Caughey opens up on intrigue

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Action Hobson councillor Christine Caughey last night broke her silence on the decision to back City Vision leader Dr Bruce Hucker in a power struggle that has undermined the credibility of Mayor Dick Hubbard.

Christine Caughey said a change in the deputy mayor three weeks into the new council was not the way to bring stability to Auckland City Council and would have had enormous ramifications.

The Action Hobson councillor, who has been dodging the media and some of her supporters, spoke to the Herald when she arrived at a party in Parnell to celebrate the imminent council decision to can the eastern highway - the key policy on the Action Hobson platform.

The party was the first chance for supporters to grill the two Action Hobson councillors, Christine Caughey and Richard Simpson, on their actions.

Mr Hubbard mounted a coup last week to replace Dr Hucker with Labour councillor Richard Northey. He had lost confidence in his deputy after Dr Hucker went behind his back and held a press conference to announce a committee structure laced with City Vision's blueprint.

The Herald understands the Action Hobson councillors pledged support to Mr Hubbard but later switched sides at a meeting overseen by Dr Hucker on November 10.

Christine Caughey said she could not confirm that she had initially supported Mr Hubbard, then went on to say "it is not true".

"I don't believe we have helped to undermine the mayor and his office," Christine Caughey said.

She expressed "absolute confidence" in Mr Hubbard and Dr Hucker.

"He was voted in unanimously as the deputy mayor, that must not be forgotten. It is early teething days in the council and we have a job to do."

Christine Caughey said Action Hobson campaigned as a centrist ticket on a public transport, community and heritage platform and would make decisions according to a 10-point plan.

One supporter said yesterday that the mood in Hobson, encompassing the conservative suburbs of Remuera, Parnell and Epsom was "a little sour" towards the councillors.

One financial backer has accused the pair of "knee-capping" Mr Hubbard, being anything but centrist in their behaviour and allowing the council to be dominated by the deputy as opposed to the mayor.

The Hobson fallout is overshadowing a fresh attempt by Mr Hubbard to stamp his leadership on the council as it begins the tough job today of putting together next year's budget.

"I am definitely leading the charge here, I'm not a figurehead, I certainly haven't been sidelined," Mr Hubbard told National Radio yesterday. He was responding to claims by Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) chief executive Alasdair Thompson that Mr Hubbard had been sidelined into a figurehead role and the council, "under Dr Hucker's control", would take an anti-business stance.

Debate will begin today on a City Vision platform that includes abandoning user pays for rubbish and a uniform annual general charge to help low-value households, and bringing $84 million of Metrowater wastewater user charges back into general rates. That would lead to water bills falling by 60 per cent and rates rising by 26 per cent.

Mr Hubbard said he philosophically supported keeping the uniform annual general charge, "if not an increase", but he wanted more information on the uniform charge for rubbish and bringing wastewater charges back into rates.

Mr Hubbard said another proposal for an overall 9.4 per cent rates increase was simply a wishlist from council officers and the "first bite in a 100 bite exercise".

No decisions would be taken for months, he said.