The group is raising money for the hearing in the High Court on August 30.
It counts among its members farmers from Warkworth who argue their area has been seriously deprived of infrastructure and funding since the formation of the super city.
Chairman, Bill Townson said the group has been representing itself and has done the lion’s share of the work but is launching a fundraising appeal to hire a lawyer for the Wellington court case.
“Hopefully, that cost won’t be too horrendous,” he said.
One large backer had provided most of its funding so far but the group is now calling on local ratepayers to help.
The commission turned down appeals by NAG and One Waiheke, a group of Waiheke ratepayers, to form unitary councils late last year saying there is insufficient rationale for their reorganisation proposals and the status quo is the preferred option for Auckland governance.
But earlier this year the commission made a number of recommendations to Auckland Council about how it should improve services and communications to residents in outlying areas. It described the council’s response last month as very promising and taking seriously the recommendations made to it.
“It has made encouraging progress of its own accord in addressing the very real concerns we heard from residents in Waiheke and Rodney,” commission chairman Sir Wira Gardiner said.
One of the council’s undertakings was a potential extension of aspects of a Waiheke pilot project empowering the local board, to Rodney. The Rodney Local Board is working on aspects of the pilot that could be put in place that are relevant to Rodney’s critical issues with transport, communication and engagement.
Another undertaking is a planned move of the Rodney Local Board office to the Rodney area, with the potential for a second meeting space in Kumeu to address the challenges faced by the board given the size of its area.
And the council plans a major increase in Rodney’s road sealing budget with the top 20 roads in an Auckland Transport-prioritised list for tarsealing all in the Rodney area.
The council plans a review of service level variability across the region to determine how to smooth out funding distribution issues across local boards, three-year reviews of local board allocations as an ongoing commitment to localism and devolution and targeted communication improvements. It will report back to the commission on progress in November.
Gardiner said the main issues the commission heard about in Rodney and Waiheke before it made its decision revolved around people feeling disconnected from the council and unable to communicate with it meaningfully when matters important to their particular communities arise.
“All parties involved in the recent reorganisation application process should feel pleased with the positive progress being made.”
But Townson said there is not much commitment from the council to change.
“It’s a predictable response and much of it has come straight out of our proposals,” he said.
“It’s tinkering around the edges when the whole thing needs a total rethink.”
The group is also disappointed at what it sees as an about face by New Zealand First, which it said gave repeated assurances before last year’s election it would initiate a binding referendum on the issue. Labour had also been strongly critical of aspects of Auckland Council’s operation, he said.
“The appeal is now our best chance.”
While One Waiheke has withdrawn from court proceedings Townson said a finding in favour of NAG could lead to that group refiling its proposal for its own unitary council.
Federated Farmers, which welcomed the commission’s report, said it could have gone much further, with more of Auckland Council’s decision-making delegated to local boards rather than being made at governance body level. The council’s response is a step in the right direction, showing progress is being made and the Rodney Local Board is getting to grips with the issues involved.
