Brian Rudman: Win-win? Well, the council vote wasn't a complete loss

It's amazing what an expert can do with mirrors and glass boxes and things.

By the time Auckland Mayor John Banks had apologised to his fellow city councillors for his handling of the Blake memorial fiasco and wandered across to shake my hand and thank me for attending, I was almost convinced we'd had a victory.

But in politics it's all about numbers, and when the ruling clique has 12 votes and the forces of good had just eight, yesterday's outcome was inevitable.

Mr Banks called the result a win-win. The best spin I can put on it is that this wasn't a complete loss.

I was heartened by support from the mayor and councillors for bringing Kaikoura Island into public ownership, and honouring Sir Peter Blake by using it as a base for conservation and sailing activities.

But the support was nothing but words, with the majority backing Mr Bank's proposition that someone other than Auckland ratepayers should pay.

The vote was that Mr Banks lead a deputation of himself, Auckland Regional Council chairwoman Gwen Bull and Auckland Conservator Rob McCallum to persuade Conservation Minister Chris Carter to pay half the cost. The other half would come from the ARC.

With DoC having already declared itself penniless in the matter of Kaikoura, and the ARC under attack for a 34 per cent rise in its rates, a gulf island is not top of mind.

As for the ship-in-the-bottle memorial, embattled recreation committee chairman Scott Milne began his defence of the indefensible with an attack on the "disgusting lack of taste" on the part of critics such as myself.

He had no answer, though, to charges that councillors had been presented with a fait accompli without any chance of prior debate or consultation.

One concession was to refer the design to the city's Urban Design Panel. It's always a hoot to see professionals facing a bit of peer reviewing. With a bit of luck they might even laugh it out of the water.

The mayor wouldn't mind: "I have no problem if it has to be dialled back, or dialled down or dialled out."

The mayor's support for the Te Papa-led project turns out to be as much about getting new funds for the National Maritime Museum as anything.

The museum, he says, "urgently needs a substantial facelift and I think the tribute for Sir Peter Blake will give it that substantial facelift".

He says a $2 million investment by Auckland City will produce a $10 million outcome, which is a good deal. But is it? A dud investment is surely a dud investment, however big or small one's contribution is.