Amendment bill to form Regional Transport Committee, empower local boards
Transport Minister Chris Bishop, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown have announced the Local Government (Auckland Council) (Transport Governance) Amendment Bill, which introduces significant changes to the city’s transport governance and delivery arrangements.
“This is great news for Auckland,” Bishop said in the government’s news release. “This Government is committed to improving transport in Auckland and putting decision-making back in the hands of Aucklanders.”
Bishop said the reforms would shift responsibility for most transport functions, including policy and planning work, from Auckland Transport to Auckland Council, with the council’s elected members directly accountable to the public for most transport decisions impacting daily lives.
According to Bishop, under the amendments:
Bishop said the bill would create the Auckland Regional Transport Committee, consisting of an independent chair and an equal number of Auckland Council elected members and ministerial appointees.
Bishop added that the committee would develop a 30-year transport plan for the city, building upon the previous national government’s Auckland transport alignment project.
Bishop shared that the bill would confer new powers to local boards and authorise them to make local and collector road decisions regarding imposing speed limits, closing roads for events, managing parking, and establishing cycleways.
Bishop noted that the bill would hold Auckland Council’s governing body, comprising the mayor and 20 councillors, responsible for arterial roads and the city centre.
“Auckland’s transport system needs strong, appropriate governance to ensure people and goods can move across the city efficiently and safely, while ensuring value for money from every dollar spent by central government and Auckland Council,” Bishop said.
In the news release, the government noted that the bill would undergo its first reading this month. The government added that it expects the bill to pass into law in March 2026, followed by a six-month transition period, and be in place by September 2026 at the latest.
In the government’s news release, Minister Brown said the changes seek to:
“For too long, Auckland Transport has failed to listen to Aucklanders and take their views into account,” Minister Brown said. “That’s why we’re changing the law.”
Bishop added that the reforms aim to:
Bishop expressed gratitude to Mayor Brown for his collaborative efforts with the national government to amend the city’s transport governance arrangements.
“This is a major victory for the people of Auckland,” Mayor Brown said in the government’s news release. “The bill restores democratic control of transport to elected members and local communities.”
Mayor Brown welcomed the bill, which he said seeks to require Auckland Transport to do what Auckland Council instructs it to do and returns power to the hands of elected representatives.
