Auckland at 15: Progress and possibilities

Auckland Council's 15th budget focuses on growth and savings. Photo / Getty Images

THREE KEY FACTS

• Auckland Council‘s 15th budget focuses on sustainable community funding, infrastructure investment and low rates increases.
• The council received more than 13,000 feedback pieces, highlighting increased public engagement across diverse demographics.
• Since 2010, Auckland’s asset base grew by $40 billion, with $2.9 billion in savings achieved.

In a few weeks, Auckland Council’s Governing Body will meet to adopt its 15th budget.

This year it’s an annual plan and a glance through the investment areas, the savings we will achieve and the services we will deliver, you can’t help but notice how far we’ve come.

We’ve had more than 13,000 pieces of feedback – the second highest number ever for an annual plan, continuing a trend of increased engagement with council plans in recent years. More importantly, these responses come from a range of Aucklanders by age, ethnic group and parts of the region.

The sign of maturity however is the content. As well as important conversations on transport funding and refuse collection, we’re tackling regional issues like fairer and more sustainable community funding, investment in infrastructure and how we remain a world-class city for tourism and events.

To remain a world-class city, tourism needs stable, long-term funding. Photo / Getty Images

All while keeping rates increases comparatively low nationally. When I was asked to reflect on 15 years of progress and possibilities to mark Auckland at 15, my mind went back to when the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance was established and the process for one council for Tāmaki Makaurau began.

Getting to day one of Auckland Council was a herculean effort – eight councils; eight workforces; eight sets of systems. Add to that an election, a Mayor for all of Auckland, creating 21 local boards, a first budget and the region’s first CCOs.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown explaining his final budget proposal at Auckland Transport.

The first few years were a rollercoaster ride of seeing to the commitments of legacy councils, learning how to think more regionally while still acting locally, and streamlining to reduce duplication, realise economies of scale and deliver value for money to ratepayers.

The lights stayed on, the rubbish got collected, the grass was mowed and our public were patient with us. Aucklanders embraced being able to take a book out in Pukekohe and return it in Wellsford. Youngsters’ sports games stopped being cancelled as we invested regionally in sports field capacity.

We have revitalised town centres, delivered ambitious capital works programmes year after year, invested in long-term infrastructure programmes and welcomed more than 300,000 new Aucklanders into our region – the populations of Hamilton and Dunedin combined.

Our financial strategy has focused on addressing historical under-investment in infrastructure and services, while providing a for a growing city.

A strong tourism sector can help strengthen New Zealand’s currency by boosting foreign income. Photo / Getty Images

Since 2010, our asset base has grown by $40 billion to $74b, with net debt only increasing by $7.5b. We have trebled the amount that we’re spending on infrastructure to get ahead of that historic underspend. And, if I add up our savings year on year over the last 15, it totals $2.9b. This comes from efficiencies, solid workforce planning, sheer determination to deliver better value for every dollar spent and investing our gains into making the city better.

Auckland’s Unitary Plan has enabled greater integration of regional and district planning, and our natural and physical resources. Between 2016 and 2021, 21,800 new dwellings were consented as a direct result of upzoning in the Unitary Plan. Right now, beneath our city streets, the largest transport infrastructure project New Zealand has ever built is taking shape.

By 2035 the City Rail Link will move 54,000 people around the city every hour at peak times. We have weathered storms, literally, and the impacts of a global pandemic on our communities and on our own balance sheet.

By 2035, the City Rail Link will transport 54,000 people every hour at peak times.

Recovery from the 2023 severe weather events threw up a challenge that would be insurmountable for other parts of the country but that, together with central Government, we have navigated our way through.

As a result, more than $2b (and growing) is going into property buyouts and a blue-green network of stormwater and infrastructure resilience projects. Last year, when the Mayor and councillors tackled our funding challenges head on, we had a conversation with our community about trade-offs.

That too is a sign of maturity: that we can go to our communities and ask them what matters most, and that they respond. What do the next 15 years look like? Good question.

We are focused on strategic transport, water, built and natural environment goals that are underpinned by a commitment to our communities, working with central Government and being a well-run council that delivers value for ratepayers and residents.