Mark Thomas: Auckland’s city deal must have teeth

PremiumOpinionOpinion byMark ThomasNZ Herald·31 Mar, 2026 02:00 AM5 mins to readMark Thomas is managing director of Serviceworks and a director of the Committee for Auckland.Committee for Auckland director Mark Thomas . Photo / Jason Oxenham

The imminent Auckland city and regional deal is important, overdue, and will be worth welcoming. It will mark a shift: an acknowledgment that Auckland’s biggest challenges - transport, housing, infrastructure, innovation, and productivity – require a structured long-term partnership between central and local government rather than the cyclical stop-start approach