On the Tiles - Local Edition: Auckland Council budgets and Wellington’s water boil notice

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown offers a chocolate snack to councillors during a break in discussions around the annual budget. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Auckland Council last week finally passed its 2023 budget after months of public debate and contentious final meetings - but will that be the end of Auckland’s financial concerns?

After a marathon two-day meeting, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown finally got his first budget approved by a vote of 14-6, with one abstention, and a majority agreement to sell a 7 per cent stake in Auckland Airport.

NZ Herald Super City reporter Bernard Orsman told Georgina Campbell on On the Tiles - Local Edition, the Herald’s politics podcast, that it was one of the most difficult budget processes he has ever witnessed. However, despite the tension, Orsman said that Brown handled the meeting “extremely well”.

“He wasn’t the belligerent mayor taking potshots at people, more a respectful and patient sort of person, prepared to take his time and listen to the views of each of the views of the 20 councillors.”

However, Orsman said that the council is not out of the woods yet financially: more rates and higher water bills could come next year as well as another battle between councillors for the city’s 10-year budget.

“Without other measures, financial officers have warned that household rates could rise by 13 per cent next year, and what with higher water bills, what this could mean for the average household is a $1000 rise over two years,” but Orsman says this is the “worst case scenario”.

Water is causing a concern down in Wellington as well, with Wellington Water warning that use in the metropolitan region is at an all-time high, and a boil notice could be issued over summer.

Wellington head of news Katrina Bennett told Campbell that the city may have to introduce water meters to help residents manage use - even though they are seen as a political “hot potato” among councillors.

“This isn’t just about high use - this is about 40 per cent of our drinking water being lost through leaks. We’re past the carrot stage. We need to find these leaks and we need to fix them.

“I would have no idea if I had a leak on my property at the moment unless it was bubbling through the ground, but if you put a water meter on and suddenly I’m being charged an astronomical amount of money, I’m going to fix it and I’m going to fix it quick.”

Listen to the full episode for more about the biggest local politics stories of the past few weeks.

On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available on Fridays.