Wayne Brown: Auckland Mayor explains why he wants control of Auckland Transport back in the council's hands

The knives appear to be out for Auckland Transport. 

Wayne Brown's putting forward a proposal to strip AT of its policymaking functions and have elected representatives control it. 

It also includes plans to abolish the council’s development agency and its events and economic development agency. 

He'll need the backing of councillors, and in the case of AT's control, a law change. 

Brown told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he’s sick of being blamed for things he doesn’t control. 

He said that AT has had 12 years of complete independence to the point where the council almost seems to be more of a nuisance than an owner, and they’re not listening as much as he’d like. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Turns out Carmela's pick for VPS and old mate of
China's will find out more with Peter Lewis shortly Barry
Soper on the week that was and Gavin Grays with
us out of the UK at seven past six. Now
Auckland's mayor has launched his biggest move on Auckland Transport
yet he wants to bring them back under council control.
AT was made independent from the council years ago to

(00:20):
try to take the politics out of transport, but now
the public just loads the agency, possibly even more. Let's
talk to Wayne Brain Wayne Brown Highwayne, Yeah, how'd the
boss of AT take this?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
The chairs not a bit grumpy with me, but he'll
learn a liver that.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Why is the chair grumpy?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well, it's asking that. I think they feel that I'm
kind of attacking them, but I'm not. Really. What I'm
doing is defending Auckland. Yeah, I'm here for the right
players of Auckland. Then to fix Orkland. That's what drives me.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeh, Look is this simple? I mean, is this just
a case of you just need your counsel to agree
ad he comes back under the politician's control or is
it more complicated than that.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, even just getting my councilors agree with took a
bit of work, but they've all agreed that that the CEOs.
I did amongst the five things I stood for, stop
wasting money. But number two is get back control of
the CEOs, because the only control we he is selecting
boarding him is and I'm only twenties of the votes
for that, and that just isn't enough control at all.

(01:25):
And I'm sick of being blamed for things I don't control.
And it's not just stat because that the mean there's
been a few embarrassments from iky Panucu and from Tara
Taki and from not so much from all. We've solved
water care and we've got ports of work into stop
being and not for profit and actually make some money.
So those ones are kind of solved, but the other

(01:46):
two needs something or other. We can as a council
get back more control of a of Ekey Peruca and
Tara Teki than we have and so get going with
that anyhow. And the chairs of those ones are not
a post at has had twelve years of complete independence
to the point of just almost we're a nuisance rather

(02:11):
than the owner. And they're listening, but not as much
as I'd like. But they were set up by Rodney
id and Stephen Jewish who wanted to say, oh, they
didn't like the idea of elected officials having any to
do it making policies about transport. The public think that

(02:32):
we're in charge and expect that we're in charge. And
you know, I've built roads, owned roads, bought roads, and
sold roads, and designed roads, so I know a lot
about it. Now I'm annoyed to find that the board
don't know as much about that sort of stuff of ideas.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
You know what I mean. I can't blame Stephen Joyce
and those guys for going down this path because you
would think that the experts would actually be half decent
to their jobs. And this has been the surprise of
this experiment. Isn't it that the experts are so bad
at the job.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
It doesn't surprise me at all. Who well they followed
that coool aid from the institutive directors are having nice
boards of balanced racial and gender neutrality and all its stuff,
and most event um being accounts and lawyers. Somehow they
helps I had to step in to fix vector because
they did that transper because they did that Auckhan Hospital

(03:21):
because they did that. It doesn't work. You need to
have people who understand the business and foremost.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Now I mean do you reckon though it will necessarily
improve things, because for example, if you were comparing ourselves
with Wellington, by ourselves, I mean Auckland. In Wellington, the
transport there is controlled by the politicians, are still pretty rubbish.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
I shouldn't be compared to Willing because mayor of Wellington
is the mayor of a suburb of Wellington, and there
are several mayors in Wellington, and there's regional councils and
there's all sorts of shambles. Auckland is completely different. Is
it's a regional government really? And I'm restoring the manner

(04:04):
of the mayoralties that was lost by the two predecessors.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
No, not fair enough. I didn't get to the bottom
of it. So is it a simple decision for counsel
to make rebringing Auckland transport back under your control? Or
do you need the government's help?

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Oh? I need the government's help with this. And do
they have to legislate, Yes, but that's not an awful amount.
They're going to have to legislate for quite a lot
of things that we've got untangled. I think you've had a.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
Fight with Simeon Brown. Is he going to want to
help you?

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Well, I've had a fight with sim Brown. I mean,
I get I'm pretty good. Where did you think we
had a fight.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Oh my gosh, come on the way, you've been having
fights about about the bus linker of all kinds of stuff.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
None at all. Simon and I work very well together.
That's a beat up from the press.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
Did you not pack a tantrum about losing the regional
fuel tax?

Speaker 2 (04:49):
I didn't pack a tantrum. I simply pointed out that
that's their right to do that, but it leaves a
sort of money to do things. So we'll just do this, okay.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
So I'll take you at your words. So Simeon's going
to help you on this.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
One, Oh, I'm sure he will, you know, absolutely, he's
very much in support of this. I'm sure. The other
thing is that Auckland changed the government. You know, if
Aukland had voted like the rest of New Zealand, we
never love the government. But Auckland didn't. Auckland voted for
national and so they've got to keep looking after aucan
We looked after them. That's a good relationship. I've got

(05:21):
a good relationships. I mean I've got a very good
relationship with Bishop and with the Prime Minister. So no, no, no,
you're wrong here. We're going to fight.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Good luck of being able to do this. I think
we'll want to see you when score some points against
Auckland Transport. That's Wayne Brown, Auckland's mayor. For more from
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