The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance was established by the New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 Government to investigate the local government arrangements of Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

.
The Labour Government

Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand

The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand between 10 December 1999 and 19 November 2008.-Overview:The fourth National government, in power since 1990, was widely unpopular by 1999, with much of the public antagonised by a series of free-market economic reforms,...

 of the time announced a Royal Commission

Royal Commission

In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

 into the governance of Auckland on 30 July 2007 and it appointed three Commissioners and terms of reference at the end of October of that year. The Commissioners were David Shand, Hon Peter Salmon, and Dame Margaret Bazley

Margaret Bazley

Dame Margaret Bazley DNZM is a distinguished New Zealand public servant.-Career:Bazley commenced her career as a nurse, rising from a position as a charge nurse at Tokanui Hospital, Te Awamutu in 1961 to Director, division of nursing, Department of Health in 1978, a position she held until 1984.In...

.

The Commission consulted with the public, including Māori, and, along with a raft of other conclusions, suggested an Auckland council to replace the Rodney District Council, North Shore City Council, Waitakere City Council, Auckland City Council

Auckland City Council

Auckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...

, Manukau City Council, Papakura District Council, Franklin District Council and the Auckland Regional Council

Auckland Regional Council

The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...

.

The National Party

Fifth National Government of New Zealand

The Fifth National Government of New Zealand is the current government of New Zealand. It is led by Prime Minister John Key.After the 2008 general election the National Party and its allies were able to form a government, taking over from Helen Clark's Fifth Labour Government. The National party...

 came into power before the Royal Commission released its recommendations. After the release of the Royal Commission report the government made the following high-level decisions:

• One unitary Auckland Council
  Auckland Council
  The Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
  
  as the first tier of governance
• One mayor for Auckland with governance powers, elected at large by the region’s residents and ratepayers
• Twenty councillors to sit on the Auckland Council (eight elected at large and 12 elected from wards)
• Twenty to 30 local boards across the region as the second tier of governance
• The final number of local boards, and the boundaries of the Auckland Council, wards and local boards to be determined by the Local Government Commission

External links

• Royal Commission on Auckland Governance
• New Zealand Government - "On changes to Auckland Governance"
• Department of Internal Affairs - Royal Commission on Auckland Governance page