ATA Organisation

The Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) was established by legislation in May 2009. Its role is to manage and oversee the transition process of amalgamating the eight current local authorities into one Auckland Council, and 20 to 30 Local Boards, by the time of the next local body elections in October 2010.

The ATA is a statutory entity and will only exist until the Auckland Council comes into existence in November 2010. Current councils will retain their existing responsibilities until then, but their decision-making will be constrained and monitored during the transition period by the ATA.

From left to right: Miriam Dean QC, John Waller, Mark Ford, Wayne Walden, John Law.

The Board of the ATA was announced by the Government in May 2009. Its members are:

	Mark Ford, Executive Chairman Chief Executive of Watercare Services Ltd since 1994 and Chairman of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) since 2007. Previous roles have included Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Services Trust and the Chief Executive of NZ Forestry Corporation.
	Miriam Dean, QC Extensive legal experience, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2004. An experienced mediator and arbitrator with strong governance experience.
	John Law Extensive Auckland region local government experience, including seven years as Mayor of Rodney District Council (2001-07).
	Wayne Walden Experienced company director and manager, with extensive governance experience. Former Chair of Maori Television (2003-08). Affiliated to Ngati Kahu and Tai Tokerau.
	John Waller Chartered accountant with change management expertise. Chairman of the Bank of New Zealand and adviser on many successful restructurings.

Appointments announced by Mark Ford to the ATA team can be accessed here and here. These announcements are also available via the news/media pages of the ATA website.

General inquiries about the ATA can be sent to info@ata.govt.nz