December 21, 2025 • 6 mins
Auckland, where the city's economy isn't firing on all cylinders just yet, but the Chamber of Commerce does say that green shoots are emerging.
Crime crackdowns in the CBD and changes to boost events at Eden Park are all part of a push to get Auckland City humming again.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown joins Andrew Dickens to discuss the progress made this year, and talk about what we can expect to see next.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks Be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
All summer long. We're catching up with all the mayors
and I thank them more for getting up early for us.
And we're going to kick off with the super city Auckland,
where the city's economy isn't firing on all cylinders just yet,
but the Chamber of Commas does say that green shoots
are emerging. Crime crackdowns and the CBD and changes to
boost events at Eton Park are all part of a
push to get to Auckland City humming again. So I'm
(00:37):
joined now by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, who's in studio.
Good on it to your Wayne, good morning. For some
of the smaller businesses of which it's the bedrock of
it all, the real problem with Auckland's productivity is the
fact that it's just a sprawling mess with a whole
lot of villages that aren't connected and people are having
to travel too far to get to work. So there's
a number of proposals about that, the Intensification Plan Change
(01:00):
one twenty and also of course the CRL. So how
do you see orklaand becoming a more productive city.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Well, I think you've got on to it. Actually, the
fact that we endlessly hear about how low productivity is,
and yet I've got parts of the government telling me
we want to have more green fields development. I mean,
it's already the world's largest suburb. I was making it
a city. So we go up. If you fly over
most cities, you can see where the really good transit
transport centers are because there's big piles of tall buildings
(01:29):
around the railway stations or the bus centers. And we've
now got some good fast bus routes, and we will
have a city rolling open next year and we should
be starting to build tall buildings along those lines. And
that's what the intensification is. As a whole lot of
people got worried about if you have.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
It, well, Ken say Mars Williamson and Christine Fletcher is
trying to put the scare of the Jesus out of
people about Plan Change one twenty.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, they're all National Party poor since and they just
got into the habit of doing that.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I think it's not We're not ever going to get
to two million extra houses, are we No, we're.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Not, And I mean out hawk is not going to
suddenly become a twenty story sector. It'll be along where
the bus routes and the city railing train routes are,
and it makes sense to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
The other big talking thing, of course, is the CBD.
Now I've lived my whole life in Auckland and I
can tell you that crime and the CBD is no
worse than before. But anti social behavior and homelessness is
ninety seven percent of ugand does believe the CBD is
uninviting beer set by antisocial behavior? So what can we
do about it?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Or don't believe those numbers for a startup because of
ninety seven percent there, then every person in the three
percent must have showed up for the Christmas lighting of
the Christmas tree because it was a huge crowd there.
But anti social behavior is unfortunate and it's taking place
in the CBD, and people say, what are you going
(02:56):
to do about? As mere? We do places, the government
do people and behavior, and so we're talking to them.
There's no sense lecturing me from Willington about what we're
going to do there. We've put our compliance offices around them,
but they can't arrest these people, and those people know
that full well, they can't touch them. They know that
those people, despite the fact they're homeless, they and they
(03:18):
know the rules and there and what are you going
to do. We've asked the government to actually move them
on because you and the government are the ones who
provide social housing or not. The government is the one
who are whose job it is to do mental health
care in the community and the Unfortunately, those people go
to the CBD where they inflict the maximum economic damage
(03:42):
because if they're in some other street, there's not they're
not preventing you from spending money on flash purses and things.
But I think it's because they get they click money.
People pay biggers in the CBD and that's unfortunately as well,
so sort of encourage them. It's a bit of a
bad down with spiral stadiums.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
So Eden Park says they're barely doing enough to keep
the lights on. Western Springs has been abandoned. Basically, has
it North Harbor cannibalize, no cricket venue for tests. Do
you have an answer for the old stadium question?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Of course you've been reading have you been eating lemons?
I mean, Eden Parks fantastic. It fills up whenever there's
anything decent on. They've now got a permit to put
on more.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well it needs it needs more all the time.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Mate.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yeah, well the only elected officially has played on Eden Parks.
That's ground. But that I mean they have big concerts
there and they've now got approval to put on more
concerts than they've managed to put on. Western Springs just
had a huge concert just recently and.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
In the outer fields were not in the stadium area.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Well but well Synthony has taken place in the domain,
in an out of field. You don't actually have to
have a stadium to have a good concert. Symphony is
the greatest day out you can But this.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Is what I get confused about, is you're right, Eden
Parks fantastic. It is our national stadium. I love Eden Park.
I've been going there all my life. At the same time,
the council actually runs Mount Sparts Stadium, which is in
direct competition with Eden Park, and there's taking away concerts
and it's taking away the AFC and it took away
the Warriors, so you know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
They didn't take them away. They chose to go there.
And we don't run Eden Park. Eden Park is run
by trust, so who should Well, I think the government
and the councilor working to rationalize these things that make
make sense of your problem. Well it is, we're working
on it.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
You've been the fan North mayor, You've you live in
an apartment block in Auckland. So where are you spending summer?
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Part of it up north and part of it on
the boat in the harrage. Go off, I go, and
we'll head down. It will be somewhere in the quadrangle
between Wahiki Corimental and Barrier And.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Can you give us your more exact fishing spot no coordinates?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yes, I'm not. The depletion of the Asians has not
been my fault. I'm not a great fishermote at all,
but I can tell you the good surf box with
so I'm probably one of the few people who have
served on the reef at at Motor Heat. There's a
reef that that pokes out to the north and then
we wake up one morning as waves breaking on. That's
I paddled over. Yeah, I should have won booties because
it was great Oyster's underneath.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
It, great undiscovered island.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Just there there it is, and then find a power
on the other side of wait varies a great.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Reef went on behalf of Auckland and infect the guitared
nation because Aorkland is such a powerhouse. Have a great
twenty twenty six. You're standing for mayor again.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
No I haven't, probably not, but I'm certainly not. I
think that's two years away. By then I'll be running
the country.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Well, I'm just saying you should be turbo charged for
the next year. And I thank you so much for
your time on the Summer Breakfast today.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Good on you. Thanks very much
Speaker 1 (06:51):
For more from News Talks B listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks Be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
All summer long. We're catching up with all the mayors
and I thank them more for getting up early for us.
And we're going to kick off with the super city Auckland,
where the city's economy isn't firing on all cylinders just yet,
but the Chamber of Commas does say that green shoots
are emerging. Crime crackdowns and the CBD and changes to
boost events at Eton Park are all part of a
push to get to Auckland City humming again. So I'm
(00:37):
joined now by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, who's in studio.
Good on it to your Wayne, good morning. For some
of the smaller businesses of which it's the bedrock of
it all, the real problem with Auckland's productivity is the
fact that it's just a sprawling mess with a whole
lot of villages that aren't connected and people are having
to travel too far to get to work. So there's
a number of proposals about that, the Intensification Plan Change
(01:00):
one twenty and also of course the CRL. So how
do you see orklaand becoming a more productive city.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Well, I think you've got on to it. Actually, the
fact that we endlessly hear about how low productivity is,
and yet I've got parts of the government telling me
we want to have more green fields development. I mean,
it's already the world's largest suburb. I was making it
a city. So we go up. If you fly over
most cities, you can see where the really good transit
transport centers are because there's big piles of tall buildings
(01:29):
around the railway stations or the bus centers. And we've
now got some good fast bus routes, and we will
have a city rolling open next year and we should
be starting to build tall buildings along those lines. And
that's what the intensification is. As a whole lot of
people got worried about if you have.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
It, well, Ken say Mars Williamson and Christine Fletcher is
trying to put the scare of the Jesus out of
people about Plan Change one twenty.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, they're all National Party poor since and they just
got into the habit of doing that.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I think it's not We're not ever going to get
to two million extra houses, are we No, we're.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Not, And I mean out hawk is not going to
suddenly become a twenty story sector. It'll be along where
the bus routes and the city railing train routes are,
and it makes sense to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
The other big talking thing, of course, is the CBD.
Now I've lived my whole life in Auckland and I
can tell you that crime and the CBD is no
worse than before. But anti social behavior and homelessness is
ninety seven percent of ugand does believe the CBD is
uninviting beer set by antisocial behavior? So what can we
do about it?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Or don't believe those numbers for a startup because of
ninety seven percent there, then every person in the three
percent must have showed up for the Christmas lighting of
the Christmas tree because it was a huge crowd there.
But anti social behavior is unfortunate and it's taking place
in the CBD, and people say, what are you going
(02:56):
to do about? As mere? We do places, the government
do people and behavior, and so we're talking to them.
There's no sense lecturing me from Willington about what we're
going to do there. We've put our compliance offices around them,
but they can't arrest these people, and those people know
that full well, they can't touch them. They know that
those people, despite the fact they're homeless, they and they
(03:18):
know the rules and there and what are you going
to do. We've asked the government to actually move them
on because you and the government are the ones who
provide social housing or not. The government is the one
who are whose job it is to do mental health
care in the community and the Unfortunately, those people go
to the CBD where they inflict the maximum economic damage
(03:42):
because if they're in some other street, there's not they're
not preventing you from spending money on flash purses and things.
But I think it's because they get they click money.
People pay biggers in the CBD and that's unfortunately as well,
so sort of encourage them. It's a bit of a
bad down with spiral stadiums.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
So Eden Park says they're barely doing enough to keep
the lights on. Western Springs has been abandoned. Basically, has
it North Harbor cannibalize, no cricket venue for tests. Do
you have an answer for the old stadium question?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Of course you've been reading have you been eating lemons?
I mean, Eden Parks fantastic. It fills up whenever there's
anything decent on. They've now got a permit to put
on more.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well it needs it needs more all the time.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Mate.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yeah, well the only elected officially has played on Eden Parks.
That's ground. But that I mean they have big concerts
there and they've now got approval to put on more
concerts than they've managed to put on. Western Springs just
had a huge concert just recently and.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
In the outer fields were not in the stadium area.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Well but well Synthony has taken place in the domain,
in an out of field. You don't actually have to
have a stadium to have a good concert. Symphony is
the greatest day out you can But this.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Is what I get confused about, is you're right, Eden
Parks fantastic. It is our national stadium. I love Eden Park.
I've been going there all my life. At the same time,
the council actually runs Mount Sparts Stadium, which is in
direct competition with Eden Park, and there's taking away concerts
and it's taking away the AFC and it took away
the Warriors, so you know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
They didn't take them away. They chose to go there.
And we don't run Eden Park. Eden Park is run
by trust, so who should Well, I think the government
and the councilor working to rationalize these things that make
make sense of your problem. Well it is, we're working
on it.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
You've been the fan North mayor, You've you live in
an apartment block in Auckland. So where are you spending summer?
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Part of it up north and part of it on
the boat in the harrage. Go off, I go, and
we'll head down. It will be somewhere in the quadrangle
between Wahiki Corimental and Barrier And.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Can you give us your more exact fishing spot no coordinates?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yes, I'm not. The depletion of the Asians has not
been my fault. I'm not a great fishermote at all,
but I can tell you the good surf box with
so I'm probably one of the few people who have
served on the reef at at Motor Heat. There's a
reef that that pokes out to the north and then
we wake up one morning as waves breaking on. That's
I paddled over. Yeah, I should have won booties because
it was great Oyster's underneath.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
It, great undiscovered island.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Just there there it is, and then find a power
on the other side of wait varies a great.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Reef went on behalf of Auckland and infect the guitared
nation because Aorkland is such a powerhouse. Have a great
twenty twenty six. You're standing for mayor again.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
No I haven't, probably not, but I'm certainly not. I
think that's two years away. By then I'll be running
the country.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Well, I'm just saying you should be turbo charged for
the next year. And I thank you so much for
your time on the Summer Breakfast today.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Good on you. Thanks very much
Speaker 1 (06:51):
For more from News Talks B listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
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