Royal Commission for Auckland

Now that the dust has settled from the local body elections (along with changing of mayors) the government has announced that the future local government structure of the Auckland Region will now be investigated by a Royal Commission. here

The mash-the-whole-lot-into-one-city crowd welcome the move but others, like the people who don't run business but just live in the region, are less enthusiastic. My own pole with all of 2 responses is 50-50 anti the idea and anti Auckland full stop.

I would like to make one point. Something that has been discovered by many groups.

Schedule a meeting in Auckland City or Manukau and anybody from the 'Shore will make a big deal (complain bitterly) about the traffic and be overly concerned with start and finish times. Plan the same meeting just 10km north of Auckland City's C.B.D. and anybody not from the North Shore usually fails to turn up.

That bridge and its lesser Greenhithe sibling seem to be a huge mental barrier to Aucklanders and South Aucklanders. It is of very little importance to them until they have to cross it, then it is like telling them to drive to outer Wellington.

North Shorites treat the bridge as a vital artery and are more worried about the amount of traffic they will find if they venture off the motorway system before reaching the Bombay Hills than crossing the bridge. They will roll on the floor with laughter with any suggestion at using public transport instead of the car. With some justification since bus transport from the 'Shore to south of the Victoria St is more than a bit of a joke. As for rail, what rail? Did they put wheels on the ferries?

Westies have a foot in both camps, a large number of them troop north over the Greenhithe bridge to work daily while an even larger numbers head into "town" or over to Manukau.

To the rest of the country this has next to no relevance at all. Auckland is that silly little bit of land joining Northland the the rest of North Island. JAFAs (just another f***ing Aucklander) are all the same and far to numerous.

A good point, but think about it. Could New Zealand cope with a single city bigger (people wise) than the entire South Island?

One city in the Auckland Region is a sure recipe for a banana republic without the climate to grow bananas in my opinion.