Wayne Brown: Auckland mayor unveils new changes as part of draft budget proposal

Wayne Brown is proposing major reforms to Auckland's council controlled organisations in his draft budget proposal.

Brown wants to scrap the council's urban regeneration and property management arm Eke Panuku, and return its functions to the council.

Tataki Auckland Unlimited could lose its economic development, events and tourism marketing roles, becoming solely focused on managing stadiums, theatres and other facilities.

Brown says he's 'hopeful' Auckland Council will be on board with these changes.

"I think that Aucklanders should be in control of Auckland, frankly. And that means I'd like to get a bit less input from Wellington, as well as independent councils." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In Auckland, the mayor has confirmed that he is stripping
some embattled council controlled organizations of their powers. Now he
wants to get rid of Auckland Transport, but he can't
do that just yet, so instead he's planning to take
over the back office functions for now Igipanuku, which is
the Economic Development arm is gone. Under this proposal, Auckland
Unlimited will lose a lot of its work. Wayne Brown
is the mayor, of course, Hi Wayne.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hello, Now Wayne?

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Do you still I mean, these are just proposals. So
do you still need to convince the council?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Do you? I do, but I'm hopeful that I have
done so. When I stood for the mayor of one
of the two one of my five platforms, what it
was to get back control the council organizations because they
supposedly council controlled, but they're more council controlling and they've

(00:50):
become independent, too independent, and I'm set up with people
ringing up and complaining about things that I'm not in
control off fair enough?

Speaker 1 (00:59):
So is the anseil on board with you? Do you reckon?
You'll get them over the line.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
I'm pretty hopeful.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah, Okay, So what are the back office functions that
you are going to take over at Auckland Transport.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, I think we wanted to a bit more than
back office, but basically that we don't. We're the only
councilor that doesn't even write its own regional land transport
plan and they even trust Gores and trusted as doing
it down there, but we're not here. It's stupid. I
really want them just to focus on public transport. If
they focused on that and really concentrated and did it well,

(01:31):
I'm sure that the people of Auckland would like them
a lot more than they do at the moment.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
So does that mean that would you take over speed bump,
speed limits, roads all that stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well, the government's taken over the speed limits just recently
as well, which may or may not be a good idea.
I mean, I think that Auckland should be in control
of Auckland frankly, and that means I'd like to give
it less input from Wellington as well as from the
independent counselors. But it would mean that we would be
taking over all the transport planning and set the annual plan.

(02:05):
It's a very least well do and administrative agreed to
change the legislation or agreeing to traine the legislation so
that we least get that. But really a case can
be made that or can transport to just to public transport.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
If they do If you get to that point and
they do it, well, do you leave them doing?

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah? Really, I think there is a place for independence
at some stage. But if you want to do that,
you've got to focus them on what it is you
want them to do. But they're not being focused to
being sort of they can do whatever they bloody like
at the moment, and they've wandered off with a whole
lot of things. When they do stuff in people's neighborhoods,
they managed to piss everybody off and that's not good.

(02:47):
And you know, we get voted for every three years
and they don't. And so if you're going to get
if you're going to be blamed for it, I want
to have the ability to influence it.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Why let Auckland Unlimited keep running the zoo and the
gallery and stuff. I mean, I realize you're going to
take all of that kind of like the event funding
off them, but why let them keep running those big organizations.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, they're not doing a bad job of that and
those have I mean owre mony fixing things that are wrong.
And we may or may not take all the events
off them, but what I do particularly want to take
off them and keep central is economic development. Because economic
development I mean the major cities in China, of which
are all booming and developed madly or not developed very

(03:35):
well but amazing. Right, it's all centrally planned with the
mayor leads it surrounded by elected officials and that that's
what they concentrate on thinking, and so when they do
something or other, it's not random. Like when we develop
an area, we would ensure that there's business things and

(03:59):
then we ensure as a transport plan that picks up
and so water is a plan and that the powers
on and everything. It's very piecemeal here. It's divided up
by starting and players, you know, and that doesn't work,
and we're not having great development economic development in New Zealand,
and aren't trying to have obviously in Ja overseas, trying
to reroute all of the passenger from between all the

(04:22):
stuff between Brazil and China via Auckland, and it'll be
a huge and put to Auckland's economic development. And in
some ways I don't know what it's fell to me
to do that, but wasn't happening. So I'm doing that.
But as me, you can have a real input on that.
But as it stands at the moment, I've known put
in economic development because I'm insulated away from it by

(04:44):
Tartak e Auckland.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
Wayne, thank you very much and good luck, good luck
getting this across the line with the council. I hope
you actually have the numbers. That's Wayne Brown Auckland's meth.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
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