Super city mayoral candidate and Manukau mayor Len Brown and Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee starred in two well received conference workshops on Auckland today.
Len Brown talked about the need for the new super city to tackle poverty and inequality. It is something the Government has paid scant attention to, even thought the Royal Commission put a lot of effort into its recommendations on a Social Issues Board.
Mike Lee presented on transport: how Auckland ripped up 70 km of tram tracks in the early 1950s as the city embraced the Los Angeles model, right through to today’s efforts to get electric rail across the region.
These two guys are giving hope that the super city might be saved from being a complete schemozzle, and might be led by people with the kind of vision and politics Auckland is crying out for. Lots of energy among delegates to campaign against the third super city bill expected in November, and against Rodney Hide’s core services agenda. Hide is due to report back to Cabinet on his review of the Local Government Act in November.
There was a moment at the end of one of the workshops when a delegate asked if the Left would be disciplined enough to field only one candidate in the mayoral election. Mike Lee, who hasn’t ruled himself out, nevertheless told the audience he was confident there would only be one left candidate in the race.
Other highlights of the day were a fringe session on the republic which kicked off a Labour republican network. And watching the footie on the big screen at Ohinemutu marae over dinner with 200 people.
To keep John Banks from being the first major of the Super City, a concerted campaign of voters in all the other boroughs, Rodney, Waitakere, Manukau, Manurewa and Counties will essentially need to block vote against him. This is the only way to stop the Right Wing Agenda Being Run by National, Act and Banks from destroying the new Super City.
Labour needs to take a stand shortly and declare that they undo some of the havoc Rodney Mr (One Percent) Hide is about to inflict on Aucklanders if he is allowed to carry on, on the path that he is currently taking.
You are kidding aren’t you?
Surely Len Brown, Labour candidate for the Auckland mayorlty doesn’t think that the priority for Auckland Council is to “tackle poverty and inequality.”
That has to be a joke.
Really, really heartening to hear the change in focus coming out of the conference.I’m sure there are many people like me who would rather have voted for Labour in the last election but couldn’t find them on the Ballot paper.
We need Labour to get back to representing those who labour,and it sounds like finally the party is prepared to listen.
Maybe you could stop off in Waihi on the way back to AK just to re-enforce what the party stands for?
Great start, now let’s finish it.
Very interesting post, Mr Twyford, and very revealing indeed.
If Mr Brown’s priority really is tackling poverty, then perhaps he should consider national politics. The pressing issues for Auckland’s development in my view are infrastructure. It is a political trade-off. Either you tackle poverty, or you deal with infrastructure issues. You can’t do both because there isn’t the political or economic capital to do both.
One of the two is measurable, and is what local government has the mandate to do from central government. It is what all ratepayers would say is the core job of local government.
The other is not measurable, is what central government is paid to do, and isn’t necessarily what ratepayers say is the core job of local government.
I think Mr Brown has just put a huge dent into his mayoral chances. It’s a pity because I think he’s a decent bloke. But if he doesn’t understand what the priorities for Auckland should be, he’s a goner.
What Tim said. Spot on.
right wing agenda, left wing agenda .. why can’t we have a mayor and council who want to do the right thing for the Ak region?
Good to hear that Mr Lee is in tune with the ‘one candidate of the Left’ idea. It is not obvious that everyone on the Left in Auckland is quite there yet.
Agree jabba. But it appears Len Brown just wants to do what’s right for South Aucklanders (where most of the poverty is).
I look forward to Len campaigning on the Shore or in the City for higher rates from those areas to *fix* poverty in Otara.
Oooh, mayoral race! I hope it gets lots of tv coverage!
out with the popcorn and whisky aye spud?
it will be a real sh@tfight. Brown seems really great guy but as above, Sth Ak is a far cry from many parts of Ak and many Sth Aklnrs miss inner Ak because of the Waterview by pass .. hehe
@jabba – you betchya
I want to see some good debate, and hecklers etc.
Tim,
re:your point that we need to worry about infrastructure before poverty. Have you ever been to Detroit recently? They have a fantastic freeway system.
If you have poverty, you have a very poor local economy, no matter how good your infrastructure.
TopCat, I agree combating poverty is essential. I just don’t believe that is the job of local government. That is the job of central government.
It is hard enough as it is to hold local government politicians to account to make sure that our water, wastewater, local development planning and roading systems are up to scratch. There is a lot of work that has to be done on this in Auckland.
I would much rather local government deals with these issues, because central government is never going to do it for them. Let’s not give local government politicians any other distractions. We can hold central government politicians to account to make sure our most vulnerable are fed, housed, clothed, educated and get decent hospital services.
Tim,
The Royal Commission discussed this issue in detail and concluded that Aucklanders needed to have greater responsibility for social and environmental outcomes. Whilst local government can’t control the macro-economic, geo-political and national political environment they operate in, they do have control of land use planning, local business development and social support which can have tremendous outcome for those living in the local area. If you can create a pleasant local setting in which to live you will attract people to want to live there you be able to encourage a local creative class from which develop a prosperous local economy. Think of places like San Franscico, Greenwich Village, Toronto, Paris even parts of Wellington and compare them to places like inner Detroit, South Central LA, the outer suburbs of Sydney which have become ghettoes of economic disadvantage.
I thought it was a sibboleth of National party during the last election that they would give power and resources back to the regions to help determine their own fate. Instead we are getting a Wellington appointed Transport authority which seems determined to construct more bitumen and does not seem interested in the social and environmental outcomes they create.
There are a couple of key points I want to highlight here:
- There should only be the one candidate representing the “left”;
- The Auckland Council should have responsibility/accountability for cultural, economic, environmental and social outcomes;
- Infrastructure including public transport should definitely be a priority – likewise poverty (and it’s not just a south Auckland “thing”!);
- Governance and service delivery mechanisms should also be carefully considered, ie. don’t assume that the CCO/CCTO models ensure assets don’t get privatised in the long term (and watch any legislation currently going through Parliament regarding Watercare for example).
There we go for now.