Wayne Brown: Auckland Mayor on government deal to bolster city, transport, tourism

A deal signed by Christopher Luxon and Wayne Brown was announced today to work together to bolster Auckland. 

The partnership aims to boost economic growth and improve living standards across New Zealand.

Some of the key commitments of the Auckland City Deal include; investing in Eden Park and the Auckland Tennis Centre to support international events, jointly developing a destination and major events strategy, establishing a c30-year transport strategy, and working together on the additional Waitematā Harbour crossing project and more efficient transport network management.

Wayne Brown told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "there'll be an end to sort of unexpected bits of legislation which don't work that we haven't been told about, or it'll be an end to unfunded mandates that we haven't been told about."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Pressing the newsmakers to get the real story. It's hither
duplic Ellen drive with one New Zealand coverage like no
one else. News talks. The afternoon, the country's first city
deal has been signed. Auckland Council and the government have
agreed to work together on major events and transport links,
but there is no mention of the bad tax that

(00:22):
Auckland wants, and the mayor of Auckland, Way Brown is
with us now highwaying Hello. What do you reckon? Is
the biggest win there?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
I think just the fact that we now have to
be treated as kind of like as an even sized partner.
And it'll be an end to sort of unexpected bits
of legislation which don't work that we haven't been told about,
or it'll be an into unfunded mandates that we haven't
been told about. You know, they'll just have to talk

(00:55):
to us before they bomb us. In itself, we only
aim for a change in It wasn't about money, It's
about having mutual respect. And I think you know they
no longer will buildings full of Willington bureaucrats just dream
up shit and bomb and drop it on Auckland.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
What would you say to someone like me who looks
at it and says, this is underwhelming because it is
full of you know, going to work on this, going
to develop this, but nothing has actually been nailed down
as this is going to happen. We have agreed to it.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well, some of my counts of things a bit underwhelming,
but I think the fact that they've now got to
talk to each other is impact. That's the That's the thing,
like we right in the middle of that. They just
suddenly bombed us with them and be with the rads CAP,
which is a really silly, simplistic grabbing nonsense. I won't

(01:54):
be able to do that sort of stuff anymore.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Well, it's going to happen is next time they cock
up some idea like that, they're just going to form
you by the way this is coming. That will be
the extent of the conversation. They're going to do it anyway.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Let's see whether that works or not. I don't think
that's what they're going to do, but I mean, who knows.
But it would be unwise for that, particularly in the
next six months.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Well yeah, perhaps so, Hey, listen, why no bad tax?
Why will they not be moved on that?

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Oh, that's Seymour apparently, and it's not a tax anyhore,
don't call it TX really sorry, I mean it's the
people who are going to collect that are the ones
who own the hotels, and they want it because when
there's a bigger vent on and you have to pay
money to get bigger vents on, they double the price

(02:45):
of the rooms. So it's got nothing to.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Do with you. I understand how it works and I
fully support it.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
You have to explain it slowly because we have mister
Seymour has simplistic nonsense saying no more taxes. It's not
a tax. If it was a tax, what about the
levy for that you can't escape unless you don't have
any electricity to pay for an LPG terminal.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, no, I totally agree with you. Double standards. Listen,
the cyclone or the x tropical cyclone that's bearing down
on us. How seriously do we need to be worried
about this?

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well, I'm a mayor, not a weather forecaster, but you'd
have to take it seriously. There's no ways about it.
And when we've learning that we're getting more and more
of these, I mean I've got some of my buildings
got badly flooded and Kai Ti last a week ago
because in fact, we didn't have sufficient warning. This time,
we've got lots of warning and we hope that people

(03:43):
take note of it.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Okay, well here's hoping Wayne. Thank you was always appreciated.
Hope your weekend goes well. It's Wayne Brown, mayor of Auckland.
Sounded decisively bummed out at the start of that interview.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Didn't he?

Speaker 1 (03:54):
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