Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is clearing the way to sell Ports of Auckland’s operating business while keeping the prime waterfront land in public hands.
Two weeks after Brown achieved a partial sale of the council’s shareholding in Auckland airport, the Herald can reveal that plans are well advanced to offload the city’s port business by selling an operating lease as early as next year.
“The beauty of it is Auckland Council is not selling anything,” one source told the Herald.
Secret plans to sell the port business got underway by former Mayor Phil Goff and senior council staff when global port operator DP World made an unsolicited $1 billion bid for the port in 2021.
Fresh from privatising the Airport and amputating Auckland for his Boomer supporters, the Boomer King now turns his attention to selling off our Port in his never ending crusade to sell everything not nailed down.
The Union has been painfully clear regarding Wayne’s new plans for privatisation…
The Maritime Union says any privatization of the Ports of Auckland would be a disaster for Auckland.
The Union was responding to the upcoming release of Council commissioned reviews into the future of the ports, and media reports of the possibility of an operating lease for the Ports going to a global operator.
Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says relinquishing control of Auckland’s key strategic asset would be a “lose lose situation” for ratepayers, workers and businesses.
“The Australian experience is privatisation of port operations creates another layer of management costs and profit-taking for no real benefits.”
Mr Harrison says potential outcomes could include customers facing higher terminal charges, infrastructure being run down, workers’ pay and conditions being attacked, and a lack of accountability by overseas equity investors.
“The risks of going down this path are massive, and the only beneficiaries in the long term would be the new owners.”
Mr Harrison says the “one off sugar hit” of privatization would soon wear off if the Port was permitted to effectively become a private monopoly.
“Splitting off leased port operations from land ownership does not change the fact the Ports would be privatized and the new owner would have huge leverage over Auckland.”
Mr Harrison says the dependence of New Zealand on global shipping lines during the COVID pandemic created major problems for New Zealand business, with delays, congestion and price hikes.
He says as there is no strategic plan for New Zealand ports, the entry of Global Network Terminal operators would have similar implications and could destabilize the national supply chain.
Mr Harrison says after years of mismanagement, the Ports of Auckland has recently turned the corner in performance.
He says historic problems were a result of previous port management’s hostile approach to its workforce and the flawed automation project.
“New management and the union workforce are now working in a constructive and positive way, and with the cancellation of the automation project, the Ports are back on track delivering to Auckland.”
Mr Harrison says there is not wide support for privatization and most ratepayers do not want to see key assets sold off.
“Our advice for Auckland Council is to leave the Ports to get on with the job without continually moving the goalposts.”
Mr Harrison says the Maritime Union welcomed today’s statement from the Mayor that he was open minded about the outcome of the current review, and that he would be engaging with stakeholders including the Union.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand represents the majority of the workforce at Ports of Auckland.
…Wayne Brown is so bad he makes Paula Bennett look preferable.
How bad a Mayor do you have to be to make Paula Bennett, the architect of the flawed State House Meth testing fiasco that needlessly cost over $100million look preferable?
That buyers remorse many Aucklanders feel at the damage the Boomer King is causing should remember what a privatised Mayoralty election deeply rigged against poor people’s participation does to the quality of our Democracy.
Boomers elected a tyrant to protect their interests, younger Aucklanders need to remember that at the next election.
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Hmm, Mike Lee said this would happen when he made his filibuster speech during the council debate on the selling of the Airport shares. Might be time for Mike Lee to have another guest blog on this site, so as we can get an insiders view as to what is happening in the Auckland Council at the moment.
Spare us we don’t all live in Auckland or hate their mayor.
There is only one word to describe Wayne Brown and other neoliberals, and that is treasonous.
The likes of Roger Douglas, Ruth Richardson, and Brown need to face tribunals and be given appropriate sentences for their high treason to this nation.
Mohammed,
All of the people named were elected on the basis they would reform the economy. Roger Douglas was re-elected in 1987 with a bigger majority. National was re-elected in 1993. Wayne Brown was elected to restore Auckland’s finances. In short all had a specific electoral mandate to do what they did.
There are many here who decry “neoliberalism” and that it is the great betrayal of New Zealanders. However the parties that have implemented it keep getting re-elected. Those who oppose it are in the electoral margins.
This is what democracy means; those who are elected into power get to implement their policies.
Absolute nonsense Wayne. The lying media which hid the murderous policies you support should be right there in the dock beside the likes of Douglas.
Bollocks, 1984 Labour did not publicly campaign on Rogernomics–“swinging a wrecking ball through the provinces, works, forestry and manufacturing, opening up public infrastructure to penetration by private capital, and flogging off taxpayer built assets”.
I used to care and then Auckland Transport, tasked with keeping Auckland flowing but has made it infinitely worse, started spending money like it was Michael Wood, or water, both of which are interchangeable, like on judder bars and traffic lights where they weren’t needed and millions on T3 cameras where there was already 99% compliance and the list goes on, and suddenly I thought, it either has to stop or we start selling shit to pay its bills.
So what do you want?
It does make a change when a publicly elected official actually understand public money is not a bottomless pit. Loving Wayne btw! No regrets. None whatsoever.
Austerity is morally wrong. You obviously support austerity. Please note that Somalia has no public services to speak of and that is a total shithole.
Well said
Good to hear that he is open minded; privatisation of this sort of essential operation usually leads to costly disaster and environmental chaos. If it ain’t broke….
Selling assets isn’t the way forward, in the long run.
He needs to tackle the staffing levels in the Council: Go through the headcount with a broadsword and make the place leaner. He also needs to sort out internal processes because most council workers spend their day writing reports and hiding behind process. Nothing gets decided and nothing gets done.
The Port has been a sitting Duck for years. The trucks coming from Port are large emmit ers.
The Maritime Union says any privatization of the Ports of Auckland would be a disaster for The Maritime Union…
I can see by the many stupid trivial comments here, just firing mud pies at some perceived other side, how Mayor Brown managed to dun (see Financial Dictionary), stun and overcome any intelligent thought shining forth in Auckland. I think laser beams are needed aimed at the powerful minority targets, to have any effect.
“Secret plans to sell the port business got underway by former Mayor Phil Goff and senior council staff”
Why doesn’t that surprise me?
At least Goff had the good sense to back down from that.
Perhaps Wayne could flog off Remuera Golf Course.
Haha.
I think the most appalling thing of all is that Mayor Browns only answer is to sell off assets. Hasn’t he got any better ideas, for example, cutting City Bureaucracy waste by 100 per cent! Even Hector the Parrot could come out with some better ideas and bear in mind, he’s been stuffed since the 1970’s. Mayor Brown comes across as being someone who once was alive but was stuffed in the 1980s and is now mounted firmly on the lap of Douglashites and Shipleyshites!
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