Source: Radio New Zealand
Wayne Brown. Jessica Hopkins / RNZ
Newly re-elected Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says his second term will be focused on boosting the region’s economic growth, making the CBD more inviting and securing a city deal.
And he thinks he has the leverage to get the most for the city out of the government, taking umbrage with the suggestion he won the recent Auckland mayoral election by more than 90,000 votes.
“It was actually over 100,000,” he told Morning Report on Monday. “I mean, the cricketers like to get 100, don’t they? They don’t like to go at 90. “
Brown and Auckland Council are currently hashing out a deal to boost the city’s economy and productivity. While the government was keen to get it done by December, Brown said, he was more interested in making sure the result was in Auckland’s interests.
“The government has set a finish date for the city deal, and so they put the time pressure on, not me. I think it’s in December sometime, but I don’t feel any time pressure on that.
“The most important part is that having created one really big city in New Zealand, we have to be treated as kind of like a partner, not like just a small mayoralty somewhere else.
“This is a third of New Zealand, of the GDP, and the place which decides who wins the government next time, so I’m expecting quite a lot of contact with the leaders of both parties.
“And in fact, this morning I’m speaking to a large [group of] Chinese mayors and I noticed at the minute the leader of the opposition is there, I’m not sure if the government are there or not. I’ll wait until I show up.”
Asked about his relationship with central government, Brown said he was “very popular” with both National – noting party leader Christopher Luxon at the weekend used the phrase “fixing the basics and building the future”, which he found remarkably similar to his own “fix Auckland, fix New Zealand” – and Labour.
“Labour last week had a future fund announced, which was also something I’ve done. So imitation is the best form of flattery, I suppose.”
To win over Auckland voters, Brown said the two major parties should act more like him.
“Auckland voters like the fact that I have policies, a clear direction, and I speak the unvarnished truth. And it would be great if the major parties did those three things.”
One Brown policy some Aucklanders were wary of was his push for intensification – particularly along transport corridors and in central city suburbs, which contain some of the city’s most expensive properties, and few of them, with high-density in the past generally pushed to the city’s outer suburbs.
Brown said it would take time, but people would come around.
“I live in Ponsonby, in a street which has got multi-storey apartments. I live in the top floor of one of those. It’s got small factories, it’s got office buildings, and it’s got about 30 or 40 high-value, beautifully restored character homes, and we all get on fine…
“It doesn’t happen immediately, it happens slowly. And the multi-storey buildings will be right near the railway stations and right near the bus stations first up, and they’ll slowly grow out… beyond that.
“There are still huge numbers of character housing areas protected, but we go on and on in New Zealand about having low productivity. The best way to improve productivity is have people living near where they work…
“We’ve invested a lot of money in busways and a city rail link, and we want to intensify along those links. And so I don’t think it’ll take much to get people across the line. It’s a sensible and important thing.”
The Sky Tower stands tall behind the Karanga Plaza pool. RNZ / Leonard Powell
Other initiatives included the nearly finished International Convention Centre and City Rail Link, as well as what he’s dubbed “Brownie’s Pools” – free-to-use outdoor pools. The first opened at Karanga Harbour nearly a year ago.
“More Brownie’s Pools. I went past it yesterday after I’d been surfing at our river and it was crowded at Browny’s Pool. They are cheap, they are clever.
“I think the next one will probably be, we’re going to put about six in the next couple of years, but I think down in the Okahu Bay area there by Akarana may well be next. There are people calling for them now they’ve seen how successful that is and how cheap they are. “
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
