Auckland

Reporting on the public sector’s performance in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

31 October 2023: Given Auckland’s significance and the public services that central and local government organisations deliver there, we wanted to understand whether there is clear reporting on how much public money is being spent in the region, where it is being spent, and what difference it is making.

Governance of the City Rail Link project

28 June 2022: We looked at the governance arrangements for the City Rail Link project to see whether they were effective and likely to support its successful completion.

Inquiry into the Ministry of Social Development’s funding of private rental properties for emergency housing

December 2021: In 2020, issues were raised about the Ministry of Social Development's use of private rental properties as emergency housing. These included issues about the quality of some of the private rental properties, the amount that the Ministry paid for the rental properties, and the impact on the long-term rental market of using private rental properties as emergency housing. We carried out an inquiry into these matters.

Our intentions: Looking at governance of the Auckland City Rail Link project Our intentions: Looking at governance of the Auckland City Rail Link project

27 July 2020: A 3.45km underground tunnel is going below the centre of New Zealand’s biggest city. Due for completion in 2024 and costing up to $4.42 billion, the Auckland City Rail Link project is jointly governed by Auckland Council and the Government. It is part of the $28 billion Auckland Transport Alignment Project 2018-28.

Planning to meet the forecast demand for drinking water in Auckland

August 2011: A letter from the Auditor-General to the Chief Executives of Auckland Council and Watercare Services Limited on governance issues and a report on our initial findings and recommendations for Watercare to consider when developing its long-term plans for asset management and for funding arrangements...

Inquiry into aspects of Auckland Council’s Westgate/Massey North town centre project

January 2017: We looked into specific aspects of Auckland Council’s project to develop a new town centre in Massey North. One of the concerns raised with us was about the lack of transparency, in particular being unable to access information about the project. In our view, Auckland Council could have made more information about this development available. It is important that local authorities strike the right balance between balancing commercial sensitivity, maintaining legal privilege as appropriate and being open with ratepayers and elected officials. Such openness allows public discussion and debate, and is essential to supporting public sector accountability. This exercise has highlighted once again the importance not just of making good decisions but also of being able to show that good decisions have been made.

Auckland Council: How it deals with complaints

August 2016: As part of our periodic reviews of the Council's service performance, we audited the Council's complaints-handling process. Overall, the Council has a focus on resolving complaints, and most are dealt with in a timely manner. But it could do better in some aspects – in particular, collecting information from the complainant's perspective.

Reviewing aspects of the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative

October 2015: Progress with technical aspects – such as reaching design solutions, developing procurement options, and budget management – has been strong. But Auckland Transport needs to improve the focus on relationships with stakeholders, contractor performance, and the benefits delivered to date, as part of the monitoring and reporting. We made 12 recommendations to help Auckland Transport strengthen AMETI’s governance, accountability, and programme management arrangements.

Auckland Council: How it deals with building consents

April 2015: Overall, Auckland Council is performing its responsibilities as a building consent authority reasonably well. Its internal quality assurance procedures are sound, with systems and technical audits carried out routinely. It has a good standard of internal reporting of workflows and how well it meets targets...

Inquiry into the Government’s decision to negotiate with SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited for an international convention centre

February 2013: We have seen no evidence to suggest that the final decision to negotiate with SkyCity was influenced by any inappropriate considerations. However, we found a range of deficiencies in the advice that the Ministry provided and the steps that officials and Ministers took leading up to that decision. The quality of support that was provided fell short of what we would have expected from the lead government agency on commercial and procurement matters...

Auckland Council: Transition and emerging challenges

December 2012: This report sets out our observations from interviews with more than 50 people who were involved in designing and implementing the Auckland local government reforms and are involved in the governance and management of the Auckland Council. It also draws on our own audit work with the Council.

Final audits of Auckland's dissolved councils, and managing leaky home liabilities

June 2011: This report summarises our auditing of the financial and service performance statements in the final annual reports of the eight dissolved Auckland local authorities and 19 terminated council-controlled organisations. The report also looks at the effects on local authorities of leaky home liabilities - effects greatest in cities, especially Auckland...

Auckland City Council: Management of footpaths contracts

February 2010: We have concluded that the Council’s processes and procedures for managing footpaths work – while still evolving – are reasonable and have been applied adequately. We are satisfied that the Council has protected the interests of ratepayers throughout its management of footpaths contracts...

Waste management planning by territorial authorities

April 2007: All territorial authorities must adopt a waste management plan. In this audit, we checked whether all had done so, and whether six were implementing them. Some of the plans were out of date or did not contain all the information we expected...