When Mark Ford took the job of chairman of the Auckland Transition Agency 16 months ago he said he would seek no further employment with the Super City once the Auckland Council was set up. That promise was made amid concerns about how much power Mr Ford would wield in the ATA role. The Herald reported at the time that some National Cabinet Ministers were understood to have had concerns about his conflicts of interest heading Watercare and the transport authority.
But such official concerns seem to have dissipated. Mr Ford, working closely with Local Government Minister Rodney Hide, has overseen the establishment of the super city, at times directly advising Cabinet. He was responsible for the recruitment of the executives and hand-picked boards who will run the city. And now he himself has landed two of the most powerful roles. He is the new CEO of the new water monopoly. He is also chair of the powerful transport agency which will spend more than half of Aucklanders’ rates.
I think Mr Ford’s competence is unquestioned but I have been critical of the concentration of power in the hands of one unelected official. It is particularly galling such a significant appointment has been made three days out from a new mayor and council taking office. There is a convention in central government that senior public service managers don’t get appointed during an election campaign. Why couldn’t they have waited until the new mayor and council were in place?
So Ford is the NACT CEO of choice for two of the most significant CC’s – especially transport widely acknowledged to be of most concern to a large number of Aucklanders.
If the mayor and a significant number of councillors and ward reps don’t agree with the NACT way forward for Auckland on water and transport, how much influence will they have? Are we actually in the process of electing some token reps who will have no power to enact the policiies they are mandated to promote?
It’s the concentration of power in the hands of one unelected individual that concerns me first and foremost. The identity of the individual is a secondary issue, and I doubt you will get much traction focussing on Mr Ford as an individual. Partly because so few people know much about him, and partly because he is very competent.
Having said that, I agree that the appointments of Mr Ford to the transport and water CCOs are inappropriate in a number of ways. A better person would have stuck to his word and declined one, or both. I’m genuinely interested in his motivations for accepting the appointments.
This seems like a very good appointment to me.
Auckland will need strong people in decision making positions should they have the misfortune to finish up with Len Brown as Mayor.
“There is a convention in central government that senior public service managers don’t get appointed during an election campaign. Why couldn’t they have waited until the new mayor and council were in place?”
What! Rodney Hide doesn’t care about convention. While he may use it as a tool to beat others with, he doesn’t actually care a fig about democratic procedures. Lies and cheating are the norm for him. My pick is: he’s worried Len Brown is going to win and that there may even be a left-leaning council.
Why not a strongly worded statement about Ford’s previous claim he wouldn’t seek any further employment with the Super City Phil. Show the public they can’t be believed…
Gulp,
We have a czar now? 
I guess King Gerry can’t be bothered ruling it all 
Your right spud,
Who needs Gerry…
AIF
Labour, please make National wear the super-sh***y around their neck through the entire of 2011 election campaign.
And can someone in the MSM or Banks campaign, please acknowledge that west Auckland is part of the supercity & election? The way they’ve been ignoring us westies of late, gives me no faith that west Auckland will get much consideration from those with power in the super sh**ty. Brown & some leftie (hopefully) councillors are our only glimmer of hope.
Wouldn’t it be great if Labour had any sort of moral authority to object to the unjustified concentration of huge amounts of power in the hands of one individual?
I mean, complain about trivia like the Rugby World Cup Empowering Bill and the appointment of Mark Ford to a chairmanship and a CEO role aall you like; it’s a bit irrelevant when you didn’t let out so much as a whimper before handing Gerry Brownlee the keys to the country.
L
I demand an audience with the czar.
Let’s see some close up pictures of him.
Ask him if he intends selling our water control to Veolia and check if he looks away furtively, blinks, touches the side of his nose with his index finger or puts his finger over his closed mouth as if he wants to keep something secret; What other signs of lying are there? Do the same with David Hawkins and all the other privatisation specialists starting to circle around the throne.
Vote for Dianne Glenn in Franklin for your Auckland Councillor pick if you don’t want the cits and rats and pretend C & R independents (like Christine Rankin)to block vote on Council as they have been doing on the present Auckland Council, making decisions that get rich people extra sand and Otahuhu the big fat NO for a public pool, already planned, zoned, ready to go but for some extra funding.
It will get a lot worse with this JKeyll and Hide set up.
Is there an issue here in relation to the declaration of a conflict of interest? I understand that Ford took the ATA role on the basis that he was not seeking a position in the Auckland Council structure. This provided an assurance of independence. However, at some stage he must have become directly involved in his own appointment process, at which stage he should have declared a conflict of interest?
Careful, Jennifer; if he became involved in his own appointment process he’ll want to be paid for employing himself as well!
I guess when Hide said a year ago that he didn’t think the mayor of Auckland was running yet he was right, he was yet to appoint Mark Ford as Mayor…
He will be totally conflicted by his dual positions at Auckland Transport and Watercare. Remember at Auckland Transport he is a non-executive director giving policy instructions to the senior management. At Watercare he is Chief Executive taking directions from the Watercare Board. What happens when an Auckland Transport employee acts in way that affects Watercare’s activities that Mark Ford does not like? Will the Auckland Transport CEO be in a position to back up his own employee?
If you wanted Watercare and Auckland Transport to be the same organisation they should have done it. But Auckland Council should never allow the executive and non-exceutive positions to become so conflicted. I would be surprised if this was appropriate corporate governance.
Why did we pay Momentum $8K per candidate when all we had to do was ask ATA t appoint themselves!
So, another strikeout for Democracy.
John Key’s Dancing Master , Rodney Hide now has a puppet in charge of transport and water. I wonder if Rodney will be ble to pull the right strings at the right time. Mark Ford is no pushover and doesn’t have to win in Epsom next year.
@Red LOL
“I demand an audience with the czar.” Czar moshpit
“Let’s see some close up pictures of him.” preferably while he is being lynched
@2.43 LOL
Othello and Iago – ends in tears for other players