Auckland's central city has been facing an existential crisis common to central cities around the world. Heart of the City interim chief executive Steve Armitage says the area "plays a vital role for the whole region" as an economic, social and cultural hub, and the mayor and councillors need to be "cheerleaders" for its future. It's a point that seems to resonate with council and mayoral candidates, who almost agree the council should be actively trying to get more people back into town.
Many candidates accept the central city needs to change. Wayne Brown, a proud resident of Karangahape Road, says workers will never return in quite the same numbers as before the pandemic, and it needs to be easier to convert office buildings into apartments. Craig Lord, who visits the central city less often, says the area will never compete against modern shopping malls and needs to become a boutique destination instead. Michael Morris, who is based in Papatoetoe, says the "dark days when people were disgorged into a central location then scooped back to their homes" are now over and a new era needs to begin.
Efeso Collins wants to use the existing City Centre Targeted Rate to be spent on making the city more "safe, accessible and vibrant". Ted Johnston believes reopening roads to four lanes and introducing more free parking will be key to bringing people back. North Shore ward councillor Chris Darby, who's been chairing the Planning Committee during the turbulence of the pandemic, believes making Queen Street more people-focused with wider footpaths will help "attract life back to the city".
Most of the candidates standing for Auckland's 21 seats around the council table seem to agree on the need to give more power to the 149 people who will be appointed to the 21 local boards.
Efeso Collins – a former Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chair – wants to give local boards more power over local services and make council-controlled organisations more accountable to their members. Wayne Brown wants local boards and business associations to have more say in what happens in their areas. Gary Brown – the only current local board chair standing for the mayoralty – says the increased powers also need to come with increased funding.
Most Auckland local boards are larger than most New Zealand cities. In Howick, one local board oversees a population as big as Tauranga. Ward candidate Damian Light says local boards should have more power and funding to run their own affairs, with councillors focusing more on strategic long-term decisions. In Waitākere, the Henderson-Massey Local Board oversees a population as big as greater Dunedin. Councillor and former local board chair Shane Henderson would like to see more in-sourcing and joint decision-making.
In Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa, Julie Parfitt has spent 12 years as a founding member and chair of Puketāpapa Local Board. She says she's successfully advocated for increased decision-making and funding, but Auckland Transport still has a "lack of transparency about their own decision-making, stymying local efforts to make change to suit our areas".
In the North Shore, George Wood has a city councillor, city mayor, super city councillor and local board member. Wood, who was a key early advocate for amalgamation, says local boards are an anachronism and should be replaced with the six sub-councils originally proposed by a Royal Commission.
The Government's plans to transfer water, stormwater and wastewater services to four new regional entities have been highly contentious. A Local Democracy Reporting survey of the country's 291 mayoral candidates found less than a tenth believed the changes were the best way forward. Across Auckland, almost no mayoral and council candidates tell us they're completely happy with what's currently being proposed.
Collins says he supports the reforms in principle, but does not support a "governance model which would see Auckland only having 28 per cent of the say while owning 93 per cent of the assets". Brown is entirely opposed, promising to "negotiate a better deal with the Government". Almost everyone else in the mayoral race opposes the changes, with both John Lehmann and Gary Brown calling it "undemocratic".
In Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa, City Vision candidate Red Tsounga backs the changes, saying "there is a need for uniformed high quality water and wastewater services for all Aucklanders". However, in Waitākere, Labour candidate Shane Henderson backs the council's call for improvements, saying his community wants to be consulted on issues like Watercare's controversial Huia water treatment plant replacement project.
We put our responses to Government ministers. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta says there are different views among candidates and many agree with the changes overall. Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins says not many of the opponents "are coming up with alternatives for how we are going to fix the billions of dollars of infrastructure deficit that we have".
Auckland's election candidates are broadly in agreement on the need to do more to tackle the city's recent crime wave. Most mayoral and council candidates want Auckland Council and its council-controlled organisations to be doing more to address crime and anti-social behaviour.
Wayne Brown says business associations play an important role, but the council needs to step into the gap in the inner city: "Many parts of Auckland are doing well with this, like the Otahuhu Business Association I am a member of, which funds security to keep people safe in town centres. However downtown has failed, and the Council will have to step into the gap."
Efeso Collins wants to create a joined-up coordinated plan with Police, agencies and businesses, and direct council services to get more young people into training and education: "The Council can do more - and under my leadership, they will. I have extensively researched crime and understand what causes it and what keeps it going."
Craig Lord is one of the few candidates opposing further action. He says the council isn't a security firm: "The council's job is to lobby the government to provide better policing and deal with social issues. The council should be assisting any business that wants to beef up its own security."
Most of Auckland's mayoral and council candidates accept the council needs to factor climate change into its decision-making, even if the candidates disagree on how to go about it.
Efeso Collins supports the council's current climate change actions and targets, and is committing to making public transport free, decarbonising the council's operations, and continuing the council's Climate Action Targeted Rate to invest in climate initiatives. Wayne Brown disagrees with the council's current approach, and wants funding to be spent smarter on "protecting flood-prone areas and making high-impact lower-cost changes that benefit everyone like moving port freight off heavy trucks and onto rail". Returning candidate John Palino wants the council to be able to fund more aggressive climate action, through a share in departure taxes and GST.
New Conservatives Co-Leader Ted Johnston says current climate targets are unrealistic and shift focus from "caring for our people in real current problems and emergencies". John Lehmann says the council "can't fight mother nature", but can be doing more to reduce pollution, control population growth and protect trees.
North Shore's Chris Darby is a staunch supporter of the council's Climate Action Plan and Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway. "We must play our part for the sake of our children. The most important 'change' is to be courageous for the pace of change required, to see opportunity and not shy away. To do that my priority is a radically transformed modern public transport system on the Shore and across Auckland that connects us and reduces emissions, anchored by my flagship project -- light rail to the Shore as the priority mode of the next harbour crossing."
Other candidates in that ward agree on the need for some action, but disagree on where the action should be. Raymond Tan wants the council to set "specific milestones" and "encourage change of behaviour through incentivisation such as reduced rates". Danielle Grant says funding "should be directed as close to the community as possible, to ensure grass root changes". George Wood says the council has set itself a "pretty difficult target to achieve" and shouldn't be funding its actions with a separate targeted rate.
There are no female candidates in Wellington's mayoral race this year.