Auckland Mayor Phil Goff confirmed with TVNZ1's Breakfast today that he will be seeking a second term, and if reelected he intends to shepherd in a rates increase of 3.5 per cent to help with projects such as cleaning up the harbour.
He would also continue focusing on cleaning up the environment, infrastructure for transport and infrastructure for housing, he said.
"[We want to make sure] our beaches are safe to swim in and not too polluted every time it rains because waste water runs into our harbour, getting the infrastructure for transport so that we can start to decongest Auckland and getting the infrastructure for housing.
"Just because there is an election doesn't mean these issues change."
Mr Goff said for the next 10 years $28 billion is going to be put into transport infrastructure.
"Getting those transport networks going, getting more busways, getting more light rail in, getting City Rail Link completed and cycle ways and walks ways.
"We are actually now tackling the problems that have been unaddressed for so long."
He said one of his biggest achievements in his first term was the things he did towards improving the environment.
“We are going to clean up our city in 10 years," he said. "When the old plans were for 30 years, that’s a big step forward.”
The mayor also promised that if elected for a second term rates would increase to 3.5 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent in his previous term.
Even with that increase, Auckland would continue to have a rate that is well below average, he said.
“If Aucklanders look around, the average rate increase is 6 per cent," he explained. "At 2.5 per cent, which is what I held it to for the past three years as I promised, we have the lowest rate increase of any growth."
He said the reason for a rate increase is that Aucklanders can't afford to see issues unaddressed in "human terms or economic terms".
“Are we going to leave these problems unaddressed? Are we going to leave the city to become gridlocked? Are we going to leave our harbours polluted? Are we going to leave a housing shortage with massive unaffordability of housing? And the answer to those questions is, 'No, we can’t afford to'.”
When asked former Labour MP John Tamihere, who has also announced his bid for mayor, he responded: "I'm not going to comment on my opponents. I see can see he is doing a lot of commenting on me."
Mr Tamihere called Mr Goff a "puppet for central government" and said Mr Goff had "stumbled" on a decision to seek re-election and claimed he was a "reluctant" candidate.
Mr Goff said, “I’m running what I believe in, what I want for the city. I run on trust, intergrity, track record, skills and experience - and the other candidates can defend their own background and their own track records.”
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