structure of Auckland Council, with the change to a supercity, was ‘‘ineffective participation at a local level’’.

The power now sat with the council-controlled organisations

(CCOs), he said.

‘‘From the outset there were concerns about CCOs, Auckland Transport and Watercare, and how accountable, democratically, they would be to the community.’’