October 12, 2025 • 10 mins
Phil Mauger has been re-elected as Mayor of Christchurch. He joined us on the show following his win, and discussed the key issues he wants to focus on. Where will cut debt? Who will be his deputy? And does he think Wayne Brown is correct that Auckland is our only international city?
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Film Major It has been re elected mayor of christ
Church after winning three years ago with a majority of
less than three thousand votes. He's one this time round
with the majority of around twenty twenty thousand and he's
with us now, Phil congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Thank you Jonathan.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
How does it work now on Friday? Do you kind
of tidy up the office or take a bit of
stuff out just so you don't jinx things or would
you wait for the result and then decide whether you
have to clear up the office or not.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, all all the counselors everyone had to enback their
devices to laptops and clear out all their offices. And
I'd say not that they've got very big officers, but
now they'll be bringing them all back in.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
And did you and did you have to do the
same as well.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, that's right. I didn't have a hell of a
lot in my office. It's sort of well, i'm actually
out of my office because of that structural problem. We've
got the stuff, oh yeah building and I'm just in
a wee introm bit. So it was very easy just
to check everything in the box, and now I'll want
to back in with the box and check it all
out again.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Brilliant. Now, you said at the weekend that your list
of things that you want to do quite sort of
vanished into thin ear after Saturland's result. What the hell
did you mean by that?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Well, now it's it's no real issue. But if I've
got one more person, I'd be able to sort of
push through. I felt a lot of a lot of
little things that would make a hell of a difference.
Now with democracy the way it is, as I said,
I will work with anyone that's put around the table,
and the people of cry Church has put the people
in front of me, and I've got to work with
(01:42):
what I've got. So I've still got the same mix,
so to speak, as what I had.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
You've still got the hard on, you still got the
same majority of your lefties, that's what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Ah, No, I've still got to work harder to get
everyone as hard to get everyone to get together.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
So if you'd got a betterness, if you go at
your one more sender right vote, what would have been
something on your less that you reckon? You would have
got through?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Ah, little little things like move that cycle way off
the road and onto the grass. Might struggle with things
like that. Take the likes of that car pack next
to the Court Theater. I would have loved that to
have been a full car pack like the Court Theater
people would, But the previous council had had it down
as two thirds car pack and one third grass. So
(02:32):
that sort of thing, little things like that, which I
feel would make things run a lot smoothly, are not
going to happen. But we'll never say no and we'll
keep working on it, all right.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So Wayne Brown's another one who's been re elected, and
he's already saying that he's going to keep putting Wellington
in its place, saying that the government needs to let
Auckland Council make its own decisions and do what it wants,
and he's going to keep pushing back. Sounds a different
approach from you, though, sounds like you're going to be
a little bit more deferential to Wellington, particularly in relation
to things like rates caps.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Well and as I've said all the way through, like
it's the government of thinking about rates cap. No amount
of me jumping up and down is going to make
them change it. If they're thinking about it. If it comes,
it will come. We don't know what the percentage will be,
but or the target will be. So I'm just saying,
let's sort of be seeing me ready for it. If
it does come, I'm not coming till this time next year.
Who knows.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yeah, But are you going to keep pushing back? I
mean the council very famously flip the bird over the
housing intensification. I mean, Wayne Brown's really going to be
pushing hard for Auckland. What's your approach going to be?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Ill? I still push hand to Christich. Don't you worry
about that? Christ Chich is going well. But that doesn't
mean to say that we don't keep the keep the
lines of communication open open with Wellington. I don't want
to go out there with a big stick and bash
it all around. I want to go out there and
work with people to get the best results of project.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Who would you say does better Wayne Brown that Wayne
Brown's approach or your approach.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
I'd like to think my approach because I'm doing it.
But we'll wait and see. I don't mind if he's
the icebreaker at the front of the at the front
of the que and I'm right behind and picking up
the pieces as long as it's good for Christitch.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I was intrigued to say that. He was saying yesterday
that Auckland is New Zealand's only international city. What's your
response to that.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Ah, I'd have to disagree with that. He and I
have a good friendly brother. We get on pretty well.
But we've got a lot a lot. They've got a lot,
but we've got a lot more direct flights coming in
and international tourists coming in. So it's all right. As
long as we shared around, everyone gets a bite of
the pie, it's all cool us.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
He's already talked about taking delegations to the likes of
China and India because he wants to get business to
New Zealand's and the international city. What are your plans
on that front?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Well, it is you're very careful when you go to
sister city relationship things over and overseas countries. You don't
do that in the election year. Before the elections. They're
one points the thing that you're saying, you're doing a
junket and you've gone over there and doing nothing to
drink saki and eat big food. But it is important
to go over and the two or three that I've
been on it have made a difference, and take business
(05:00):
people with you and it makes a difference for christ here.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So how is it, How has it made a difference
in the past.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We've had some pet food companies go over as well
as some aerospace stuff goes over and the relationship that
they've got and how those companies have got forward. It's
not a benefit the council per se, but it's a
benefit for the business of christ Church.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
We've been talking this morning about the low voter turnout.
I mean, in some ways, you know you'll be celebrating
a huge majority, but that's a huge majority out of
a minority of potential voters. What do you reckon or
how would you feel about compulsory voting in local body elections.
They did it in Tasmania three years ago and they've
got a forty four percent increase in turnout straight away.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
All right, Well, it's the Electoral Commission idea. Say, I'm
not in favor of anything that gets more voting done.
As I might have said to you last week, central
government elections seem to have a pretty jolly good turnout
and local government seem to be awful. So the system
we're using for local government is not working. We've got
to do something else. And whether it goes towards it
(06:06):
actually getting up on the Saturday morning or the week
or two before and going down and actually counting your vote,
I don't know. I don't know what's I'll go along
with whatever they say. Right.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
One thing that you will have a decision on, and
yours alone, is who the deputy mayor is going to be.
Who is that?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
No, I haven't made the mind up. You ever got
a couple of people in the head.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yes, Victoria Henstock is one of them.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I'm not going to who. I'm not going to tell you.
I've got a couple of people in the head. And
of course, as very well, I've got to come up
with a I can come up with a deputy mayor,
but it still has to be ratified by the council,
the other council. That it's not all entirely my pick.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Would you want someone a little bit more visible than
the last one?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Oh no, I'll wait, I'll see you.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Sounds like sounds like sounds like sounds to me like
Pauline's not going to be depity.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Next question, John, Please.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
You talked to me last week about going through the
box and cunning costs as you did before the last elections.
So at the same time you talked about ripping up
your listen of things to do over the weekends. So
what do you want the council to stop spending money on.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
We've got there's there's a number of things like I
want to go You know how I've dribbled on about
saying I'm going down line by line. I want to
see the list of what's coming up in the next
six months of work.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You'll know you'll know that already.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
No, yeah, it's there, it's there, written in plain English.
But I want to see this list again and put
it all all the councilors and say, right going into
the next annual plan, because that's our next biggie, what
can we push out? And you've got to be very
careful that you're pushing stuff out. You don't an avalanche
of rubbish coming down on you in about five years time.
(07:51):
But push out stuff that's not absolutely necessary. And when
I say necessary, all the the brick bell sewer, which
is in more sorry fist yield is absolutely knack it.
It's costing as fortune to keep catching it up we've
got to fix that. I know it's on the books
(08:11):
to be done. It's going to be mayhem as far
as traffic flow goes, but it was done in eighteen
eighty and it is not in good shape.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Right. So what's one or two examples of things that
you think could be pushed out?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
There's things like and everyone was getting on the back,
but we have got we have to make sure we
have clean water going into our rivers, right, and it's working.
It's working extremely well up in this Sparks Road basin,
Henderson's basin their Benure Park. It's stopping silk getting into
the rivers and the he River is a lot better.
It can be better. But we've got a lot of
(08:46):
these basins and things that we're going to be putting
in down by say old Ave inside girls high Now,
if we can high ho on those for it, I
know they'll have to be done one day. But we're
in the cost of living crisis Council as well as
the people of Tritue, so if we can get the
cost of living down or to them, it's got to
(09:09):
be better. So just things that might not be that
important straight away.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Yeah, but doesn't that also help address flood control.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Not necessarily flood control, that certainly addresses the quality of
the water because it picks up all the first flush
stuff when it rains, like crasing. All the bits of
old oil and rubber and stuff go down the storm
water and eats up in the river. The good thing
about the storm water basins that catches that sort of
stuff and treats it before it goes on the room.
And that's why the heath get is a lot better
(09:38):
than it is. But we've just got to look at
things to keep things as cheap or as we can.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
All right, why do you reckon? Sam Broughton got the
heave hose in such a spectacular way from.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Selling I don't know. I don't know. That was the
biggest surprise to me of all. I know Lidia run
a fantastic campaign, but I honestly don't know what he
did roll of what he didn't do, right, it'll be
interesting to Can I check that and see what's going on?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
All right? Hey, just before we go, I thought it
was delightful. I saw the video at the weekend of
when you got the phone call with the result, and
Chris Chrissy seemed she seemed genuinely delighted, and I've always
got the impression that she was kind of thinking, oh,
do we have to do this for another three years?
But she seemed to be very excited for you.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Oh she is. You know that she's the love of
my life. If I didn't have here, I'd be in
big trouble. So I'm very appreciative that the support that
she gives me, and that was totally that was totally
her reaction, So I'm very pleased to see it.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Very nice. All right, Well that's lovely, Phil Again, congratulations
and now that you're back in the seat we can
resume our regular catchups.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Look forward to it, young fellas.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Brilliant. Oh you can keep that up. Thanks mate.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news Talks It'd be christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Film Major It has been re elected mayor of christ
Church after winning three years ago with a majority of
less than three thousand votes. He's one this time round
with the majority of around twenty twenty thousand and he's
with us now, Phil congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Thank you Jonathan.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
How does it work now on Friday? Do you kind
of tidy up the office or take a bit of
stuff out just so you don't jinx things or would
you wait for the result and then decide whether you
have to clear up the office or not.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, all all the counselors everyone had to enback their
devices to laptops and clear out all their offices. And
I'd say not that they've got very big officers, but
now they'll be bringing them all back in.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
And did you and did you have to do the
same as well.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, that's right. I didn't have a hell of a
lot in my office. It's sort of well, i'm actually
out of my office because of that structural problem. We've
got the stuff, oh yeah building and I'm just in
a wee introm bit. So it was very easy just
to check everything in the box, and now I'll want
to back in with the box and check it all
out again.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Brilliant. Now, you said at the weekend that your list
of things that you want to do quite sort of
vanished into thin ear after Saturland's result. What the hell
did you mean by that?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Well, now it's it's no real issue. But if I've
got one more person, I'd be able to sort of
push through. I felt a lot of a lot of
little things that would make a hell of a difference.
Now with democracy the way it is, as I said,
I will work with anyone that's put around the table,
and the people of cry Church has put the people
in front of me, and I've got to work with
(01:42):
what I've got. So I've still got the same mix,
so to speak, as what I had.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
You've still got the hard on, you still got the
same majority of your lefties, that's what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Ah, No, I've still got to work harder to get
everyone as hard to get everyone to get together.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
So if you'd got a betterness, if you go at
your one more sender right vote, what would have been
something on your less that you reckon? You would have
got through?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Ah, little little things like move that cycle way off
the road and onto the grass. Might struggle with things
like that. Take the likes of that car pack next
to the Court Theater. I would have loved that to
have been a full car pack like the Court Theater
people would, But the previous council had had it down
as two thirds car pack and one third grass. So
(02:32):
that sort of thing, little things like that, which I
feel would make things run a lot smoothly, are not
going to happen. But we'll never say no and we'll
keep working on it, all right.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So Wayne Brown's another one who's been re elected, and
he's already saying that he's going to keep putting Wellington
in its place, saying that the government needs to let
Auckland Council make its own decisions and do what it wants,
and he's going to keep pushing back. Sounds a different
approach from you, though, sounds like you're going to be
a little bit more deferential to Wellington, particularly in relation
to things like rates caps.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Well and as I've said all the way through, like
it's the government of thinking about rates cap. No amount
of me jumping up and down is going to make
them change it. If they're thinking about it. If it comes,
it will come. We don't know what the percentage will be,
but or the target will be. So I'm just saying,
let's sort of be seeing me ready for it. If
it does come, I'm not coming till this time next year.
Who knows.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yeah, But are you going to keep pushing back? I
mean the council very famously flip the bird over the
housing intensification. I mean, Wayne Brown's really going to be
pushing hard for Auckland. What's your approach going to be?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Ill? I still push hand to Christich. Don't you worry
about that? Christ Chich is going well. But that doesn't
mean to say that we don't keep the keep the
lines of communication open open with Wellington. I don't want
to go out there with a big stick and bash
it all around. I want to go out there and
work with people to get the best results of project.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Who would you say does better Wayne Brown that Wayne
Brown's approach or your approach.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
I'd like to think my approach because I'm doing it.
But we'll wait and see. I don't mind if he's
the icebreaker at the front of the at the front
of the que and I'm right behind and picking up
the pieces as long as it's good for Christitch.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I was intrigued to say that. He was saying yesterday
that Auckland is New Zealand's only international city. What's your
response to that.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Ah, I'd have to disagree with that. He and I
have a good friendly brother. We get on pretty well.
But we've got a lot a lot. They've got a lot,
but we've got a lot more direct flights coming in
and international tourists coming in. So it's all right. As
long as we shared around, everyone gets a bite of
the pie, it's all cool us.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
He's already talked about taking delegations to the likes of
China and India because he wants to get business to
New Zealand's and the international city. What are your plans
on that front?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Well, it is you're very careful when you go to
sister city relationship things over and overseas countries. You don't
do that in the election year. Before the elections. They're
one points the thing that you're saying, you're doing a
junket and you've gone over there and doing nothing to
drink saki and eat big food. But it is important
to go over and the two or three that I've
been on it have made a difference, and take business
(05:00):
people with you and it makes a difference for christ here.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So how is it, How has it made a difference
in the past.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We've had some pet food companies go over as well
as some aerospace stuff goes over and the relationship that
they've got and how those companies have got forward. It's
not a benefit the council per se, but it's a
benefit for the business of christ Church.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
We've been talking this morning about the low voter turnout.
I mean, in some ways, you know you'll be celebrating
a huge majority, but that's a huge majority out of
a minority of potential voters. What do you reckon or
how would you feel about compulsory voting in local body elections.
They did it in Tasmania three years ago and they've
got a forty four percent increase in turnout straight away.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
All right, Well, it's the Electoral Commission idea. Say, I'm
not in favor of anything that gets more voting done.
As I might have said to you last week, central
government elections seem to have a pretty jolly good turnout
and local government seem to be awful. So the system
we're using for local government is not working. We've got
to do something else. And whether it goes towards it
(06:06):
actually getting up on the Saturday morning or the week
or two before and going down and actually counting your vote,
I don't know. I don't know what's I'll go along
with whatever they say. Right.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
One thing that you will have a decision on, and
yours alone, is who the deputy mayor is going to be.
Who is that?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
No, I haven't made the mind up. You ever got
a couple of people in the head.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yes, Victoria Henstock is one of them.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I'm not going to who. I'm not going to tell you.
I've got a couple of people in the head. And
of course, as very well, I've got to come up
with a I can come up with a deputy mayor,
but it still has to be ratified by the council,
the other council. That it's not all entirely my pick.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Would you want someone a little bit more visible than
the last one?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Oh no, I'll wait, I'll see you.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Sounds like sounds like sounds like sounds to me like
Pauline's not going to be depity.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Next question, John, Please.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
You talked to me last week about going through the
box and cunning costs as you did before the last elections.
So at the same time you talked about ripping up
your listen of things to do over the weekends. So
what do you want the council to stop spending money on.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
We've got there's there's a number of things like I
want to go You know how I've dribbled on about
saying I'm going down line by line. I want to
see the list of what's coming up in the next
six months of work.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You'll know you'll know that already.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
No, yeah, it's there, it's there, written in plain English.
But I want to see this list again and put
it all all the councilors and say, right going into
the next annual plan, because that's our next biggie, what
can we push out? And you've got to be very
careful that you're pushing stuff out. You don't an avalanche
of rubbish coming down on you in about five years time.
(07:51):
But push out stuff that's not absolutely necessary. And when
I say necessary, all the the brick bell sewer, which
is in more sorry fist yield is absolutely knack it.
It's costing as fortune to keep catching it up we've
got to fix that. I know it's on the books
(08:11):
to be done. It's going to be mayhem as far
as traffic flow goes, but it was done in eighteen
eighty and it is not in good shape.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Right. So what's one or two examples of things that
you think could be pushed out?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
There's things like and everyone was getting on the back,
but we have got we have to make sure we
have clean water going into our rivers, right, and it's working.
It's working extremely well up in this Sparks Road basin,
Henderson's basin their Benure Park. It's stopping silk getting into
the rivers and the he River is a lot better.
It can be better. But we've got a lot of
(08:46):
these basins and things that we're going to be putting
in down by say old Ave inside girls high Now,
if we can high ho on those for it, I
know they'll have to be done one day. But we're
in the cost of living crisis Council as well as
the people of Tritue, so if we can get the
cost of living down or to them, it's got to
(09:09):
be better. So just things that might not be that
important straight away.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Yeah, but doesn't that also help address flood control.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Not necessarily flood control, that certainly addresses the quality of
the water because it picks up all the first flush
stuff when it rains, like crasing. All the bits of
old oil and rubber and stuff go down the storm
water and eats up in the river. The good thing
about the storm water basins that catches that sort of
stuff and treats it before it goes on the room.
And that's why the heath get is a lot better
(09:38):
than it is. But we've just got to look at
things to keep things as cheap or as we can.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
All right, why do you reckon? Sam Broughton got the
heave hose in such a spectacular way from.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Selling I don't know. I don't know. That was the
biggest surprise to me of all. I know Lidia run
a fantastic campaign, but I honestly don't know what he
did roll of what he didn't do, right, it'll be
interesting to Can I check that and see what's going on?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
All right? Hey, just before we go, I thought it
was delightful. I saw the video at the weekend of
when you got the phone call with the result, and
Chris Chrissy seemed she seemed genuinely delighted, and I've always
got the impression that she was kind of thinking, oh,
do we have to do this for another three years?
But she seemed to be very excited for you.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Oh she is. You know that she's the love of
my life. If I didn't have here, I'd be in
big trouble. So I'm very appreciative that the support that
she gives me, and that was totally that was totally
her reaction, So I'm very pleased to see it.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Very nice. All right, Well that's lovely, Phil Again, congratulations
and now that you're back in the seat we can
resume our regular catchups.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Look forward to it, young fellas.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Brilliant. Oh you can keep that up. Thanks mate.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news Talks It'd be christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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