Auckland’s assets are not the problem, they’re the opportunity – Michael Barnett

Michael Barnett writes that Auckland's transformation requires bold leadership and measurable outcomes, not just poetic aspirations. Photo / Getty Images

THE FACTS

• Auckland needs bold, immediate leadership with clear, measurable outcomes to realise its potential.
• The City Rail Link is a necessary but overdue infrastructure project, not a visionary leap forward.
• Auckland’s development is hindered by bureaucracy and a lack of decisive action, not resources.

The recent discussions around Auckland’s “potential” and the idea that we need a different result than in the past should be more than just words – it should be a call to action.

A city doesn’t transform because of poetic aspirations or vague promises. It transforms through bold, immediate leadership with clear, measurable outcomes.

We’re now heading into another round of local body elections in Auckland and across New Zealand. And leadership, or more precisely the lack of it, has become a central issue.

Auckland is not just any city in New Zealand. It is New Zealand’s largest city, its most diverse and its most globally connected.

It is a city with the infrastructure, population and geographical advantages to be a true gateway to the world. Not a gateway to New Zealand.

But the tragedy is that the expectations are too low. The ambitions are too small. The results are far too late.

Auckland's assets are underused due to bureaucracy and a lack of bold decision-making, Michael Barnett argues.

Let’s stop pretending that we’re doing well just because we’re catching up.

The announcement that the City Rail Link (CRL) will transform Auckland’s transport future is accurate – but maybe disingenuous. The CRL is not a leap ahead. It’s not a visionary piece of infrastructure. It’s a belated correction. It is what should have existed a decade ago. It’s the minimum required for a modern city.

Now we are told that the Government is generously offering a $70 million fund to boost the events sector, a move framed as forward-thinking. But is it really?

A short-term funding injection may give us a few bright moments on the calendar, but it doesn’t build the foundations for a sustainable, world-class events economy.

Where is the real plan? Where is the long-term thinking? Where is the visitor levy or targeted tax that allows Auckland to reinvest in its own success, year after year?

The City Rail Link is a necessary correction, not a visionary leap, for Auckland's transport, Michael Barnett writes. Photo / Anna Heath

Auckland’s assets are not the problem – they’re the opportunity. This city has venues that cities around the world would envy. We have concert halls, sports stadiums, waterfront arenas and a central city that’s built for showcasing talent, competition and culture. But instead of being maximised, they’re often mired in bureaucracy, legacy regulations or underused because of a lack of vision and co-ordination.

Take Eden Park, for example. It stands as one of the clearest symbols of our policy dysfunction. Here is a world-class stadium surrounded by a vibrant city and yet it operates under noise and event restrictions that are decades old and completely out of step with what a modern venue needs. Why? To placate a vocal minority at the cost of the majority. It has cost Auckland’s hospitality sector tens of millions in lost revenue. It has cost the city in missed international opportunities. And it has cost the public their right to enjoy a dynamic, thriving events scene.

We must be honest with ourselves – too much of Auckland’s development has been constrained not by a lack of resources, but by a lack of bold decision-making. The city has suffered from a type of paralysis-by-process. Layers of consultation, endless feasibility studies, political compromises and bureaucratic bottlenecks have combined to create an inertia that no great city can afford. The result? A city with potential constantly postponed.

Eden Park's noise limits have cost Auckland’s hospitality sector millions, Michael Barnett argues. Photo / Getty Images

That’s why leadership matters. Not just leadership that talks in glowing terms about what could be. We’ve had enough of that.

What Auckland needs is leadership that acts – with urgency, with clarity and with accountability. This city can’t afford more five-year plans that never leave the planning stage. We don’t need more “strategies” with no funding or timelines attached.

We need action now – action that produces measurable outcomes. Aucklanders are tired of waiting. They are tired of being told to “trust the process”. They want results.

Here are a few examples of what could and should be happening now. This isn’t about throwing money at problems. It’s about using what we already have with intelligence and purpose. The venues exist. The audience exists. The demand is there. What’s missing is leadership that says: “We will deliver now.”

We cannot afford the luxury of dreaming endlessly about the Auckland of tomorrow while failing to use the Auckland of today. Every day that a venue sits empty, a harbour lies dormant or a visitor leaves without spending because there’s nothing to attend is a day lost – not just in dollars, but in momentum.

If local elections are to mean anything, they should be a referendum on Auckland’s ambition.

Are we a city that waits or are we a city that acts? Are we satisfied with catching up, or are we ready to lead?

For Auckland’s sake – and for New Zealand’s – let’s hope we choose action. Because potential, no matter how great, means nothing without delivery.

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