Here we go, another terrifying rates increase headline to spook Aucklanders into agreeing to an asset fire-sale…
Auckland councillors angry about Mayor’s suggestion of possible 22.5pct rates rise
Auckland Councillors have reacted angrily to their Mayor’s suggestion rates could rise 22.5 percent.
They’re saying the headline-grabbing declaration was made to try and get councillors behind plans to slash services or sell Auckland Airport shares.
But not everyone’s on board.
…the Boomer King sharpens his knives for the budget privatisation agenda and seems to have convinced Richard Hill to back him in selling off the AirPort shares.
For Christ’s sake, the Airport is a monopoly asset that makes Auckland Council huge money, why the hell privatise it?
We chose like morons not to appoint anyone to the board and they screwed us!
Former Mayor of Manukau, Sir Barry Curtis is damning...
Unfortunately, in 2015, the Auckland Council chose not to follow this practice of nominating a board member, a matter I find totally mystifying. Before Easter in 2020, the Auckland International Airport company board utilised fast track Covid-19 rules to raise $1.2 billion in capital, specifically excluding all major shareholders including the Auckland Council. This resulted in the Auckland Council’s shareholding being reduced to 18.5 percent.
..we have poorly managed this asset and now Wayne Brown and Richard Hills want to privatise it…
Entry ports to our city, both air and sea, are vital infrastructure to the Auckland and national economies and indeed, our security interests. They must not be forsaken. Only local public ownership, in part or whole, can safely secure the long-term interests of our city.
To protect Manukau’s interests the council purchased additional shares to lift its shareholding above 10 percent. This provided us with a ‘blocking share’ to protect our ownership. We participated in capital raising to protect our value and stop the diluting of our significant shareholding.
We successfully lobbied Central Government to change the rules around foreign ownership. We received regular, ongoing and substantial dividends which assisted to achieve lower rates.
The value of Airport company shares continues to grow. At the time of the Canadian Pension Fund’s first bid in 2007 the shares were listed at $2.80 per share. The offer was for $3.65 a share. Dubai Aerospace bid was slightly more. Since amalgamation, the combined value of Manukau and Auckland’s shares have more than tripled, a gain of $1.2 billion to Aucklanders. The current value is over $8 a share.
The Auckland Council has received well over half a billion dollars in dividends and a share buy-back from 2010. While no dividends have been received during the Covid pandemic, AIAL has indicated a resumption shortly.
The value of the Auckland Airport company, with its very large commercial and retail interests, will continue to grow. The Auckland Airport was built with public monies. It was owned and developed by the former Auckland Regional Authority until corporatised by central government in 1988. The Company was established with local government in Auckland owning 51 percent, but unfortunately, all but Manukau and Auckland sold their ownership interests.
…look.
Privatising our assets to cover the enormous cost of running this city is stupid beyond reason.
There needs to be a means of expanding budgets and services and if that is through City Bonds financed through the Super Fund or ACC or any number of huge Government funds, so be it!
We need big solutions not petty and self defeating budget cuts!
The Boomers elected Wayne Brown to ‘Fix’ Auckland, well, he’s privatising it!
Allowing Brown to hock off our assets is not fixing Auckland, it is sacrificing Auckland.
We need a far better plan than this madness!
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Cause and effect. Here’s another example;
The green zealots in this government hates cars. They devise a plan to make us not to use them and use our rat shit public transport offerings instead. Climate change gods sated! Smiley face emoji’s all round.
So…Auckland Council get hundreds of millions of dollars from that moronic 11 cent per litre of fuel tax that poor Aucklanders have to suck up! Where is it going?
If the answer is speed humps and other “traffic calming measures”, which it is, so nanny council, responding to the dictate of nanny government, can keep us all “safe” from the boogie man but in reality force us from car use, then stop the waste right there! Surely that money must go to funding better public transport. But it doesn’t, it gets wasted on woke ideology! Money from rates therefore goes on propping up public transport instead but nowhere near enough (like the fuel tax treasure chest has) to take it from rat shit status.
There’s budget issues from unexpected bills and I can get that and there’s pure waste of public money. We should not have the latter but we do and here we are.! Somehow, our cause and effect blind central governments fingerprints are all over this!
And to think that public transport was far superior in the 1950s, and most of it was removed on purpose. The roads have barely advanced since the 1960s, when they were already behind the times.
The cities were also much better at hosting major events and professional-level sports seventy years ago than they are today.
Yes Kristoff NZ the land of “the long white car “. Everyone had a car , we came from a country to NZ in the 70’s with reasonable public transport and not many people had cars. Go figure, the more cars the less the powers that be invest in public transport. In the 60’s in UK Beecham got rid of the rail, remember Richard Prebble’s save the rail campaign ( he lied ) he was grandstanding, gaslighting whatever. Look at all the big cities of the world mass transit systems abound but not little old NZ .The car is still king with the trendy Wendy’s in their big four wheel drive’s flitting around especially in Auckland and as long as people are prepared to sit in their cars for hours on a daily basis nothing will change. Goodness help a government who tries to demote cars as can be seen with this government trying to promote a transport system for all. NACT as usual will bow down to cars “ roads of national significance “. I agree the country needs decent roads however our cities need decent public transport.
Let’s face it, the “we love our cars” mob are the reason we have rat shit public transport. We should have invested years ago but dumb arse knuckle dragging New Zealanders can’t think more than 10 minutes into the future
No, we have “rat shit” public transport because we do not have the population base required to fund such a thing.
I have a client who recently retired as a bus driver. The wage was ok but to make a decent living he had to work a 6-8 hours a day. The problem is every other bus driver felt the same but people only really needed buses for 3-4 hours a day, 7-8:30 am and 4:30 to 6pm ish with a school bump for some companies in the middle.
So for many of the drivers they had to work split shifts which actually means a 14 hour day with travel to and from work thrown in or …. we have a lot of buses driving around empty and a greater taxpayer subsidy for no reason. Same for commuter trains.
Solve that without bankrupting everyone and you’ll be a millionaire.
Auckland certainly has enough population to sustain better public transport. Some of the infrastructure planning is not the expensive if done when it should have been. Look at the North Western Motorway in Auckland. They did a massive upgrade but no bus lane! The bus lane from the shore to Auckland central has been very successful. We certainly don’t have the money to build more roads in the main problem areas and where do you build them. On top of each other?
You mean rugged individualist workers who don’t have the time to in their day to take slow public transport that doesn’t go door to door.
Irony is that “traffic calming measures” increase carbon and toxic emissions.
And I seem to remember hearing the prick say that the reason the sale of one or two golf courses was off the table was because the consultation process had already taken place. (NinetoNoon, from memory).
haha, I heard that part of the interview, he said that it was too late to come up with fresh new ideas
To remove a “green space” is not as simple as you may think plus reource consent and planning would be about 3 years at least and would need millions up front.
I suppose they could just sell it to Fletchers and see the troughers come climbing out of the woodwork.
See there’s the thing. Since the neo-liberal infection has taken hold – a lack of doing anything useful if it’s likely to upset the economic orthodoxy.
Governments can do anything pretty much given the will, and especially where there’s a clear mandate (such as the one Labour have just wasted). There just isn’t the will.
The natives are getting restless though so they’re going to have to start doing stuff before too long or face oblivion.
Are any of the Auckland golf courses on or near the rail network?
Mt Albert is.
So no blame for Goff et al who spent like Nicholas Cage on speed precipitating the debt problems?
So same as when you scream about what the NACTs will do to spending but not a peep about how Malibu Cindy has spent vastly more than any other PM in history whilst making basically everything worse. Poverty? Worse. Homelessness? Worse? Inflation? Worse. Inequality? Worse.
Did I miss something?
Oh yeah, how are those kiwibuild houses coming along?
It’d be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
The money that imbecile has wasted could have achieved real transformational change if it had been spent by a competent government.
So are you saying we should be spending money but you don’t like how it is spent? You want transformation but for $2.50? Which is it?
Well, either would have been better than the gross incompetence we have seen under the government.
However, the people who know how to spend their money best are the people themselves and it should be left with them so they can spend it how they wish.
Aside from that, whenever government collects tax and spends it on ANY initiative there is ALWAYS a VERY significant amount spend on bureaucracy to make it happen.
So not only does tax and spend end up spending it on the wrong things largely, it does it with extraordinary inefficiency.
The most egregious examples I can think of are light rail (which will NEVER be delivered) and the Auckland cycle bridge which was likewise a stupid idea that cost $100 million to reach the conclusion any intelligent person with critical thinking skills could have done so within a week.
No, smart spending.
Let me give you an example. We wasted millions during covid letting/making people stay at home when every single advisor would have told them working outside was not a problem, just stay home if you’re crook. Think how many roading projects could have continued. Even stream cleaning or reticulation maintenance where a small dedicated crew could have been kept on and semi isolated.
We were an exempt industry so had to find a work around that let us keep working without risking anyone’s health. It was simple for us but a damn sight easier for people working in the fresh air.
We could have spent those millions doing conservation projects, track clearing, pest eradication and so on but no, sit at home, surf porn and do bugger all except stuff up the economy.
I’m sure far smarter fellows than I could have come up with many more options.
Apparently we now have a housing surplus if you read the media.
The anger from the right is spilling over – with the realisation that sweaty Luxon looks like cold sick to swing voters.
Expect more white-anteing from Hooten and Prebble. as they look to install the gratingly sanctimonious Nicola Willis.
agree.
Bring on Willis I say, she’s vile.
So Blaming the previous mayor but silent on the previous government. What a fucking hypocrite. So yes you did miss something, a blame transplant Jay’s.
She had to spend because National choked funding to services (hospitals etc) to justify eventual asset sale or PPP. This is what we are seeing with Brown and will be on the agenda if NACT get in again (remember the attempt at privatisation of ACC in 1999) so it’ll be tax cuts and run down services (because they aren’t getting the tax) for eventual sale…and of course, maximum immigration to drive down wages. Usual neoliberal bullshit from Nact. NZ will be screwed
The construction of a real political opposition will likely have to start at council level.
Who left Auckland in a financial mess?
Mayor Brown no.
Goff yes.
Labour Government yes.
Oh right Bob. COVID shut downs had no impact on Auckland city budgets at all. Let’s blame this stupid old c+nt Brown for making it rain shall we?
Brown is a remarkable fellow but a rain god I don’t think so.
Oh no, not The old Labour. No bob. Naughty bob. Not Old Labour. Goff fell out of the New Labour, I’e. the bankster and billionaire far right re branded New Labour orthodoxy AKA neoliberalism for which Goff himself is a disciple is where Goff slithered from. And you can thank ACT’s roger douglas for that particular immutable speck of history. Facts bob. Not lies nor fiction bob. Naughty bob. Can you pass this comment down to the frau’s, krouts, nathans, im right’s etc? Save me the trouble. Cheers bob.
countryboy I thought you had moved on from nonsensical rambling.
Seems you haven’t.
Oh Bob give it a rest the fucking thing will fall off. We all know this was under investment by National and the Boomer is a Trump wannabe. The New Mayor is responsible, Goff isn’t Mayor now.
Nationals reign ended 5 1/2 years ago and Labour was full of promises about the wonders they could perform .Even allowing for covid they have done badly on most fronts .Goff was a terrible mayor and is now proving to be a poor ambassador for us in the UK .His forgetting to reconize the Maori King was a huge oversight . Brown seems to be a bit of a dick but it seems he took over a mess .
Hilarious how you advance your argument NSC.
Blame National after almost 6 years of a failed Labour Government but blame Mayor Brown for events that occurred months after his election win.
That’s not bias that’s stupid.
He wants to sell the shares that were stolen from Manukau to build footpaths in Remuera.
Did Goff do that?
The amalgamation by Hyde/Ford under the Key government. It was almost as big a disaster as the Christchurch rebuild.
The problem was that the right don’t do anything unless there is a $$$ in it for their supporters or in this case they stuck in a whole lot of layers of management to avoid redundancies and hence loss of votes. Now we can’t balance the budget.
You insist on taxing wealth.
That means that the wealthy must sell assets to pay these wealth taxes. What is so wrong with selling assets to pay the bills?
The Goof Ball Goff really got us all in the shit. Everything he ever touched turned to shit when he was in the Labour Government. Never had a proper job in his life.
No Goff a career politician like most in Labour.
Comes to doing things,clueless.Call in the consultants.
If big cities are this expensive (arguably now too expensive for those living in them), how about maybe considering downsizing Auckland? Moving people (even if that requires some sort of subsidy) out of the city to other lower cost areas should be on the table. Everytime I go to Auckland it is just awful – I genuinely don’t know why people want to live there in the first place. I know “jobs” – but just about everything Auckland produces is traffic and nonsense. In 2023 there is no longer an excuse to have “service industries” (which is most of what Auckland “produces”) all concentrated in one place.
Warren Buffet would advise the mayor to always keep a toll bridge.
To keep the airport and fix the deficit all the council has to do is levy a special airport land rate or an arrival & departure tax for non Auckland residents.
Can I ask? What does Auckland do to earn its keep? What does Auckland manufacture etc to export to justify its existence?
If that can be explained, and it can’t be, then how, is Auckland? I know, you think you’re pretty awesome as you drive about in your fancy cars to your fancy offices and do fancy stuff then you drive home to your fancy house but what is it that you actually do? Your service industry services others who do things that best service other Aucklanders and so round and round you go but really, what do you lot do to earn your money? Tourism, you say. But of course. That’s right. It’s tourism. Silly me.
We South Islander and North Islander people many of whom are farmers, grow and harvest stuff and things to export. Martyn Bradbury himself has stated more than once that [we] can feed forty million people.
That means we can grow then export enough food to feed 35,000,000 surplus other damn foreign people.
Again. But what does Auckland do?
I hate bashing Auckland, I really do. I like Auckland but my God Auckland, you must pick the parasites off your arse if you’re ever to flourish again. The current Mayor is a sacrifice thrown over board into the heaving Ol’ Boy shark pit. He doesn’t have a hope in Hell. If I were Brown I’d quit, sell up and move to Mataura and hope the savings holds out until God cuts me down.
Johnny Cash.
God’s gonna cut you down.
https://youtu.be/eJlN9jdQFSc
After a strident rant I like to offer solutions. I really don’t like leaving some of you in distress.
Royal commission of Inquiry. That’s the first thing.
Close the RBNZ pending a full public forensic accountant investigation.
Write off all of Auckland’s personal mortgage debt immediately. Tonight.
Close down all foreign owned banks. Tonight.
Slap a 100% tax on second, third etc mortgages whether here or sought abroad.
South Islanders. Prepare for an influx of some superb coffee, food and great music hand delivered by lovely people wearing beautiful clothes. Swap them red-bands for Jimmy Choos.
Honest Government Ad | Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia has made an ad, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative.
https://youtu.be/DNxXRigHri4
Don’t listen to Countryboy , you Auckland lot . You will hate it down here…It’s cold , electricity just went up heaps and the coffee is only “ instant “……There are not many cycle lanes and the few we do have down here are always empty…not like the well used , busy , cycle lanes in Auckland…and no diversity or traffic jams…You will hate it down here…..Stay up there…A 22% rates rise is not that bad…could be more…it will be fine..
The council shouldn’t be allowed to have publicly traded assets. The shares need to be sold, preferably to retail investors!
He’s doing the right thing: Explaining to ratepayers what the range of options are by giving examples.
Wayne is doing his best to dig the city out of the debt created by the previous two leftist mayors.
Of course Andrew you are correct but economic fundamentals are beyond the grasp of left leaning people.
I hear the sound of flushing.
Learn to swim Auckland
Decades,sayin, Auckland, look at the corporate greed exploit, sense, what, our place to be and noe the understanding fuck up now. six million of us now almost, and look Auckland, how fucked up the infrastructure, Eh!, Dovey, said it decades, afore this obvious fuck up.
” Wayne is doing his best to dig the city out of the debt created by the previous two leftist mayors. ”
That sounds just 1984 and 1990-91 all over again. Supposedly digging us out of debt but the debt is still with us ten times over but all the publics assets have been sold and now making the buyers shareholders a massive profit while they extort the formers owners to use what previously belonged to them.
Leftist ..LOL Goff was on the right of the rich mans socialist party and was a Douglas apprentice ushering in and signing off at cabinet level the massive sell off of public assets to repay debt but none of that money retired the debt they said warranted the privatisation agenda and was necessary after the lie that we were bankrupt in 1984 and serious unregulated capitalism was needed.
Brown was more of a centrist than a ” leftie ” even though he was from Manukau in South Auckland.
Threatening a 22% rates rise is disingenuous and reeks of the scare campaign used so often to push the rich mans privatisation agenda.
“ We need big solutions not petty and self defeating budget cuts.”
So what are the big solutions?
“it woz Aucklundas wot dun eet to thumselves”–how a burnt out, charmless has been from the Far North became Auckland Supercity Mayor is still mind boggling…but as we now know with gerrymandering and low participation, it is the class backing that determines such things rather than candidate merit.
What is also disturbing is the number of gutless Councillors going along with Boomer King. When FNDC Mayor he used to pick Councillors and Board Members off, Steinie in hand, one by one.
From an article in stuff 2020
If David Cunliffe wants to become mayor he should stop chasing cheap headlines and come up with a plan to turn around the dysfunctional mess that Rodney Hide’s legacy to Auckland has become.
If you want to blame someone.
Cunliffe?
The guy is a complete idiot.
When I read the information sheet accompanying the voting papers it read he was and engineer and ex mayor of the far north. I thought civil engineer should have a brain.
The reality is that he is a thick as two planks welder turned property developer.
ds what would you do about about Auckland’s debt catastrophe should you be Mayor?