In the third of a four-part series on the policies of the Auckland mayoral candidates, Super City reporter Bernard Orsman talks with Manukau councillor Efeso Collins about his plans for free public transport and reducing car use
Efeso Collins is putting up his hand not to use a car on Wednesdays.
And he wants other Aucklanders to follow suit to reduce their own carbon footprint.
"I'm going to commit Wednesday as the day I don't use a car, (but) I won't be implementing it as some kind of regulation, but I will be encouraging it," says Collins.
If carless days are a small response to the climate emergency, free public transport is a biggie and the flagship policy for the two-term Labour Manukau councillor leading in the polls.
Not since Len Brown championed getting the City Rail Link across the line against opposition within the National Government, has a mayoral candidate pinned so much political capital on a single policy.
"What I'm driven by is the vision and the premise that we want to get people out of their cars, that we want to decarbonise the city, we want people on public transport, and we want a better experience for people," says Collins.
Collins has other policies up his sleeve to make Auckland a fairer and just society, such as tracking down the owners of an estimated 40,000 "ghost homes" that sit empty.
He wants the owners to think about giving up their houses so they can at least come on to the rental market.
And in case Aucklanders think Collins will be a big-spending Labour Mayor, he is promising to be careful and prudent in managing the city's books and laser-focused on the cost of living crisis.
Free Public Transport
There's a movement across the world, says Collins, and that's getting people out of cars and on to public transport. The secret to making it work in Auckland is free public transport.
The driver for Collins - a councillor from the poor suburbs of South Auckland - is that many families spend up to 28 per cent of their income on transport. Take away the cost and it's going to get people connected, get along to meet friends, go to shows and across the city to work.
Under Collins' policy, free public transport will start in July 2024 when a new 10-year budget kicks in. Auckland Transport says it will start out costing about $130m a year, rising to $500m by 2030.
As for spelling out in detail how he will pay for free public transport, Collins cannot point to any specific savings, but says there are "buckets of expenditure", such as $360m for AT's technology programme, $290m for roading improvements and $1b of council contract work.
Pushed further on the roading improvements programme, most of which goes to the Eastern Busway, safety and cycling projects, Collins said he had looked at the list "but I haven't said these are the ones we want to go after".
Collins says three of the city's biggest roading upgrades - Lincoln, Lake and Glenvar Rds - are "pivotal" and will proceed under his leadership.
"I have no intention of raising rates for fares free public transport. This is all about reprioritisation and making sure we take the money from existing budgets," he says.
On other transport issues, Collins supports the Government's light rail project from the city centre to the airport but would prefer it was overland and not underground for much of the route, and wants to phase out the Regional Fuel Tax by the time congestion charging is introduced.
Finances
Collins has promised a prudent and responsible approach to managing the city's finances, saying Aucklanders want the council to be responsible with spending their money, albeit with a caveat that the council has to plan for a city of 2.4 million people over the next 20 years.
In the short-term, whoever is mayor has to face the hard economic reality from the impacts of Covid-19 - a $900 million hole in the council's budget, falling revenue and rising costs, budget deficits of $90m to $150m and the need to defer $323m of transport projects over the next three years.
There's also a looming budget blowout on the $4.4 billion City Rail Link and senior AT and council officers have done no work on costing the Transport Emissions Reductions Plan (Terp), which will run into billions of dollars.
Collins says the council has to challenge the Crown and the Government to come to the party with more funding for Auckland.
He said the Government takes 93 per cent of the public pot and councils the other 7 per cent.
"That is unacceptable given Auckland represents 38 per cent of GDP."
Rates
In the first budget, Collins is promising to stick with a 3.5 per cent rate rise, which is the figure in the current 10-year budget.
But when it comes to setting rates for years 2 and 3 in a new 10-year budget in 2024, Collins has said: "I am not ruling anything in or anything out."
By the time 2024 rolls around, Collins is hopeful the council coffers will be in better shape with a return of healthy dividends from Ports of Auckland and Auckland Airport and will have found greater savings.
But with ambitious plans for climate action and funding free public transport, he says "the challenge is how bold we want to be for this city".
He is promising to be honest with Aucklanders on rates in years 2 and 3 when he presents a new vision for the city in the new 10-year budget.
When the budget goes out for consultation, says Collins, Aucklanders will be able to tell the council what they want based on four levers of delaying infrastructure projects, cost efficiencies, debt and rates.
Climate Change
Free public transport and climate change go hand-in-hand with Collins' vision of a sustainable and just society
He says the council has unanimously declared a climate emergency and now has to take actions to bring down carbon emissions by decongesting roads, getting people out of cars and becoming a healthier society by cycling or walking more.
"We are dealing with 70 years of relying on cars. That's our history and part of who we are as Aucklanders, a mini version of Los Angeles."
We can take small steps, such as voluntary carless days and trialling a lane over the Auckland Harbour Bridge for cycling, says Collins, who knows the heavy lifting will come through the Terp and AT's parking strategy to remove kerbside parking for cycle and bus lanes, both of which he supports.
Collins does, however, acknowledge the budget might not be enough and extra money will be required.
Asked if AT saying it will cost $2b to increase cycling's mode share to 3 per cent when the Terp goal is 17 per cent for cycling and micro-mobility by 2030, Collins says the Terp is "very aspirational".
"The challenge is how we do everything we can to staircase our way to those targets.
"Whether we reach the goal is going to be the challenge, but we have got to set high ambitions for ourselves," he says.
Housing
As a human being, Collins is disappointed not enough has been done to increase housing and wants the Government, of any stripe, "to build and build quickly".
If he becomes mayor, Collins wants the council to improve the consenting process and make it easier for developers to build at pace. He wants to direct the council's property arm, Eke Panuku, to focus on quality regeneration and take a look at improving the council's stock of pensioner housing.
"We have got up to 40,000 unoccupied houses in Auckland and I would love for our housing people at the council to go out and meet these people and invite them to think about giving up their houses so they can at least come on to the rental market."
On the thorny issue of Government-imposed rules to rezone the city's character suburbs of villas and bungalows with heritage value, Collins is comfortable with the middle ground put forward by the council to protect 15,000 of the 21,000 homes.
Co-Governance
On co-governance arrangements at Auckland Council - the Independent Māori Statutory Board, the Tūpuna Maunga Authority and the Hauraki Gulf Forum - Collins says they work well.
Collins supports a proposal to have one Māori seat and retain the Māori Statutory Board, which provides advice to the council and whose members sit on major committees with voting rights. He would also like to take another look at a recommendation by the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance for three Māori seats on the council.
"Our Māori identity is our point of difference in the world and iwi mana whenua, as traditional kaitiaki of our city, should have more influence in how the city develops, accommodates growth and meets the social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges ahead.
"I will also support our Māori heritage and identity through the naming of council facilities, public roads, and public spaces such as parks that tell the story of our rich Māori culture."," he says.
If you had a spare $100 million to spend on one thing what would it be?
Fares free public transport.
As mayor will you have a council credit card?
No.
Wednesday: Viv Beck
Thursday: Wayne Brown
Today: Efeso Collins
Monday: Other candidates
• This story has been updated to make clear that Collins' views on carless days would be a voluntary measure.
At its peak, 20 fire engines were on-site battling the blaze.