Auckland Council Māori: Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau |
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Unitary territorial authority | ||
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Nickname(s): Super City, City of Sails | ||
The Auckland Region (population density) as of early 2010 |
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Country | New Zealand | |
Region | Auckland | |
Established | 1 November 2010 | |
Named for | George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland | |
Wards | ||
Government | ||
• Mayor | Phil Goff | |
• CEO | Stephen Town | |
Area | ||
• Land | 4,894 km2 (1,890 sq mi) | |
Population (June 2016) | ||
• Total | 1,614,300 | |
Demonym(s) | Aucklanders | |
Time zone | NZST (UTC+12) | |
• Summer (DST) | NZDT (UTC+13) | |
Area code | 09 | |
Website | www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
The Auckland Council is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. 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 Australasia, with 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 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 initial Council elections in October 2010 returned 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 with his nearest rivals, Victoria Crone in second place, followed by Chloe Swarbrick.
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.