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Auckland Council (Māori: Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, which established the council.
Auckland (Māori: Tāmaki Makaurau) is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing 34 percent of the nation's residents, it has by far the largest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.
On 1 November 2010, the Auckland region became a unitary authority administered by the Auckland Council, replacing the previous regional council and seven local councils. In the process, an area in its southeastern corner was transferred to the neighbouring Waikato region. Since then, the Auckland Council has introduced a system of local boards to divide the region for local government.
Auckland is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about 1,547,200 (June 2025). It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of 1,816,000 as of June 2025. It is the most populous city of New Zealand and the fifth-largest city in Oceania.
The city lies between the Hauraki Gulf to the east, the Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitākere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with 53 volcanic centres that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two separate major bodies of water.
The territorial authorities of New Zealand form the country's municipal-level of local government existing alongside the country's regional councils. There are 67 such authorities, including 12 city councils, 53 district councils and 2 sui generis councils (Auckland Council and Chatham Islands Council). 5 territorial authorities also have the powers of regional councils, and these are called unitary authorities.
The Hunua Ranges is a mountain range and regional park to the southeast of Auckland city, in the Auckland and Waikato regions of New Zealand's North Island. The ranges cover some 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi) and rise to 688 metres (2255 ft) at Kohukohunui.
Auckland Council owns and manages 178 square kilometres (69 sq mi) of the ranges, including part located in the Waikato region, as a regional park open to the public.
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some 27,720 hectares (68,500 acres) of public and private land. The area, traditionally known to Māori as Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa (The Great Forest of Tiriwa), is of local, regional, and national significance. The Waitākere Ranges includes a chain of hills in the Auckland Region, generally running approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland. The ranges are part of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
From 1 May 2018 the forested areas of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park were closed, with some exceptions, while Auckland Council upgraded the tracks to dry foot standard protect the roots and to prevent the spread of kauri dieback, oomycete organisms that affect kauri trees and prevents them from getting nutrients, effectively killing them. There is no cure. But many are now marked as permanently closed, and their future is uncertain.
The territorial authorities of New Zealand form the country's municipal-level of local government, existing alongside the country's regional councils. There are 67 such authorities, including 12 city councils, 53 district councils and 2 sui generis councils (Auckland Council and Chatham Islands Council). Five territorial authorities also have the powers of regional councils, and these are called unitary authorities.