Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown at a campaign meeting in Northcote hosted by Grey Power, with (from left) council candidate Danielle Grant, mayoral and council candidate Eric Chuah, council candidates Helena Roza, John Gillon, Richard Hills, and mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni. Photo / Simon Wilson
This is a transcript of Simon Wilson’s weekly newsletter Love this City – exploring the ideas and events, the reality and the potential of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
It’s election time: for mayor, council, local boards and licensing trusts. Until voting ends on October 11, Love this City is focusing on news, issues and personalities from the campaign trail. This week:
Candidates were asked a very good question in a meeting at the University of Auckland last week: “What’s the one most unsustainable thing the council has done?”
The meeting was organised by the Sustainability Society, hence the way the question was framed. But the answers went well beyond sustainability to discuss the “worst thing” the council has done. This was valuable, although not because it provided a list of council “mistakes”. Several of the complaints bore little relationship to reality. The value was that it revealed a very wide range of views about what’s important in this election.
The candidates were vying for spots in three different wards and two local boards. Here’s what they said, along with a bit of commentary. First, the ward councillor candidates:
“In the storms of 2023, my ward was the hardest hit, and this is now an existential crisis because it’s going to happen again. Whenever I’ve said to Auckland Transport, ‘Are you going to fix that road to make it better and more resilient?’, the answer has usually been, ‘No.’ They put it back the way it was. They call this ‘like for like’. Business as usual. But it’s a climate crisis and we need a new model of business as usual.” Julie Fairey, City Vision, standing for re-election in the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward.
My response: Milford and the Wairau Valley had more deaths, and still today have more unliveable homes as a result of those storms. There was also severe damage in other East Coast Bays, West Coast beaches like Muriwai and Karekare, and in Māngere, Henderson and northwest suburbs like Swanson and Ranui. But Fairey is right that flooding across Sandringham, Mt Roskill and related areas was more widespread than elsewhere.
“The most unsustainable thing is the CRL. Where’s the money gone? And you go into town, you don’t know where to drive, you don’t know where to park. What’s going on?” Selena Renner, independent, candidate for the Waitematā and Gulf ward.
My response: The CRL annual reports, including the accounts, are readily available public documents. And while driving into Queen St can be confusing if you haven’t done it for a while, the council has LED signs on all the main entry roads, advising drivers about nearby parking buildings.
“Growth is stuck and we need new thinking at council, like PPPs: public-private partnerships.” Genevieve Sage, independent, for the Waitematā and Gulf ward.
“The mindless wrecking of Queen St. It’s a boulevard of broken dreams. And the selling of the legacy shares in Auckland International Airport. The money went into the Auckland Future Fund, where it is earning a fraction of what it would have earned in the airport.” Mike Lee, independent, standing for re-election in the Waitematā and Gulf ward.
My response: Real-estate firm Bayleys reported in August that 13% of shops in central Auckland were vacant. But the reasons, it said, included CRL construction work, which is nearly complete, plus Covid and work-from-home, and higher interest rates. Bayleys targeted the sluggish economy and changing work patterns, not making Queen St more pedestrian-friendly. Heart of the City reports positive signs: foot traffic is rising, new luxury stores are opening, and most downtown hospitality has bounced back.
Also in August, the council heard from the chairman of the Auckland Future Fund, Chris Swasbrook. He said the airport shares, if left unsold, would have paid a dividend of $22.8 million this year. “But,” he said, “we’ll pay you $69.1m.”
“Sprawl is environmentally and economically bad for us. It sets up ‘forever costs’, like motorways that have to be expensively maintained. And there are candidates who talk about the ‘suddenness’ of density plans and say the council is planning for seven million people, which is not true. It’s irresponsible and disrespectful to voters. We should be having a much more inclusive discussion about housing, including how we provide more homes for young people.” Patrick Reynolds, City Vision, candidate for Waitematā and Gulf ward.
“Local board funding has been reformed to remove asset-based allocations. This is good for the Whau, where I come from. But it’s been done at pace and that’s put far too much pressure on some boards, which are losing a lot of funding suddenly.” Sarah Paterson-Hamlin, Labour, candidate for the Whau ward.
My response: A new funding set-up was introduced in this term of council. It sets right a long-standing anomaly by which boards in wealthier areas were receiving a disproportionate share of funds, on a population basis, because they had higher costs. But Paterson-Hamlin is right that it has introduced another problem: those boards now lack the funds they need to keep many services going. The new council will need to grapple with this.
Local board candidates also had their say.
“Phil Goff saddling us with $1 billion in debt to pay for climate change.” Leo Grachev, C&R, for Waitematā Local Board.
My response: The climate action budget established under the previous mayor, Phil Goff, is not funded through debt. The money comes mostly from a targeted rate, which was introduced after consultation and surveys showed it had two-thirds public support, and from Government co-funding.
“Letting the city sprawl into the countryside.” Connor Sharp, City Vision, for Waitematā Local Board.
My response: Although only about 20% of new housing in Auckland is outside existing urban areas, it puts expensive demands on infrastructure. For example, Watercare has just opened a new $450m wastewater treatment plant near Warkworth, made necessary because of sudden growth in the area.
“The complete lack of trust and respect the people hold the council in.” Matt Zwartz, independent, for Albert-Eden Local Board.
My response: Auckland Council surveys public satisfaction quarterly. Dissatisfaction, at 35-40%, consistently outweighs satisfaction at just under 20%. The remaining 40% are neutral or have no opinion. It’s not good, but having 35-40% dissatisfied does not amount to a “complete lack of trust”.
The most dissatisfied wards cover the rural areas to the north and south, and the eastern suburbs, including Remuera, Mt Wellington and Ōtāhuhu. The most satisfied areas are Upper Harbour, Waitematā, Waiheke and Ōtara.
“The endless waste.” Sarah Trotman, C&R, for Waitematā Local Board.
My response: The council’s value-for-money programme reduced spending in the last three years by $608m, saving an extra 7% from being added to the average rates bill.
Auckland Council voted 18-5 this week in favour of a new residential zoning plan for the city. It’s called Plan Change 120 and it has four key features. One: it reduces the density allowed in most suburbs. Two: it gives the council the toughest controls yet over “natural hazards”, which are mainly areas susceptible to coastal erosion and flooding.
Three: it allows for mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings near train stations, around town centres and along arterial routes. And four: it preserves “special character” housing, although slightly less of it than in the previous plan.
The vote was taken at a meeting of the policy and planning committee, which includes all the councillors, the mayor and two members of Houkura, the Independent Māori Statutory Board. How did they vote?
In favour: Wayne Brown, Edward Ashby (Houkura), Andy Baker, Josephine Bartley, Angela Dalton, Chris Darby, Julie Fairey, Alf Filipaina, Lotu Fuli, Shane Henderson, Richard Hills, Kerrin Leoni, Daniel Newman, Greg Sayers, Desley Simpson, Sharon Stewart, Tau Henare (Houkura) and Maurice Williamson.
Votes against: Christine Fletcher, Mike Lee, Ken Turner, Wayne Walker and John Watson.
When candidates went on too long in a meeting in Glen Eden, the timekeeper used a noisy child’s rattle to drown them out. In Whangaparāoa, they got the polite ding of a bell when they were nearing time but, if they went over, a dustpan and broom were vigorously beaten together. Makes quite a racket.
In the University of Auckland Debating Society meeting, things were much more subtle: the timekeeper, sitting right in front of the lectern, silently held up two hands.
Many meetings just ring a bell or a chime. But some like to have a bit more fun than that. My favourite was the warning sign a student from Rangitoto College used when speakers were nearing their time limit in Albany. She held up a large pink pig glove puppet.
Quotes from the campaign trail.
“I said what I was going to do in the last election. I had five policies, that’s five more than National and six more than Labour.” Mayor Wayne Brown in Whangaparāoa.
“I’m standing because I want to plant 200 trees around every school.” Samuel Clarke, independent candidate for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward.
“To those few golfers who play 18 holes: Go round twice!” Wayne Brown explaining why Takapuna Golf Course will still work with nine holes.
“Let’s not build another motorway. Or an on-ramp. Or maybe it could be an on-ramp to launch a submarine with Wayne Brown in it.” Matt Zwartz, independent candidate for the Albert-Eden Local Board, in Pt Chevalier, commenting on Brown’s proposal for a bridge from Meola Reef to the North Shore.
“It’s time for a change around the council table. We need energy, deliberative thought, dynamism. Electing the same people means getting the same outcomes.” Genevieve Sage, independent candidate for the Waitematā and Gulf ward, at a meeting in the central city.
“My experience of the mayor is that he will listen to people when they tell him he’s wrong. That’s a very rare thing.” Jon Turner, standing for City Vision in the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward, in Balmoral.
“Collecting the green bin organic waste burns enough diesel to fill the Gulf of Mexico.” Leo Grachev, C&R candidate for the Waitematā Local Board, at a meeting in the central city.
“‘City deal’ is a slogan the Government came up with. I want to turn it into something substantial. I’m not the mayor of Horowhenua, wherever that is. I’m the mayor of a third of the country.” Wayne Brown in Northcote.
“I have always supported booth voting. When I was an MP, I advocated fiercely for it.” Christine Fletcher, standing for re-election for C&R in the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward, at a meeting in Balmoral. As reported recently, Fletcher voted in council against booth voting in June 2024. The result was 11-10 against. I asked her about this, and she told me, “I can’t remember,” then added that the wording of the motion may have been problematic. She called me later and confirmed she had voted against.
“The Vision Zero policy is the biggest waste of money because it is impossible.” Paul Sun, independent candidate for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward, in Pt Chevalier.
“Cities actually can achieve zero deaths on the road. Helsinki did it last year.” Emma McInnes, City Vision candidate for the Albert-Eden Local Board, also in Pt Chevalier.
Auckland Council held its last meeting of the term on Thursday. It took only about five hours, after a seven-hour meeting to consider the zoning plan changes the day before.
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson got very gushy about Wayne Brown, her boss and also her running mate in the election. After listing a bunch of achievements, she said he had presided over “one of the most transformational terms this council has ever had”.
“Thank you for that unexpected outburst,” said Brown.
The councillors debated their submission on the Government’s bill to hand the policy and planning functions of Auckland Transport to the council. Andy Baker, who hardly ever gets agitated, rose from his chair as he tried to impress on his colleagues the importance of the change. They’re going to have a lot more responsibility, he said. Life and death and the basic functioning of the city are at stake.
Lotu Fuli agreed. “This is a mammoth task to get it right. We won’t have Auckland Transport to hide behind. We will have nowhere to hide.”
“That’s true,” responded Brown. “And I’ll be quite happy to apologise if we’ve got it wrong. But I’m sick of apologising for things we didn’t do.”
There were three valedictory speeches.
Angela Dalton, a two-term councillor from Manurewa, said, “I have always believed that women must have a seat at the table. Not to replace men, but to stand shoulder to shoulder ... If we are to have an Auckland that is truly inclusive, that starts with us right here, with leadership that is truly inclusive. We are and always will be stronger together.”
Chris Darby, a four-term councillor and member of the local board and North Shore City Council before that, thanked the people of North Shore for voting for him.
“Thanks for your support to be a progressive,” he said, “in a part of town many would have said was a bastion of conservatism. Where no big ideas were required.”
He paid tribute to Len Brown, the mayor when he was first elected to the council. “Len was the consummate city cheerleader, who helped lay an important foundation for so much to come. I hope to see him handed the scissors to cut the CRL ribbon next year.”
Darby also told the story of the Devonport Library. “I am immensely proud of the 21st-century library,” he said. A design competition was held, won by Athfield Architects, but “heritage aficionados shook their head in disbelief. Why was there no pointed roof, and why a round window? ‘We don’t have round windows in Devonport,’ they said.”
But 35,000 people used the library in its first month, and the membership grew tenfold. Darby said it was now an “elegant and honest building, a much-loved community anchor”.
Sharon Stewart, a councillor since the Super City inception in 2010 and a four-term member of the Manukau City Council before that, said she’d been told by Dick Quax and Jami-Lee Ross in 2010 that she didn’t have a show because they were going to win. In fact, Stewart won 23,716 votes, 4500 more than both of them, and the most of any councillor in the city.
Postal voting is now under way. You can post your votes in a postbox or deliver them to collection points at Countdown supermarkets, libraries and other places around the city. Voting closes on October 11.
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