In the first of a four-part series on the policies of the Auckland mayoral candidates, Super City reporter Bernard Orsman talks with Heart of the City boss Viv Beck about her plans for rapid buses, a night mayor and saving the city's kauri villas and bungalows.
If Viv Beck has her way, Auckland will emulate the success of the Northern Busway to the east, west and south of the city within a decade.
The Heart of the City chief executive wants to scrap the Government's plans for light rail from the central city to the airport and use some of the $14.6 billion on busways between the city and Westgate and Botany to the airport.
"Transport and congestion continues to be the biggest issue. It was the last election and the election before," Beck said in the Herald last week.
Beck is standing on a centre-right, pro-business platform with policies remarkably similar to those of the National Party.
Her chance of getting the Labour Government to ditch light rail in favour of rapid bus transit is slim, but could get real traction if National wins next year's general election.
Beck also wants to ditch Auckland's regional petrol tax of 11.5 cents a litre for alternative funding sources she has yet to nail down, and siding with the "thousands of people" she has talked to that Auckland Transport is unduly preoccupied with removing kerbside parking for cycle and bus lanes and vehicle emission targets.
"We need to be much more balanced in our decision making," is her response to tackling carbon emissions.
Crime and safety is another big issue for Beck, who says Aucklanders have had a gutsful with the spate of crime in the central city and ram raids by young people.
As mayor, she is promising to secure a fair share of police resources, push for a downtown police station and better management of emergency housing, mental health and addiction services. It will take a cross-agency approach, rather than lumping everything on police, she says.
Beck also plans to resume "mayor-in-the-chair" sessions instituted by former Mayor Len Brown to chat and hear the concerns of people in the community.
"I propose we scrap the light rail project, it's hugely expensive and what we need to do is open up rapid transit as fast as possible, as cheaply as possible and to as many people as possible."
Under Beck's programme, a busway would be built alongside the Northwestern motorway from the central city to Westgate costing $2.5 billion and rapid bus transit would be built from the airport to Botany costing $2b to connect to the Eastern Busway running to Panmure, which is underway.
She has also set aside $250m for station upgrades on the Northern Busway.
"The idea is to get as many people as possible using rapid transit in the same way we have got with the Northern Busway."
Asked how she will get the Government to listen to her policies when it is well down the road with light rail, Beck says she keeps hearing from Aucklanders how unhappy they are with decisions being made for them in Wellington.
"I think it would be really good for the Government to listen to this feedback and be prepared to have a discussion about these things."
Beck does not support universal free public transport, her view is the money would be better spent on improving services; but would allocate $50m a year for free public transport for over 65s, community card holders and students.
To address congestion, Beck has proposed a $200m package to upgrade intersections and "sensible solutions", such as getting traffic lights better aligned and use of dynamic lanes.
Other policies are finding an additional $177m to fully electrify the city's bus fleet by 2030 and doubling spending on park and ride stations to $100m.
From the get-go, Beck has opposed the regional fuel tax of 11.5 cent a litre, approved by the Government and introduced by Mayor Phil Goff in July 2018.
It is set to raise $1.5b over 10 years and with subsidies leverage $4.3b for transport projects.
Beck says the tax is unfair, but unclear how to fill the gap, except to say the council would need to negotiate transport funding for the city.
Government-funded climate initiatives are one idea and Beck estimates she could find about $100m a year by streamlining the back-end services at the council and council-controlled organisations(CCOs).
Beck says rates should be capped at no more than 3.5 per cent, but wants to have a review of the rating system, including the fixed price component of about $480. The higher the charge, the higher rates increase for owners of low-value houses and vice versa for owners of expensive houses.
A review should also look at targeted rates and new targeted rates should only be introduced if Aucklanders agree to it, she said.
Bottom line, Beck wants streets and communities to be safe.
As Heart of the City boss, she has witnessed the problems with crime and homelessness, exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19.
Thinking outside the square, Beck is calling for a "night mayor" to keep tabs on the city after hours, not just for entertainment and late night activity, but for school kids and families going out for dinner and events. The night mayor would oversee lighting, security, CCTV, transport and support for after-hours trading.
The Government and cross-agency support are crucial, says Beck, but there is a role for council, Local Boards and business associations.
Beck also wants to update the Public Safety and Nuisance bylaw for tougher measures to address alcohol, drug and antisocial behaviour.
Beck is on the side of protecting Auckland's "precious" character suburbs of kauri villas and villas from the Government's edict for greater housing density and three by three-storey houses on most sections without design standards.
"I don't believe many people across Auckland understand the severity of what is happening here in terms of loss of sunlight, privacy space and risk to quality of life if we have intensified housing without all the necessary things around it," she says.
Asked what her message would be to Wellington over the new housing density rules, Beck said it is important they understand the concerns of Aucklanders and the need to listen.
"It's important to have a constructive relationship with the Government but it's important to have a mayor who stands up for the needs of the citizens of our region."
Beck wants to take advantage of new funding and financing tools to take the cost off the council's balance sheet to allow new infrastructure to be built more quickly, and look at outsourcing consenting like they did in Christchurch after the earthquakes.
The council's recently-approved Transport Emissions Reduction Plan to cut emissions by 64 per cent by 2030 cannot be delivered, says Beck, who says the plan to increase cycling and e-scooters from 1 per cent to 17 per cent of mode share is simply not feasible.
"There is a role for making sensible decisions around cycleways as long as communities are involved and encouraging people to use the cycleways we have got. It is important there is a natural mode shift but not one that is ridiculous," she says.
Beck has her own "realistic, feasible and practical" climate policy, the gist of which is to electrify the bus fleet by 2030, ensure the infrastructure is available as more people move to EVs and get more people on a rapid bus network within the decade.
As for AT's controversial parking plan to remove kerbside parking spaces across the city for cycleways and bus lanes in a bid to unlock choked roads and reduce congestion, Beck says that has rightly infuriated people.
"I want to see more engagement with the local community about how space changes are going to be made."
Two weeks ago Beck removed an online advertisement posted on Facebook highlighting two rivals Efeso Collins and Wayne Brown were "For Co-Governance" and she was "Against Co-Governance.
The ad led to advertising adviser Mike Hutcheson quitting her campaign, and raised questions about Beck's position on the subject.
Beck says she supports Treaty of Waitangi settlements with co-governance arrangements, but not when it affects democratic processes.
When it comes to the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority, a co-governance statutory authority that oversees many of the city's volcanic cones, and the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB), that provides advice and oversight of issues of Māori to Auckland Council, Beck has concerns.
She said the Tūpuna Maunga Authority is making decisions that are deeply upsetting to people, such as the removal of trees on Ōwairaka (Mt Albert) and would want to have a good look at it.
On the IMSB, whose members sit on major council committees with voting rights, Beck is comfortable with the board having input into council, but does not support members having voting rights.
"I support democracy," said Beck, who would like the IMSB to be part of a review of the Super City, including the IMSB.
If you had a spare $100 million to spend on one thing what would it be?
Remove the Regional Fuel Tax.
As mayor will you have a council credit card?
"It would be based on need and if there was a need to have one there would be rules around its use and I would follow the rules. I would prefer not to.
Tomorrow: Wayne Brown
Friday: Efeso Collins
Monday: Other candidates
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