Auckland Regional Council has publicly rebuked its own transport agency for lobbying the Government over its role in Auckland's new local body structure.
The regional council wants the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) to be scrapped when a super-city council is formed next year.
The council says the stand-alone agency has not worked well enough and the transport portfolio should be back inside the new Auckland Council.
Regional council acting chairman Michael Barnett says after putting that view to a cabinet minister he was told ARTA has been pushing its own message.
But ARTA chief executive Fergus Gammie says it has simply been responding to questions, rather than lobbying.
He says ARTA was unaware of the council's stance on its future.
