October 16, 2024 • 9 mins
Christchurch's mayor is keeping mum about seeking re-election.
First time mayor Phil Mauger took the reins in 2022 after narrowly beating former health boss David Meates.
City Councillor Sara Templeton has announced her bid for mayor a year out from local body elections.
Mauger wouldn’t confirm to John MacDonald whether he's decided to run.
He says there's a lot going on, so he'll worry about it after Christmas.
They also discussed his interview with Jack Tame on Q&A and if he really believes his comments about not breaking promises to ratepayers.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZB christ Just Mayor Field Major as with us for
a regular catch up Morning Phil, Morning Bad Right So weekend.
At the weekend, counselor Sarah Templeton announced that she was
going to be running for Maya next year. Yes, are
you still going to keep us waiting until January to
let us know whether you're going to run again or not?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
I've got I've got I've got a lot on my plate.
You know, we've got long term plan that's in action
now we get and your plan coming up. We've got
that GPS stuff for transport and things that there's a
lot happening. I'll stately let you know. You'll be third
after my wife and Jack Tame. I'll tell you that,
all right.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I apprecire, I think I appreciate that. But you're in
a bit of a tricky position though, well, you're your
supporters are in a bit of a tricky position because
let's let's face it, I mean, Sarah, that's the left
side of things taken care of. You're the right side
of things. But if you if you're the right side
of thing, but if you don't announce sooner rather than later,
(01:06):
then the people are gonna be saying, well, Phil, come on,
come on, You've got to announce it. Otherwise we're gonna
find we have to find someone else.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Someone might jump in the breach. There's always that, there's
always that challenge. But no, I'll be right after Christmas.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Have you made them Have you made your decision in
your own mind yet?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I certainly thinking about that. There's a lot. There's a
lot going on. I have a lot going on, and
I'm certainly thinking about it, But Christmas only just around
the corner, so I worry about it after that.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So you're kicking it for touch, I'll let you know
in genery sounds to me like sounds to me like
you're at this point. The decision is when to tell
us you're not running because you're not. You're not coming
out saying I love the silly blah blah blah, I
love the job, and I want to and I want
to do it again. But I'll let you know, I'll
(01:50):
confirm in the new year if I'm going to do it.
You're not saying that I do.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Love this job and I'm very proud to be a
mayor of christ Edge, especially after all the gange we've
been through over the last fourteen years. It's where we're
on a high, where we're we're cruising well, I shouldn't
say were cruising along, ever, cruising along. There are so
many good things happening in christ Heurch, you don't want
to be at the forefront of it. But a lot
on my plate, soul, not of that.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Sarah Templeton know what she's getting into if she wants
that job.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I'm sure she's been there for ages, so she's you know,
she's she knows where she's eating, So I'm not you
wouldn't have put a hand up of them.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I'm number three behind Jack Tame in your in
your schedule of announcements. Yeah, what did you mean when
you said to Jack the other day that you that
I wouldn't say I broke that promise, but I didn't
do what I promised.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that wasn't the best choice of words
as sort of heat of the moment stuff for the
sort of it's you get all anxious when you come
to these interviews because you never know what's going to
happen next. But that was good, so so really what
it comes down to. I did promise that we'd keep
right slow, right, but I didn't know back then that
we'd have inflation, insurance and interest gonna give us Actually
(02:59):
nailis to the to the wall.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
But the other thing is, you see, do you regret
making that promise? Was all first? Well was it a promise?
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I don't know if it was, but I certainly said
hand on heart that I would like to keep rates
that cheap, right, But hand on heart I thought I could.
But the difference is we could have got rates slower
but what we did than what we did. But I
didn't have the number. I haven't got the numbers around
the table to be able to do that. There are
some things.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Even though you were a city councilor even though you
were a city councilor pre election, and you would have
known what the finances were looking like.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Yeah, I knew roughly what the finances were looking like. Yes,
as far as the amount of money we had burrowed,
but not interest rates going through the roof. Insurance has
gone up. Forty million dollars is our premiums at the moment,
So that's a hell of a lot more. The other
thing we got we've got Paracuri and the stadium coming
on and that's probably the thick end of two billion
dollars worth of stuff we're going to have to ensure
next year. So there's a lot, there's a lot lot coming.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So if you decide to run again, I suppose you'll
be making no promises that it's not the wizard of
last time.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yes, correct that the percentage where we'll keep rates low.
The percentage will not be mentioned because all it does
is a bullet that comes back and gets fired at you.
But it all comes down to they haven't had the
numbers to do what we wanted to do. So even
the government have come out and said get back to basics.
That's what I campaigned on, Get back to basics and
spend money on the most important things. And that's what
(04:23):
sometimes we don't always do.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
That suddenly had a great meeting yesterday and you've got
Tyler Harrison Hunt saying it was a I better be
careful and use the right word that he used. He
says it was a crook system that charities are so
reliant on gambling for their fundraising. And this was in
the meeting where the council kicked the can down the
road and decided not to do anything in relation to
(04:45):
its gambling policy. What do you think? Where do you
stand on that? Do you think it is a crook
system that local organizations are so right on gambling for
their funding.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Is it is?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Sorry, closer, it is. I've had a friend of mine
who has lost everything the house that works through gambling.
So I know I've been on I've seen what happens.
The system that I've been told is that the serious
gamblers from what the people told me that came in
from hotels or wherever the pokeys are. They say it's
only point oo whatever percent. It's not a lot of people.
(05:21):
But that's not to say it doesn't affect people. On
the other hand, you've got pub charity and other things
like that and say, oh, we give this dough back.
So it's a balancing act. They want to be able
to move pokey machines from out of areas of say
low deck privation and put them into other areas to
sort of coagulate them up a bit.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
So why did the council not do anything? Why are
you sitting on your hands and waiting to laughter the
next election?
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Well, what we'll do?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
What we'll do is We're definitely going to put it
out for consultation. We've kicked the can down the road
on this for a number of years. I think you'll
know you thing to brag about. No, No, I think
it has been. It has been. So it's going out
for full consultation in twenty twenty six. We've said, right,
there's a line and saying we're going to do it.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
We've got so you've made a bit of a face
when I mentioned Tyler Harrison Hunt's comment in the meetings
today is that because you agree with them, will you disagree?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
No?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I don't. No, I don't agree with what he said
in that sentence that there are people that are certainly affected.
I wouldn't say the system is crook. It's the system works.
There are people that effects by people that do smoking.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Do you think but you think we have to like
it a lump? It that the pokey machines that are
often the only way some outfits can get money.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
See sometimes yes, that's right. And we've got other funding
mechanisms like RATA who have changed their focus on where
they put their money. And of course it all comes
back to normally us at council as a lender of
last resort for those things. So it's tough, It's real tough.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Right. There was comments in the news last week about
nitrates and the nitrate levels and he can not do
not doing the job of twenty years until little flushed
out of the system, blah blah blah blah blah. And
people were inquiring on the show what's going on with
the city council's use of things like round up? What's
going on? Are you guys still using it? Because there
was there was those experiments for one of a better
(07:12):
term a while back, using water spray and water and
hot water spray and stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I sort of look sometimes, being a bit of a skiptic,
I look at hot water. I know it kills the plant,
but I also look at it's probably watering it as well.
So we've got to are you still using round up
and somekay? I've got it. I've got down here. The
chemicals that we used to controled weeds on the road
are glacipate, which is round up, mootron, and pulse right,
(07:39):
and I think they've all got a bit of glycipate
in them. They that the parks and head of parks
it has only used an exceptional servant circumstances.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Does that mean when you can't use something else that
we don't go spraying this stuff around all over the village.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So when I see people walking walking over here by
Margaret Mayhew and they've got a backpack on and they're
doing with spray, what are they.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
The specie ninety nine percent chance they won't be using glacipate?
Are we using something else that we only use? Especially
in one of the places we do use glass of
fate is round waterways because as soon as it hits water,
it's neutral, it's it's not it's non residual, and it
doesn't kill fish. It definitely does not kill fish. So
it works round water, whereas a lot of others don't.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, so some round up mostly not.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Absolutely all right, Okay, the guys aren't allowed to go
and then just grab a drab round up and go
squirting around over the Hey, I got.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
To take the question on something too, And this is
something we're going to talk about after eleven. Is it
true that you're the guy that came up with the
idea of putting traffic light it's at church corner.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
I certainly am a fan of putting traffic lights at
church corner. I think originally it wasn't on the plans
for that. But if we want to stop the tea bones,
we've come up with a response that and it's going
out to consultation for two weeks. Here's more bloody consultation.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
At least it's more than the government gove for the
oil and gas expiration consultation. So you're winning on that one,
all right. We're going to talk about that after a evee.
Will see you in two weeks. Well, we look forward
to film Major with us every fortnight.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to News Talks at be Christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZB christ Just Mayor Field Major as with us for
a regular catch up Morning Phil, Morning Bad Right So weekend.
At the weekend, counselor Sarah Templeton announced that she was
going to be running for Maya next year. Yes, are
you still going to keep us waiting until January to
let us know whether you're going to run again or not?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
I've got I've got I've got a lot on my plate.
You know, we've got long term plan that's in action
now we get and your plan coming up. We've got
that GPS stuff for transport and things that there's a
lot happening. I'll stately let you know. You'll be third
after my wife and Jack Tame. I'll tell you that,
all right.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I apprecire, I think I appreciate that. But you're in
a bit of a tricky position though, well, you're your
supporters are in a bit of a tricky position because
let's let's face it, I mean, Sarah, that's the left
side of things taken care of. You're the right side
of things. But if you if you're the right side
of thing, but if you don't announce sooner rather than later,
(01:06):
then the people are gonna be saying, well, Phil, come on,
come on, You've got to announce it. Otherwise we're gonna
find we have to find someone else.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Someone might jump in the breach. There's always that, there's
always that challenge. But no, I'll be right after Christmas.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Have you made them Have you made your decision in
your own mind yet?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I certainly thinking about that. There's a lot. There's a
lot going on. I have a lot going on, and
I'm certainly thinking about it, But Christmas only just around
the corner, so I worry about it after that.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So you're kicking it for touch, I'll let you know
in genery sounds to me like sounds to me like
you're at this point. The decision is when to tell
us you're not running because you're not. You're not coming
out saying I love the silly blah blah blah, I
love the job, and I want to and I want
to do it again. But I'll let you know, I'll
(01:50):
confirm in the new year if I'm going to do it.
You're not saying that I do.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Love this job and I'm very proud to be a
mayor of christ Edge, especially after all the gange we've
been through over the last fourteen years. It's where we're
on a high, where we're we're cruising well, I shouldn't
say were cruising along, ever, cruising along. There are so
many good things happening in christ Heurch, you don't want
to be at the forefront of it. But a lot
on my plate, soul, not of that.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Sarah Templeton know what she's getting into if she wants
that job.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I'm sure she's been there for ages, so she's you know,
she's she knows where she's eating, So I'm not you
wouldn't have put a hand up of them.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I'm number three behind Jack Tame in your in
your schedule of announcements. Yeah, what did you mean when
you said to Jack the other day that you that
I wouldn't say I broke that promise, but I didn't
do what I promised.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that wasn't the best choice of words
as sort of heat of the moment stuff for the
sort of it's you get all anxious when you come
to these interviews because you never know what's going to
happen next. But that was good, so so really what
it comes down to. I did promise that we'd keep
right slow, right, but I didn't know back then that
we'd have inflation, insurance and interest gonna give us Actually
(02:59):
nailis to the to the wall.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
But the other thing is, you see, do you regret
making that promise? Was all first? Well was it a promise?
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I don't know if it was, but I certainly said
hand on heart that I would like to keep rates
that cheap, right, But hand on heart I thought I could.
But the difference is we could have got rates slower
but what we did than what we did. But I
didn't have the number. I haven't got the numbers around
the table to be able to do that. There are
some things.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Even though you were a city councilor even though you
were a city councilor pre election, and you would have
known what the finances were looking like.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Yeah, I knew roughly what the finances were looking like. Yes,
as far as the amount of money we had burrowed,
but not interest rates going through the roof. Insurance has
gone up. Forty million dollars is our premiums at the moment,
So that's a hell of a lot more. The other
thing we got we've got Paracuri and the stadium coming
on and that's probably the thick end of two billion
dollars worth of stuff we're going to have to ensure
next year. So there's a lot, there's a lot lot coming.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So if you decide to run again, I suppose you'll
be making no promises that it's not the wizard of
last time.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yes, correct that the percentage where we'll keep rates low.
The percentage will not be mentioned because all it does
is a bullet that comes back and gets fired at you.
But it all comes down to they haven't had the
numbers to do what we wanted to do. So even
the government have come out and said get back to basics.
That's what I campaigned on, Get back to basics and
spend money on the most important things. And that's what
(04:23):
sometimes we don't always do.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
That suddenly had a great meeting yesterday and you've got
Tyler Harrison Hunt saying it was a I better be
careful and use the right word that he used. He
says it was a crook system that charities are so
reliant on gambling for their fundraising. And this was in
the meeting where the council kicked the can down the
road and decided not to do anything in relation to
(04:45):
its gambling policy. What do you think? Where do you
stand on that? Do you think it is a crook
system that local organizations are so right on gambling for
their funding.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Is it is?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Sorry, closer, it is. I've had a friend of mine
who has lost everything the house that works through gambling.
So I know I've been on I've seen what happens.
The system that I've been told is that the serious
gamblers from what the people told me that came in
from hotels or wherever the pokeys are. They say it's
only point oo whatever percent. It's not a lot of people.
(05:21):
But that's not to say it doesn't affect people. On
the other hand, you've got pub charity and other things
like that and say, oh, we give this dough back.
So it's a balancing act. They want to be able
to move pokey machines from out of areas of say
low deck privation and put them into other areas to
sort of coagulate them up a bit.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
So why did the council not do anything? Why are
you sitting on your hands and waiting to laughter the
next election?
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Well, what we'll do?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
What we'll do is We're definitely going to put it
out for consultation. We've kicked the can down the road
on this for a number of years. I think you'll
know you thing to brag about. No, No, I think
it has been. It has been. So it's going out
for full consultation in twenty twenty six. We've said, right,
there's a line and saying we're going to do it.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
We've got so you've made a bit of a face
when I mentioned Tyler Harrison Hunt's comment in the meetings
today is that because you agree with them, will you disagree?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
No?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I don't. No, I don't agree with what he said
in that sentence that there are people that are certainly affected.
I wouldn't say the system is crook. It's the system works.
There are people that effects by people that do smoking.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Do you think but you think we have to like
it a lump? It that the pokey machines that are
often the only way some outfits can get money.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
See sometimes yes, that's right. And we've got other funding
mechanisms like RATA who have changed their focus on where
they put their money. And of course it all comes
back to normally us at council as a lender of
last resort for those things. So it's tough, It's real tough.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Right. There was comments in the news last week about
nitrates and the nitrate levels and he can not do
not doing the job of twenty years until little flushed
out of the system, blah blah blah blah blah. And
people were inquiring on the show what's going on with
the city council's use of things like round up? What's
going on? Are you guys still using it? Because there
was there was those experiments for one of a better
(07:12):
term a while back, using water spray and water and
hot water spray and stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I sort of look sometimes, being a bit of a skiptic,
I look at hot water. I know it kills the plant,
but I also look at it's probably watering it as well.
So we've got to are you still using round up
and somekay? I've got it. I've got down here. The
chemicals that we used to controled weeds on the road
are glacipate, which is round up, mootron, and pulse right,
(07:39):
and I think they've all got a bit of glycipate
in them. They that the parks and head of parks
it has only used an exceptional servant circumstances.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Does that mean when you can't use something else that
we don't go spraying this stuff around all over the village.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So when I see people walking walking over here by
Margaret Mayhew and they've got a backpack on and they're
doing with spray, what are they.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
The specie ninety nine percent chance they won't be using glacipate?
Are we using something else that we only use? Especially
in one of the places we do use glass of
fate is round waterways because as soon as it hits water,
it's neutral, it's it's not it's non residual, and it
doesn't kill fish. It definitely does not kill fish. So
it works round water, whereas a lot of others don't.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, so some round up mostly not.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Absolutely all right, Okay, the guys aren't allowed to go
and then just grab a drab round up and go
squirting around over the Hey, I got.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
To take the question on something too, And this is
something we're going to talk about after eleven. Is it
true that you're the guy that came up with the
idea of putting traffic light it's at church corner.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
I certainly am a fan of putting traffic lights at
church corner. I think originally it wasn't on the plans
for that. But if we want to stop the tea bones,
we've come up with a response that and it's going
out to consultation for two weeks. Here's more bloody consultation.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
At least it's more than the government gove for the
oil and gas expiration consultation. So you're winning on that one,
all right. We're going to talk about that after a evee.
Will see you in two weeks. Well, we look forward
to film Major with us every fortnight.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to News Talks at be Christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.