Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says councillors will have "all night long" to consider amendments to his new proposal to sell only some of his council's airport shares after a marathon meeting on the city's budget today.
Councillors have been debating the trade-offs in patching the council's $325 million deficit at a seven-hour meeting that started at 10am and adjourned at 5pm.
Brown sounded uncertain about how soon the process would finish, but said that councillors had "all night long" to consider tabled amendments to the budget proposal.
"We might still be talking and be back again next week. I cannot tell the future," he said.
The council will reconvene tomorrow morning at 10am.
Debate around the council table has been pushed into Friday, Logan Church reports. (Source: 1News)
The mayor added in a statement: "I have always said it may take a couple of days of constructive debate. There is no issue with that, we are simply adjourning to another day.
"While there remains some disagreement about the appropriate balance of levers, I am confident that we will finalise the budget before the statutory deadline of 30 June."
Earlier in the afternoon, Brown announced a new compromise proposal.
"I believe this proposal is the best, prudent, achievable, and balanced budget for Aucklanders," the mayor said. "I've compromised on every funding lever.
"I've moved my new proposal to do a partial sale of the airport shares. This is an option available to us because we did consult on it, it has been audited, and it was supported."
Brown said he would continue his plan to withdraw the council from early childhood education, but now only at a regional level, as local boards could optionally choose to keep funding centres from their own budgets.
Brown's new proposal
- Only 8.09% of the council's 18.09% stake in the airport would be sold. Brown said this would "realise around $1 billion" in order to pay off debt.
- The average residential rates increase will now be 7.7%, one per cent above inflation. Brown's original March proposal was for an average hike of 4.66%, whilst his revised final figure was 6.7%.
- Cutting $4 million from local boards and the mayor also proposed the council's chief executive find another $5 million in savings in the coming financial year.
Watch the council debate live:
"There is a slight change recognising the broad support for discontinuing Kauri Kids, by allowing for local board support to enable their local continuation," he said.
It appeared only three councillors supported the mayor's final proposal to sell all of the council's shares in Auckland Airport — worth around $2 billion — whilst the proposition of a partial sale appeared to garner support.
The mayor said he would refuse to compromise by taking on substantially more debt, a suggestion by some advocates, calling it "the essence of financial mismanagement".
The meeting was paused in order for councillors to review Brown's new proposal.
The new proposal comes after the mayor said councillor debate on the budget proposal could take several days, as three representatives with perceived conflicts of interest in Auckland Airport say they'll vote on whether to sell the council's shareholding.
An extraordinary meeting of the governing body began at 10am, with all councillors in attendance at Auckland's town hall.
"This is a very hard budget and I want to ensure we work through the processes robustly," the mayor said.
"It may end up taking a couple of days. I've got no problem with that. We'll simply adjourn to another day. But I'm also encouraging everyone to make the best use of their time."
It came ahead of the vote on Brown's final budget proposal and the potential sale of airport shares. The council owns 18% of the airport as its biggest single shareholder.
The mayor has said the shares are worth about $2.2 billion and argues selling them is preferential to raising rates or cutting more services. That decision earlier sparked drama as councillors re-examined their financial holdings in the airport.
Bob Harvey told Breakfast Wayne Brown is "abrasive" and his councillors are "talentless". (Source: Breakfast)
All councillors had a five-minute opportunity to address the budget before the meeting broke for lunch just after 1pm.
Several councillors continued to express uncertainty about their position on selling the airport shares, but it appeared support was growing for a partial sale.
In his address, North Shore councillor Chris Darby proposed a partial sale if the council could also undertake a "robust process" to understand the airport's "strategic value".
"I'm actually prepared to consider a tranche of $500 million. I don't say that lightly. I've examined this very, very hard," he said.
Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa councillor Chris Fletcher said she didn't want to sell the airport shares but that "history will not record us well if we fail to prioritise and address our inability to live within our means".
A vote is expected on Thursday on whether to sell the council's share in the region's airport. (Source: 1News)
"In the interest of being constructive, and not wishing to be a drongo, financially illiterate or a dipsh*t, I welcome the opportunity to safely express our preferences,"
Fletcher, a former mayor of Auckland City Council, said she could support a partial sale instead as did Waitākere councillor Shane Henderson.
"Whatever happens today, it will be a compromise. We're all going to have to swallow some dead rat, a dead rat or two, and that's fine," Henderson said.
"That's what compromise is all about."
Finance committee chair and Howick councillor Maurice Williamson continued an impassioned plea against keeping the airport shares.
"We do not need to own an asset that is not washing its face," he said.
On the contrary, Manurewa-Papakura councillor Angela Dalton said: "This is not the time to sell the car to buy the petrol," but added she supported some cuts.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki councillor Josephine Bartley added: "I want us to look at the rest of the $70 billion assets that we have. I just cannot comprehend selling an asset that brings us in money."
Bartley said local services had been "held to ransom" amid the airport shares debate.
All councillors to vote on airport share sale
Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa councillor Julie Fairey said she had been cleared by the Auditor-General to participate and vote on the fate of the council's airport shares.
Fairey's husband, suspended-transport minister Michael Wood, sparked scandal after it was revealed he held shares in Auckland Airport despite holding a portfolio that oversaw its operations. He had been instructed 12 times to sell the shares.
"The shares my spouse holds - noting it's a very small shareholding - are in the process of being disposed of," the councillor said today.
Some major media companies weren’t invited, raising questions about transparency. (Source: 1News)
"I have now received written advice from the office of the Auditor-General and from council's legal team that, in their view, my situation does not represent a conflict of interest - as I cannot reasonably expect financial loss or gain from these decisions and that I am, therefore, able to participate under the act.
"The budget votes today are the most significant decisions I have had the opportunity to vote on so far. To that end, I will be participating in the meeting on all items today."
Darby and Albany councillor Wayne Walker also said they would vote on the airport shares after receiving advice from the Auditor-General.
Darby said his wife holds shares in the airport via a managed portfolio.
Walker's involvement in shares relates to a family trust that holds $3 million in airport shares, which the councillor said he does not benefit from.
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