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Auckland’s new economic and cultural agency will be called Auckland Unlimited.
The name will be used by the merged council agencies Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) from December.
“Auckland Unlimited conveys a sense of the enormous and endless potential of our city,” Mayor Phil Goff said of the merger recommended by a review of the five council-controlled agencies (CCOs).
The new body will be responsible for tourism promotion, major events, economic development and the main facilities of the city such as Aotea Center, Mt Smart Stadium, the Zoo and others.
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“There has been significant research and commitment to develop this name, which reflects what our new organization will be about: enriching the cultural and economic life in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland,” said incoming CEO Nick Hill, who heads the current agency ATEED. .
The two entities had combined budgets this year of $ 175 million and in February they had a total of nearly 800 permanent employees.
The merger was expected to increase efficiency and save an average of nearly $ 7 million a year over the next decade.
“Both have much more in common than differences. They both focus in one way or another, to use their own words, on ‘enriching the lives of the Auckland people,’ “the reviewers said in recommending the merger.
ATEED / Supplied
Nick Hill, CEO of the Auckland Council’s economic development agency, ATEED, who will lead the Auckland Unlimited merger.
The model of having the major council agencies, dealing with 70 percent of the council’s business, is unique and was enshrined in the laws that created the amalgamated Auckland Council in 2010.
The CCOs are technically companies, with their own boards of directors, that act in accordance with the objectives and guidelines that the councilors establish annually.
Plans for the independent review of how the CCO model is working were first marked as an electoral promise in 2019, when Mayor Phil Goff launched his campaign for a second term in office.
“Public entities must act for the public good and must be accountable to the public; it’s as simple as that,” Goff told the audience at the launch of his campaign.
