Source: Auckland Council
Auckland Council’s Chief Executive Phil Wilson has today opened consultation with staff on a proposal to integrate the functions of Eke Panuku Development Auckland and the economic development functions within Tātaki Auckland Unlimited into the organisation and consideration of events delivery.
Staff at all three organisations will have two weeks to provide their feedback on the proposal, which follows decisions made by the council’s Governing Body on 12 December 2024 on the Mayor’s proposed CCO reform.
Mr Wilson says the aim of the proposal is to strengthen the Auckland Council Group by determining how services are best delivered for Aucklanders.
“This is not about changing service levels. The proposed changes reflect the council’s commitment to delivering on the aspirations of Aucklanders and the commitments it made through the Long-term Plan.”
The proposal includes:
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Creation of an Auckland Development Office within Auckland Council – responsible for driving integrated implementation and delivery of quality urban development in the council group’s identified growth priority areas and large-scale projects. It will be commercially focused and would provide the council with commercial development expertise. The proposed Auckland Development Office would include urban regeneration, commercial property management, council place leadership on agreed large-scale projects and property optimisation support for local boards
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Creation of an Innovation and Investment department within Auckland Council – focused on economic development for the council group and responsible for business attraction, economic transformation and industry/sector development coordination and local economic development with a vision of inclusive, innovative resilient economic growth for a prosperous Auckland.
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Improvement to the programming and delivery of events, placemaking and activations across the group – a unified group approach with clearer areas of responsibility for teams. The proposal clarifies that Tātaki Auckland Unlimited would lead a shared regional events calendar for all council events, with a single Auckland Council brand for delivery of council events.
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Grouping enabling functions – grouping most core support services into council functional teams or Group Shared Services in alignment with the organisational design principles of the council.
Mr Wilson says the changes being proposed are not about diminishing the great work done in areas like urban regeneration, economic development, property management and events.
“Rather, by focusing our collective efforts in these important areas, we will have greater impact and show Aucklanders what we’re capable of achieving when we are set up for success,” he says.
“There has been a great deal of collaboration across the council group to feed into the ideas supporting the change proposal and we thank those staff for participating in the workshops. A key principle is to retain talent and maintain our focus on delivering for Aucklanders while we work through the next phases, including post decision-making implementation. The opening of staff consultation on the proposed changes marks a significant milestone in the process.”
The proposal will be open for consultation with staff for a two-week period. Final decisions are likely to be made in early May, with the new structure due to be in place by 30 June 2025.
