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86-570: The Whau Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council . It is the only local board overseen by the council's Whau Ward councillor. The Whau board, named after the Whau River estuary which runs through the board area, covers the suburbs of Avondale , Blockhouse Bay , Green Bay , Kelston , New Lynn and New Windsor . The board consists of seven members elected at large. The inaugural members were elected in

172-418: A Productivity Commission report calling for greater flexibility in the ports industry, and the need to compete with its nearest rival, Port of Tauranga . The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) later became involved, warning that Ports of Auckland could be declared the world's first ' port of convenience '. Port workers in other parts of

258-423: A Royal Commission on Auckland Governance to report on what restructuring should be done. The report was released on 27 March 2009 and the government subsequently announced that a "super city" would be set up to include the full metropolitan area under an Auckland Council with a single mayor and 20–30 local boards, by the time of the local body elections in 2010, though it also changed some key recommendations of

344-422: A $ 3 billion annual budget, $ 29 billion of ratepayer equity, and 9,870 full-time staff as of 30 June 2016. The council began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the previous regional council and the region's seven city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city". The council was established by a number of Acts of Parliament, and an Auckland Transition Agency, also created by

430-568: A chairperson appointed by the mayor and a subset of the governing body members. The following council took office during October 2022: Auckland Council has substantive CCOs and a number of smaller ones. Eke Panuku Development Auckland resulted from a merging of Auckland Council Property Ltd and Waterfront Auckland on 1 September 2015. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited resulted from a merging of Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) on 1 December 2020. Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL)

516-477: A commitment to be Zero Emission by 2040 and recently signed a contract with Dutch company Damen Shipyards to buy the world's first full-size, fully electric port tug. The new tug, a Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 to be delivered in 2021, will have a 70 tonne bollard pull, the same as the port's strongest diesel tug Hauraki, also built by Damen. There is a second smaller port at Onehunga on the Manukau Harbour, on

602-454: A further dispute emerged. As set out in the third bill establishing the future Auckland Council, major functions (such as transport, water services and Auckland waterfront development) were to be devolved into council-controlled organisations (CCOs) controlled by unelected boards, operating at "arm's length" from Council. This separation, as argued by backers of the move, had become necessary due to "local politicians [having] failed to deliver

688-487: A mostly centre-left council, with Len Brown as mayor. Brown was re-elected in October 2013 , again with a largely supportive council. The 2016 mayoral election was won by Labour MP Phil Goff , who had a landslide victory over his nearest rivals, Victoria Crone and future Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick . Goff won re-election in the 2019 mayoral election and chose not to run in the 2022 mayoral election , which

774-476: A number of ways, and "could not stand". They also noted that saddling the super city with this system would be the most serious handicap, and a recipe for a "frustrated and disappointed citizenry". Several editorialists went even further and accused the ACT party, and especially Rodney Hide, of preparing Auckland's assets for a sell-off, and of setting up the structure to allow it even before Aucklanders got to vote on

860-597: A port-of-convenience on 9 March. A protest march down Auckland's Queen Street was staged on 10 March, with turnout estimated between 2,000 and 5,000. In response, the Port issued a full-page letter in The Sunday Star-Times , arguing that the port workers earned on average $ 91,000 for a 26-hour working week. These figures have been disputed by the Maritime Union of New Zealand, which accused

946-589: A quay along Customs Street and a breakwater at Point Britomart . After the Auckland Harbour Board was established in 1871 by the council, further wharves were added and massive reclamation works were undertaken, eventually making Freemans Bay and Mechanics Bay lose their natural shoreline, while Commercial Bay (today the site of much of the Auckland CBD and the Auckland waterfront)

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1032-483: A salary for a local board member of around $ 37,100 was insufficient for what amounted to a full-time position. Numerous residents of and (to some degree) the councils of the Franklin and Rodney Districts opposed their inclusion in the new supercity, and instead campaigned for retention of their councils, or inclusion with other, more rural-focused councils in the north (such as merging the areas north of Puhoi with

1118-583: A series of articles and editorials in March 2010 criticising the proposed move, which was described as "The lockout of Auckland", arguing that elected councillors would have little control over the day-to-day decisions, and potentially even over massive changes such as Auckland's waterfront development or the city's transport focus. The main Herald editorials noted that the CCO concept introduced "undemocratic elements" in

1204-479: A survey of industry leaders. According to an economic impact assessment, 173,000 jobs in the Auckland Region rely on trade through the ports and the ports affect a third of the local economy. Ports of Auckland is 100% held by the Auckland Council . Annual dividends to Auckland Regional Holdings and its predecessors in the 15 years to 2006 totalled NZ$ 500 million. Auckland's trade, by virtue of being

1290-405: A waterfront village, apartments and shops in a style similar to Wynyard Quarter . The sale did not go through and in 2016 it was announced that the port would be sold to NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), which wanted to build an interchange for a $ 1.8 billion east–west motorway link on the land. It was claimed that NZTA had not yet finalised its plans for the interchange and any land remaining after it

1376-536: A year. On 30 June 2020, Ports of Auckland deployed a graphical planning solution. In August 2020 a falling container killed worker Pala'amo Kalati. A crane was lifting two containers, when a third container was accidentally lifted, and fell on Kalati. On 1 December 2023, Ports of Auckland was ordered to pay $ 561,000, along with $ 90,000 to Maritime New Zealand . There were also deaths in April 2022. On 7 May 2024, Mayor of Auckland Wayne Brown abandoned plans to sell

1462-492: The 2019 local body elections to the local body elections in 2022. The board members are: 36°54′34.2″S 174°40′54.65″E  /  36.909500°S 174.6818472°E  / -36.909500; 174.6818472 Auckland Council Auckland Council ( Māori : Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau ) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has

1548-659: The Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Employers & Manufacturers Association. Supporters included the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development, a right-wing think tank. The introduction of Auckland Transport , the CCO for transport functions (with more than half the city's future rate spend), was discouraged even by the government's own Treasury and Department of Internal Affairs, as well as other departments. The main proponents of

1634-484: The Kaipara District area) or the south. There was a perception that these rural areas would receive very little benefit in terms of infrastructure for their rates' money, and that they would be swallowed up by an Auckland that has different interests and character than their communities. Politicians such as Rodney Hide answered that inclusion is necessary to allow a regional approach to the wider interests of

1720-652: The Northern Busway as well as significant rail and public transport investments were realised through the Auckland Regional Transport Authority , much of it supported by retaining Ports of Auckland in public hands (after the deregulation of the Auckland Harbour Board ) to fund the improvements with the dividends. Until 2010, the Auckland Region had seven "City/District" authorities, plus one "Regional" authority. In

1806-706: The Waitematā Harbour and the Manukau Harbour , and four freight hubs (inland ports), in South Auckland , Palmerston North , Mount Maunganui and the Waikato . The company employs the equivalent of 600 full-time staff and is in operation at all hours to allow for quick turnaround of cargo. The Port of Auckland is a large container and international trade port on the Waitematā Harbour, lying on

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1892-520: The council-controlled organisation Eke Panuku Development Auckland also developed a framework plan to redevelop Auckland's waterfront. In late 2011, Ports of Auckland became engaged in an industrial dispute with workers represented by the Maritime Union of New Zealand , after negotiations broke down over the expiry of the existing collective contract, and plans by the port to contract out its services to casual workers. The company board cited

1978-504: The nationwide 2010 local elections , coinciding with the introduction of the Auckland Council. Whau Local Board Area covers 26.82 km (10.36 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 91,400 as of June 2024, with a population density of 3,408 people per km. The board's term currently runs from the 2022 local body elections to the local body elections in 2025. The current board members are: The board's term from

2064-584: The (now) largest city of an island colony nation, has to a large degree always depended on its harbours. Starting from the original wharves in Commercial Bay in the 1840s, and expanding via the land reclamation schemes that transformed the whole of the Auckland waterfront throughout the 19th and 20th centuries (and still continue today, especially at Fergusson Wharf), the port became the largest of New Zealand (and has been since at least 1924, incidentally

2150-474: The Auckland Council consists of the mayor, deputy mayor, and 19 other members. The members of the governing body are elected from thirteen wards across the Council area using the first-past-the-post system every three years at the same time as the mayor. Decision-making for the governing body's areas of oversight is done by committees, a few of which consist of the whole governing body, and most of which consist of

2236-862: The Auckland Regional Policy Statement, four regional plans and seven district plans of Auckland's legacy councils following amalgamation. The AUP was prepared through a streamlined plan making process established by the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Amendment Act 2013. The AUP was publicly notified in September 2013 and received over 13,000 submissions and further submissions. The submissions were heard by an Independent Hearings Panel, chaired by Environment Court Judge D A Kirkpatrick, which provided its recommendations to Auckland Council in July 2016. The AUP

2322-551: The CCO responsible for non-transport investment assets, manages Council investments worth $ 2.54 billion, including a 22.4% stake in Auckland Airport worth $ 1.13 billion, as well as a 100% share of Ports of Auckland Limited worth $ 1.08 billion, and Auckland Film Studios, worth $ 8 million (values at May 2014). The council owns and manages 28 regional parks around the region. Most of the parks were inherited from Auckland Regional Council . Auckland Council rates combine

2408-501: The CCO system, Prime Minister John Key , Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and Transport Minister Steven Joyce , remained adamant about the introduction (and the appropriateness) of the system. Others, like the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development called the claim that the mayor and council would have no ability to hold the CCOs accountable "farcial nonsense". The New Zealand Herald , Auckland's largest newspaper, ran

2494-585: The Council's money was spent on "Art services and galleries, events, museums, parks, recreation facilities and the zoo", while 22% was spent on "transport management". Further big elements were "Planning and regulation" at 14.5% and "Community services, libraries, emergency management and cemeteries" at 11.5%. As of 2016, 38% of rates were spent on "transport", 27% on "parks, community and lifestyle", 16% on "environmental management and regulation", 8% on "Auckland development", 6% on "Economic and cultural development" and 5% on "governance and support". Some aspects of

2580-606: The Harbour Board's computer system was broken into by a teenaged hacker . Although it was not the first hacking incident to be reported in New Zealand, it was one of the first to feature in a major TV news story. In 1988 the Auckland Harbour Board and operations of the port were corporatised and handed over to a newly formed company, Ports of Auckland, by Act of Parliament. The change in management increased productivity, but also led to substantial cuts in

2666-545: The Import and Freyberg Wharves opening in 1961, as well as the creation of the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Princess Wharf. During the late 1960s, the massive, deep-draught Fergusson Wharf was established to serve the beginning container trade. While finished in 1971, it took until 1973 for the first container vessel to arrive, though the general container trend was not to avoid the port. In 1985,

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2752-674: The New Zealand Government independently. Brown also claimed that exiting the LGNZ would save the Auckland Council NZ$ 64,000 a year, helping to reduce its debt. The Auckland Council's decision to leave LGNZ was criticised as detrimental to Auckland ratepayers and cooperation with other local councils by fellow councillors Richard Hills , Andy Baker , Julie Fairey , and LGNZ President Stuart Crosby . The mayor has significant executive powers, their own staff and

2838-543: The North end of Fergusson Container Terminal. The new cranes are the largest in New Zealand, weighing 2,100 tonnes each. Standing 114 m (374 ft) high with a 70 m (230 ft) boom length, they are capable of lifting four 20-foot (6.1 m) containers at once. They were bought to provide the necessary lifting capacity and reach for Post-Panamax ships. Each crane has enough solar panels on them to power an average New Zealand home. Ports of Auckland Limited has made

2924-514: The Port of having casualisation plans all along, and twisting its own figures in order to discredit the union. Auckland Mayor Len Brown refused to take sides in the dispute, garnering criticism from supporters, but offered to mediate in the dispute. In December 2012, the Port was fined NZD $ 40,000 by the Employment Relations Authority for deliberately employing strikebreakers during the dispute. In late 2013, it

3010-528: The Ports of Auckland on a long-term lease. Brown, Ports of Auckland chief executive Roger Gray and Maritime Union secretary Grant Williams signed an agreement for the Auckland Council to retain port lands, assets and operations. In addition the Ports agreed to return Captain Cook Wharf and Marsden Wharf to the Auckland Council, and to give the public greater access to Bledisloe Wharf. The Auckland Council and

3096-482: The Royal Commission. Some recommendations of the Royal Commission, which have not been adopted or implemented: The council was set up by three pieces of legislation, the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 and the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010. The initial Council elections in October 2010 returned

3182-588: The United States arriving regularly. Though the Second World War collapsed the nascent tourist trade, the US entering the war in 1941 led to it basing a part of its fleet operations in Auckland, necessitating further expansion of the harbour facilities. In 1943 alone, 104 warships and 284 transports visited Auckland. During this time, 24/7 operations began. After the war, the expansion continued, with

3268-614: The Waterfront and Queen Street , turning Nelson and Hobson Street from wide one-way roads into two-way roads with more trees and urban amenity, and a waterfront walk- and cycleway. The Council owns approximately $ 34 billion of assets (2010), including over 100,000 hectares of open space, parks and reserves, as well as the large transport assets administered by the Auckland Transport CCO (see that article for more detail). Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL),

3354-619: The ability to appoint the chairpersons of the council's committees. Some columnists stated in 2010 that the post was the second most powerful public position in New Zealand, after the prime minister . However, when the Minister for the Rugby World Cup, Murray McCully , took control of the Rugby World Cup fan area on the Auckland waterfront in 2011 without first notifying mayor Len Brown , columnist John Armstrong declared

3440-501: The case of Auckland Transport, that with most of the expertise, staff and planning ability being held in the "semi-autonomous" CCO, the council would not have the central planning and policy role as claimed by the proponents of the system, but would instead have to share (or compete for) this role with Auckland Transport. It also argued that the Royal Commission suggested a strong council and subservient CCOs, not vice versa. Ports of Auckland Ports of Auckland Limited ( POAL ),

3526-577: The central and eastern Auckland waterfront (north of and adjacent to the Auckland CBD ). The 55 hectares (140 acres) of wharves and storage areas (mostly for containers, cars and other large shipments) are almost exclusively situated on reclaimed land , mostly in the former Commercial Bay and Official Bay , and in Mechanics Bay . Wharves (from west to east) are: Three new large container cranes arrived in 2018 from Chinese firm Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. for NZ$ 20 million each, now installed at

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3612-688: The central government. Both the means by which the council was established, and its structure came under repeated criticism from a broad spectrum during the establishment period. The Auckland Council took over the functions of the Auckland Regional Council and the region's seven city and district councils: Auckland City Council , Manukau City Council , Waitakere City Council , North Shore City Council , Papakura District Council , Rodney District Council and most of Franklin District Council . The Auckland Regional Council

3698-523: The country briefly downed tools in support of the striking Auckland workers, before being ordered to get back to work. On 7 March 2012, the Port announced that all striking dock workers would be made redundant. This prompted a strong response from the striking port workers, the Maritime Union of New Zealand , and its global affiliates in the ITF, ILWU and Maritime Union of Australia . The ITF's president, Paddy Crumlin, subsequently declared Ports of Auckland

3784-557: The directly employed workforce. In October 1993 20% of the shares were floated to the public on the New Zealand sharemarket when the Waikato Regional Council sold its stake. On 1 April 2005 Auckland Regional Holdings, part of the former Auckland Regional Council , which held the remaining 80% of shares in the company, made a takeover offer at $ 8 a share. This gave the company a value of $ 848 million. The bid

3870-457: The draft Auckland Plan envisaged a more contained growth (combatting sprawl by having 75% of population growth occur in existing settlement areas), while National is more favourable of relaxing constraints on new greenfields development. Auckland Council later changed the plan to allow 30–40% of growth in greenfield areas and satellite towns. Auckland Unitary Plan (Operative in part) The Auckland Unitary Plan (Operative in part ) (AUP) guides

3956-413: The fact that a previous integration of the many much smaller Borough Councils did not bring the promised advantages either, and reduced local participation in politics, with editorialists pointing out that the (supposedly mainly Wellingtonian ) proponents of the 'super city' have carefully not made any promises of savings in light of past rises in rates and utilities bills. In 2007, the government set up

4042-627: The future Council per person) and regarding the small number of Councillors for all of Auckland (with fewer Councillors per head than Aucklanders have MPs representing them in Parliament), and the institution of two-member wards (meaning that contenders would have to field much larger and more costly election campaigns). Editorialist Brian Rudman accused the Local Government Commission of attempted gerrymandering in its draft proposal for one particular ward. In early 2010

4128-459: The largest one-day turnover came in February 2007, when Statendam and Sapphire Princess were due in Auckland to exchange around 8,000 people at the terminal, the equivalent of 19 Boeing 747 jumbo jets. In 2013, Auckland won a major cruise ship industry award, being named Best Turnaround Destination (best location to start or end a cruise at) by Britain's Cruise Insight magazine based on

4214-400: The late 2000s, New Zealand's central government and parts of Auckland's society felt that this large number of Councils, and the lack of strong regional government (with the Auckland Regional Council only having limited powers) were hindering Auckland's progress, and that a form of stronger regional government, or an amalgamation under one local council , would be beneficial. Others pointed to

4300-556: The liquor industry was marked by failure to object to anti-union behaviour and strong advertising of alcohol to the youth market. McCarten argued McKay was to be paid three times the salary of the Prime Minister, had no local government or non-profit experience and was selected by an unelected transition authority. Mayoral candidates John Banks and Len Brown were positive about McKay's appointment. Brown, who went on to become mayor, said McKay's business and restructuring experience

4386-500: The major tasks of its first years, will prepare a "spatial plan" to guide Auckland's growth. This plan will cover matters such as the limits of residential development and the zoning and densities of the suburbs and areas, and will assess how elements like transport and land use are to be linked. It is intended to be one of the main documents out of which a unified District Plan will eventually grow. Some critics have noted that this spatial plan will need years to develop and CCOs would fill

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4472-506: The matter – all under the guise of a "manufactured crisis". Others, while criticising the lack of democratic oversight, dismissed concerns about asset sales, noting that amalgamation was likely to result in surplus real estate. The Sunday Star-Times noted in an editorial that "we'll merely end up trading in political dysfunction for a quasi-commercial dysfunction forced on us by the National-led government." It also criticised, in

4558-555: The movement of 60% of New Zealand's imports and 40% of its exports (both by value, 2006), respectively 50% of the North Island's container trade, and 37% of all New Zealand's container trade (2007). It moves 4 million tonnes of 'breakbulk' cargo per year (2006), as well as around 773,160 twenty-foot equivalent containers units per year (2007). Another major import are used cars, with approximately 250,000 landed per year. The cars are mainly relatively new Japanese models, due to

4644-410: The myth finished. The mayor is directly elected by voters living in the Auckland Council area every three years by postal ballot using the first-past-the-post voting system. Len Brown was elected mayor in October 2010, and re-elected for a second term in 2013. Phil Goff won the 2016 election and was re-elected as mayor in 2019. In 2022, Wayne Brown was elected mayor. The governing body of

4730-430: The opinion of The New Zealand Herald , ignored concerns about the "powerlessness" of the local boards. Hide argued that "local boards will engage like never before" and "represent their local communities and make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities". A further concern was that candidates for local boards would have to campaign without knowing the scope of the local board's financial resources, and that

4816-420: The planning work in the first year of the council is planning for the Auckland CBD (now called 'City Centre') and the Auckland waterfront . Including the under construction City Rail Link , these two transformations are costed at approximately $ 5.5 billion over 20 years. Projects proposed in the draft plans include partial or full pedestrianisation of a number of city centre streets, light rail possibilities for

4902-538: The plans for a more accessible Auckland waterfront . In 2007, with a big increase in shipping traffic being projected (due to the Maersk shipping line choosing Auckland as a hub for the Fonterra export traffic), POAL considered a merger with Port of Tauranga , which did not come to pass. In the same year, volumes at the port rose 12.6% while profits, after deducting one-time items and property investments unrelated to

4988-455: The policy vacuum in the meantime. Apart from conflicting with Council's plans, this might also pit CCOs against each other. After the first round of plan development and public consultation, the draft plan was launched mid-2011. Commentators noted that one of the strongest discrepancies between Auckland Council's vision for Auckland and that of the John Key -led Wellington government was that

5074-458: The port operation, remained similar to 2006 (then NZ$ 55.9 million). In its 2008 plan, POAL proposed to extend the Fergusson and Bledisloe terminals into one large area mainly intended for container handling. The change is to increase the port's capacity by 250%, and allow ships with up to 7,000 containers to use its facilities, where the current limit is about 4,000. The extension would include

5160-421: The port, mostly disembarking for short stopover trips into Auckland or the surrounding region. Each of the ships is estimated to add about NZ$ 1 million to the regional economy. For 2007/2008, the total was forecast at 73 ship visits, another strong increase. So far, the largest ship to visit was Queen Mary 2 , which had to be diverted to Jellicoe Wharf in the freight part of the port due to its size. However,

5246-419: The purchase of even larger cranes, topping out at 94m, while containers on the wharf may be stacked as high as six-storey buildings. In 2009, POAL noted that while container business in the past year had increased and profits in that sector had grown due to productivity gains and more consolidation of the industry towards larger ports like Auckland, there was a significant reduction in car import business due to

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5332-570: The rates of the various amalgamated local councils and the Auckland Regional Council rates. For the 2011–2012 year, ratepayers are being charged the same rate as before the amalgamation, plus a 3.94% increase, with Council noting that they had achieved a much lower rates increase than originally foreseen. Rates made up 53% of the Council's income in 2011, with the remainder being "grants, subsidies, development and financial contributions, user charges and fees". As of 2011, 24% of

5418-542: The recession, which reduced the company's profits by 26% to $ 12.6m for the last half year to 31 December 2008. From early 2010, Ports of Auckland has operated a new inland port / rail siding in Wiri to connect road freight to the port facilities via freight trains. The new facility allows Ports of Auckland to reduce the number of trucks that have to travel through the Auckland Central area by up to 100,000 trips

5504-476: The region, and that tangible benefits would ensue for all of Auckland's communities. Also, that changing the boundaries in 2010 would have a domino effect on the restructuring of the ward system for the future Auckland councillors. In turn, the opponents of inclusion argued that big-city developers preferred the inclusion of the rural areas in the Auckland Council boundaries to make development and new subdivision of rural land easier. Several editorialists criticised

5590-616: The reorganisation were contentious, such as whether all of the Auckland Region should be integrated into the super city, and whether the new structure allowed sufficient local democracy. Critics argued that there was little space for "local" democracy in the new "local government" setup for Auckland, with the proposed "local boards" having little power, such as having no funding or staff of their own, and being forbidden from undertaking numerous government roles, especially where those roles might clash with regional functions such as transport or utilities. Local Government Minister Rodney Hide , in

5676-479: The responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority , according to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, which established the council. The governing body consists of a mayor and 20 councillors, elected from 13 wards. There are also 149 members of 21 local boards who make decisions on matters local to their communities. It is the largest council in Oceania , with

5762-453: The results expected of them." The Government's plan to outsource the majority of the council's functions was decried by numerous people (including the main mayoral contenders, Len Brown, and to a lesser degree, John Banks) and groups across the political and societal spectrum – from the Auckland Regional Council and many community boards, to Local Government New Zealand , and organisations considered to be National Party -friendly such as

5848-581: The same year the Port of Onehunga was opened). The initial establishment of the harbour facilities in Commercial Bay and Official Bay suffered from the tidal mudflats that made establishing good wharves difficult. After control of the Waitematā Harbour passed to the Auckland Provincial Council in 1853, the Council did much work on improving the facilities, which included constructing the first Queen Street Wharf, building

5934-436: The ships are legally required to use pilotage , managed by the Ports of Auckland's Harbour Control. The four inland ports operated by Ports of Auckland function as rail exchanges between the seaport and the national road and rail freight networks. Visited by around 1,600 commercial vessels a year, Auckland is New Zealand's largest commercial port, handling more than NZ$ 20 billion of goods per year. Ports of Auckland handles

6020-476: The size and composition of wards for the election of Auckland Council councillors. The criticism ranged from the wards being too big (and thus throwing together communities with few common interests), to some ward boundary lines being drawn against the local understanding of what constituted their community. More serious criticism was centred around the fact that urban wards contained significantly more people than some rural wards (and thus received less influence in

6106-468: The southern side of the Auckland isthmus . While it is much closer to the industrial areas of South Auckland , the access via the shallow entrance of Manukau Harbour, and the smaller facilities, make it much less significant than the main port, and it is used mostly for coastal shipping within New Zealand, such as for bringing in cement from Westport . The port, despite being 100 nautical miles closer to Sydney and 200 nautical miles closer to Wellington ,

6192-537: The successor to the Auckland Harbour Board , is the Auckland Council -owned company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities. As the company operates all of the associated facilities in the Greater Auckland area (excluding the ferry terminals and local marinas for recreational yachting ), this article is about both the current company and the ports of Auckland themselves. Ports of Auckland Limited operates seaports on

6278-687: The use of Auckland's natural and physical resources under the Resource Management Act 1991 . The AUP is a combined resource management plan which includes a regional policy statement, regional coastal plan, regional plan and district plan. The AUP's district plan provisions apply throughout Auckland, except for the Hauraki Gulf Islands which is instead subject to the Auckland Council District Plan - Hauraki Gulf Islands Section. The AUP replaced

6364-602: The very strict technical requirements of the Japanese road authorities. Due to the country's very strict biosecurity regulations, formerly administered by the MAF and now by its successor agency MPI , cars (and many other goods) have to pass through a decontamination facility, which strongly increases turnover times. In the 2005/2006 season, POAL catered for 48 cruise ship visits (at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Princes Wharf ), with more than 100,000 passengers passing through

6450-558: Was a "good fit", and would help improve economic performance as well as build links with businesses. McKay's contract ended in December 2013. Stephen Town became chief executive on 15 January 2014. In early February 2020, Town announced he would not see out his term until December 2020, moving to the New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology in early July. It is intended that the Auckland Council, as one of

6536-640: Was built would be sold to Panuku. Chelsea Wharf, in Birkenhead on the North Shore , not part of the current POAL facilities, serves the Chelsea Sugar Refinery , which has operated since 1884. The 9 hectares (22 acres) of the land were leased from POAL, but purchased by Chelsea in 1997. Ships with unrefined sugar (mostly from Australia) arrive at the wharf every six weeks, and as they generally exceed 500  gross tonnage  (GT),

6622-492: Was disestablished in 2019 as part of the 10-year budget 2018–2028. Michael Redman , formerly mayor, then chief executive of Hamilton City Council, was chief executive of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development from November 2010 to October 2011. In March 2010, Doug McKay was announced as the inaugural chief executive officer of the council by the Auckland Transition Agency. The 54-year-old

6708-511: Was disestablished, its share holdings and functions were transferred to the council [2] Now being the third largest container terminal in Australasia , as well as New Zealand's busiest port, little remains in terms of the original facilities. Even so, Ports of Auckland is still expanding and changing at a quick pace, with further reclamation worked planned to shift harbour operations further east, in connection with future needs as well as

6794-556: Was formed in 1989, replacing the Auckland Regional Authority. One of the mainstays of its work was expanding the parks network, and it brought into the Auckland Council 26 regional parks with more than 40,000 hectares, including many restored natural habitats and sanctuaries developed in co-operation with the Department of Conservation and volunteers. A variety of often public transport-focused projects like

6880-485: Was halted due to the invasion of the Waikato in 1863, and while the port continued to be used for passengers and cargo, it became disused over time due to the construction of more reliable road and rail links to Wellington . Modern ships became too large to use the port, and negotiations were under way in 2015 by Auckland Council to sell it to the council entity Panuku Development Auckland, which wanted to turn it into

6966-546: Was made operative in part in November 2016 with some outstanding appeals. As of July 2024, over 100 plan changes to the AUP have been publicly notified. The first Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP), the longer-term financial budget of the city, will not be produced until July 2012. Until that time, longer-term finances will be decided by the council, guided by the existing LTCCPs of the subsumed bodies. Another big focus of

7052-431: Was never able to be developed to the same extent as the Waitematā Harbour ports, due to the extensive sand bars at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour. The port flourished in the 1850s and early 1860s as a link to the Manukau Harbour and Waikato regions, where Tāmaki Māori and Waikato tribes would sell and barter resources such as peaches, melons, fish and potatoes, to be on-sold for the settlement of Auckland. This trade

7138-409: Was selected ahead of 27 other candidates, including several existing council chief executives. He had no experience in local government, but was described as having strong Auckland ties, and 30 years' corporate experience. He was to receive a salary of $ 675,000 and an incentive bonus of $ 67,500. Left-wing political organiser Matt McCarten criticised his appointment, arguing McKay's previous tenure in

7224-407: Was successful, and the port is now 100% owned by the Auckland Council , successor of the Auckland Regional Council and other local authorities. From 2012 to 2019, Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL), the council-controlled organisation responsible for non-transport investment assets, managed the 100% share of Ports of Auckland Limited. In 2019, as part of the 10-year budget 2018-2028, ACIL

7310-430: Was totally lost to history. The newly reclaimed land allowed the construction of a railway wharf and new dockyard facilities. New facilities were also built on the other side of the harbour, at Devonport , with the 'Calliope Dock' being the largest drydock in the southern hemisphere in 1888. By the early 20th century, commercial and passenger traffic was already very busy, with large passenger liners from Europe and

7396-435: Was won by Wayne Brown . On 23 March 2023, the Auckland Council voted by a margin of ten to ten to leave Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), the national representative body for local councils in New Zealand. Mayor Brown used his casting vote to break the deadlock during the Council's vote. Brown claimed that members of the body got drunk regularly during conference meetings and that the Auckland Council could negotiate with

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