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• A major study shows strong support for stronger environmental protections and best practice housing density. 
• Three-quarters agree Auckland should position itself as a global innovation city to attract talent. 
• Only half believe the Super City has helped advance Auckland’s case to central Government. 

Nearly everyone in Auckland wants stronger environmental protections, according to a major new study released today. Over 90% of us also want more housing density done to “best practice” standards, a retreat from flood-prone land and infrastructure planning that politicians on both sides agree on. 

But we’re not sure the Super City, 15 years old this year, is delivering. 

Three-quarters of us agree Auckland must “position itself as a global innovation city to attract talent and strengthen its economy”, but we don’t think we’re very good at this either. 

Deloitte NZ’s chief executive Mike Horne has warned that the city will have to change if it is to make more meaningful progress. 

“Auckland has been incremental in what it has achieved since becoming a Super City 15 years ago,” he said. “Being incremental isn’t going to achieve what the city needs.” 

Only half of us think becoming a Super City in 2010 has helped the city advance its case to central Government, only a third of us think Auckland Council is “providing more strategic and region-wide responses to problems”, and one in five believe being a Super City has improved public engagement with decision-making. 

Cultural identity “remains a sharp point of division”, says the report. While 70% of us “strongly support celebrating Auckland’s Māori and Pacific heritage and investing in cultural diversity and the arts”, another 30% “expressed caution or scepticism about prioritising further cultural investment”. 

The report comes 15 years after eight “legacy” councils in the Auckland region were combined into one Auckland Council, and the Super City was born. 

It was commissioned by the Committee for Auckland, a research and advocacy group with members in the public and private sectors. The work was carried out by the University of Auckland‘s Complex Conversations Lab, using an opt-in online survey platform that allows participants to talk to each other in order to create an in-depth analysis of views. 

“Auckland@15: Shaping the next fifteen years” was due to be launched at a breakfast event this morning. The feature of the event will be a panel discussion involving four prominent Aucklanders: former Prime Ministers Sir John Key and Helen Clark, Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. 

They will be asked to assess the “tangible progress” made by the Super City since 2010 and provide political, historical and strategic insights from their own experience. 

Other panels will involve Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei‘s Ngarimu Blair, the Auckland Business Chamber’s Simon Bridges, environmental entrepreneur Izzy Fenwick, AUT vice-chancellor Damon Salesa and Lisa Hind from property developer Precinct, among others. 

Committee for Auckland director Mark Thomas said it’s time for a reset. 

“We must learn more effectively from the best globally and have the courage to back bold, transformative ideas locally or risk continuing to lose the economic opportunity, talent, and quality of life we need to thrive.” 

Thomas said Auckland is being overtaken by faster-moving global competitor cities. “Without much clearer commitment from central and local government and their partners, Auckland’s standard of living and growth prospects will continue to suffer,” he said. 

Horne said: “If Auckland isn’t competing globally, New Zealand will suffer. Now is the time for the city to look outward, focusing on connections and innovation, instead of looking in the mirror and rehashing its challenges.” 

AUT’s Salesa said that over the next 15 years, “our city will be home to the greatest number of international students, Māori and Pacific young people and indeed of all youth. They have enormous potential and deserve a city that provides education, infrastructure, and employment opportunities.” 

Damon Salesa, AUT vice-chancellor, says students and youths in Auckland deserve a city that provides education, infrastructure, and employment opportunities. 

On the environment, “up to 95%” of those surveyed want stronger protections such as improved water quality and more street trees. Support for housing intensification was tempered: it had to come with more green spaces and better public transport. 

As for transport, 61% of survey respondents said reducing congestion should be Auckland’s top transport priority, “even if it means introducing charges on some roads at times when they are most congested”. This is known as “time of use” or congestion charging. 

But while 56% thought more should be spent on cycleways and walkways, the survey results released to date do not reveal what respondents thought about other options for relieving congestion. 

And in news that will cheer Auckland Transport, 60% said it is “easier to get around Auckland on public transport than it used to be”. 

Simon Wilson is a senior writer covering politics, the climate crisis, transport, housing, urban design and social issues, with a focus on Auckland. He joined the Herald in 2018.