Leigh Auton brings to bear half a century of wide-ranging experience in local government affairs.
Here is an account of his 50-year pathway in Local Government and the politics and policies of change where there may be no need to change.
A grateful city named a reserve after its long-serving CEO
Leigh Auton — reform is expensive and definitely not simple
Leigh Auton is clearly a fan of Local Government — aware of its strengths and weaknesses.
His journey with local government began in 1975. “I have been an employee (my last gig as CEO of Manukau) and in consultancy and governance roles since the Auckland amalgamation in 2010.
“I have been involved in a range of regional and council reviews across New Zealand, including the government review of Kaipara District Council and a stint on the Local Government Commission.
Leigh served on a range of public and private boards, including the Ngāpuhi Iwi asset-holding company and its former fishing arm. He advised a wide range of private-sector clients, as well as public entities, on planning and local government issues.
He began his career working under the Municipal Corporations Act 1954 and subsequently under the various permutations of the Local Government Acts 1974 and 2002.
Government inertia
“As a Planner I started under the Town and Country Planning Act 1953, its replacement in 1977 and subsequent Resource Management Act 1991. I sat on any number of review committees on the RMA until I couldn’t take it anymore,” he says.
“Much of my frustration related to the stasis of the central government during the decade after the legislation was enacted, with an almost complete lack of National Policy Statements.
“Would we need the new legislation today if central governments of the 1990s had not sat on their hands?,” he notes.
Leigh has worked with a plethora of other legislation applicable to local government, including the Reserves Act and Rating legislation, the latter being important as to the method of rate collection.
Annual value
“I remain disappointed that today no Councils use Annual (rental) Value, a system of rating used for many years by the former Auckland City Council and adopted by Manukau when I was Chief Executive.
“I will never understand why Minister Rodney Hide — responsible for implementing the Auckland reforms — rejected Annual Value, especially given the two Councils with the largest economic bases in Auckland used the system.
“It is more sophisticated than land or capital value, and very responsive to rental and lease trends for all property types in the market. It is a valuable planning tool, the change in Manukau being widely supported by Federated Farmers at the time as it gave support for productive farmers on the city fringe. Planning instruments are much more than the RMA,” he says.
Leadership models
His 50- year working career has been shaped by political leadership in local government, ranging from Sir Lloyd Elsmore and Sir Barry Curtis at Manukau, and by other outstanding leaders in the sector.
“It would take too long to name them, but many cities and rural districts have produced great Mayors and Chairs in local government.“
“The Auckland region would be much the poorer today without the leadership of the old Auckland Regional Authority, abolished in 1991, and the subsequent Auckland Regional Council until 2010.
