There’s a power struggle within Auckland Council between those elected to represent the will of the public and the bureaucracy employed to implement it. In a rare public showing of that tension, the council may end up legally challenging itself, reports Jonathan Killick.

Ōrākei Local Board member Troy Churton is entirely aware that taking his own council to court would be “an absolute waste of ratepayer money”.

And yet, it’s on the cards with elected members set to vote on an “extraordinary” motion on Thursday to use board allocated funds to get an independent legal opinion to use against council staff.

The government has instructed Auckland Council to allow apartments of at least 15 storeys around three key train stations - Mt Eden, Kingsland and Morningside as well as Mt Albert & Baldwin Avenue stations, as the City Rail Link (CRL) nears completion. The Character Coalition spokesperson, Sally Hughes, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss on RNZ Morning Report.

RNZ The Panel with Wallace Chapman 19 May 2025

Planners are in the firing line. In our biggest city this year, council planners have discouraged a large commercial building in a heritage area, opposed the rezoning of rural land for urban development and pushed developers to make design improvements to new apartments, including providing bigger living spaces.

Is this "insanity" - as Housing Minister Chris Bishop branded the rejection by independent planning commissioners of an 11-storey glass building on Karangahape Rd? Almost all planning consent applications are granted by councils. Where they are not, it's usually because planners are trying to deliver what voters want, namely, attractive, non-sprawling cities that haven't lost all their heritage and trees.