Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown continues to push for a bed levy, which the Government has so far opposed. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
By Morning Report of RNZ
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says the Government is unqualified to lead the city’s economic recovery and should leave it to local council.
The comments came as Brown again renewed calls for a bed levy, despite the Government’s opposition to the move.
A suite of events were set to be held in Auckland throughout the year, as major infrastructure projects neared completion.
The long-delayed International Convention Centre was finally due to open on Wednesday.
Construction of the Convention Centre began back in 2015 and was initially supposed to take 38 months, but had been plagued by a budget blowout and legal wrangling.
“We’ve been waiting for such a long time. [Convention centres] are hard to make money out of.
“I understand it’s booked up pretty well, so it will bring in conventions and it will be part of the tourist offering. But that whole tourist thing is a bit of a question for us.”
The New Zealand leg of SailGP also returned to the waters of Waitematā Harbour this weekend.
Brown told Morning Report both events were a positive for the Super City.
“Those are two good things on this week, that’s for sure,” he said.
“It’s a big year really when you think about it.
“The polo finals and the Blues and Chiefs are playing shortly. There’s a lot of sport,” he said.
Another long overdue milestone, the City Rail Link, was also due to be completed later this year.
The Ocean Race, formerly known as the Round the World Race, was scheduled to return to the City of Sails in 2027.
Brown wasted no time pointing to the small matter of the election, another major event pertinent to Auckland residents, he said.
“If you don’t win Auckland, you don’t get to be the government.”
Brown had long campaigned for a bed tax on visitors to help fund destination marketing and events.
He again expressed his desire for the scheme.
“The Government can’t bring itself to do that yet, so that they’re raiding tourists at the border. And then central government will tell us how we spend on things, which is something we don’t like.
“All these big events want some money up front. And if we have the bed night levy we will have the money up front.”
Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said a bed tax was not something she was pursuing this term.
“Our Government has already announced a number of initiatives to boost tourism and events across New Zealand and in Auckland, including our $70 million major events and tourism package and a regional tourism boost announcement which invests in campaigns to market New Zealand (and Auckland) to overseas visitors.”
Upston said the Government was firmly focused on growing the economy, including the Auckland economy, and tourism and major events remained integral to that.
“I recognise there’s been an interest in bed tax and am also aware of Wayne Brown’s recent comments.”
In response to Auckland’s lagging economy and high unemployment rate, the mayor said the city “had its own ideas”.
Council-led initiatives such as the Auckland Innovation & Technology Alliance showed the council was better suited than the Government in driving investment into the city, Brown said.
“Economic development; we’ve decided that council will lead this, because the Government doesn’t quite know how to do that.”
When asked if he felt the Government had dropped the ball, he replied “they didn’t pick it up”.
“They’re not quite sure where it is. There’s a lot we can do ourselves as well. Instead of them initiating things, we just want them to help with what we’re going to initiate.
“There’s too much centralised decision-making in this country.”
Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown said the Government was focused on rebuilding the economy and Auckland was central to that.
“That’s why we’re fast-tracking major infrastructure like the $200m Port of Auckland extension and incentivising business investment through Investment Boost and our Going for Growth agenda.
“The opening of the International Convention Centre and the City Rail Link later this year will further lift jobs and economic activity.”
Brown said business confidence in Auckland was at its highest in over a decade.
“GDP is up 12.1% on 2019, labour force participation is 72.8%, and CBD office vacancies have fallen for the first time since 2022 – a clear sign businesses are backing the city again.
“The mayor and Auckland Council would be wise to focus on keeping costs down for Aucklanders,” Brown said.
Supporting a rates cap last week would have been a good first step, Brown added.
– RNZ