The top polling mayoral candidates for Auckland, Wayne Brown and Efeso Collins, will face off in a live debate in the NZ Herald newsroom today.
The top polling mayoral candidates for Auckland, Wayne Brown and Efeso Collins, are facing off in a live debate in the NZ Herald newsroom today, from 1pm. You can watch it live on nzherald.co.nz.
As they both enter the home stretch in their campaigns, Brown and Collins went face toface on the issues that Aucklanders most want to see addressed.
In the debate, moderated by Herald journalists Simon Wilson, Liam Dann and Fran O'Sullivan, the two candidates were asked for their views on a range of issues, including housing, rates, crime, infrastructure, and what to do with the city centre.
With a high percentage of Aucklanders reportedly still undecided, and only one week left until voting closes, the race for who will be Auckland's next mayor is far from decided.
Recent polls show Wayne Brown is currently the preferred candidate for the city's top job.
A Kantar poll for TVNZ's Q+A last weekend showed Brown leapfrogged Collins in the race, after Viv Beck pulled out earlier this month.
The poll of 1000 Aucklanders showed support surging for Brown to 35 per cent, following Viv Beck's withdrawal from the race, while Collins' support remained static on 29 per cent.
The latest Kantar poll mirrors the last three Ratepayers' Alliance-Curia polls showing momentum building for Brown. Since July, support for the former Far North District mayor has surged from 15 per cent to 35 per cent.
However, just one day earlier, a poll commissioned by Talbot Mills for the Collins campaign showed Collins ahead of Brown, at 27 per cent over Brown's 25 per cent, when "unsures" are excluded.
Whoever wins will have a tough job in their hands as Aucklanders show little confidence that the council can meet the needs of the city and its people.
Efeso Collins and Wayne Brown face off in Herald live debate. Photo / Alex Burton
The Kantar poll found just 32 per cent of Aucklanders have confidence in Auckland Council to meet their needs and 55 per cent had mixed positive and negative impressions of the Super City. Just 12 per cent described the impact as positive and 25 per cent were negative.
Voting in the postal election closes at midday on October 8.
Use the NZ Herald interactive below to find out more about the candidates:
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