We have the full list of land and assets that Auckland councils are ditching as they go out of business. You may be the loser, writes John Landrigan.
From Papakura to Rodney, the scramble by outgoing councils to buy and sell is reaching fever pitch.
Residents are questioning why land and assets are being put up for sale and long-deferred projects have suddenly been plucked out of the too-hard basket.
Dennis Brown stands knee-deep in lush grass and looks at a prominent parcel of land being considered for sale in Wellsford.
He believes this property is vital to the growing district but fears it will be sold as councils rush to unload or buy properties before merging in October.
Rodney District Council's "for sale" list includes numerous commercial buildings, shops, houses, sections, quarries, farmlets and four forests.
Mr Brown is most concerned about the old Atlas site that adjoins Kowhai reserve. "The land is the first thing you see when driving into Warkworth. It connects the showgrounds and was planned to become recreational parkland."
Under an Official Information Request to the Auckland Transition Authority The Aucklander has discovered more council assets are listed for sale and more unscripted purchases planned as an amalgamated Auckland looms.
The authority, set up to steer the transition to a new amalgamated Auckland, is rubberstamping all requests from councils.
Mr Brown's concerns are reinforced by fellow residents, and former and current councillors are calling for a moratorium on sales.
- Papakura is selling its part-share of inner city mall, Accent Point, which houses the library and museum and buying land near central park.
- Manukau is buying more than $12 million in Auckland Airport shares. All Aucklanders will apparently benefit from the shares - and carry the debt.
- Franklin District Council has brought forward several projects worth over $20 million including completion of Pukekohe's wastewater treatment plant.
- Auckland City is buying eight properties for more than $30.2 million for a park, seven Panmure properties for $46.1 million. It has contracts to sell unspecified "surplus land" and another 12 unnamed properties for "various reasons" for $4.15 million.
- Auckland Regional Council has taken out a loan of $32 million to pay for a "train set" that previously was to be funded by a now-defunct regional tax.
But if you are looking for a bargain you need to go north, says Rodney councillor Pat Delich, who backs Mr Brown's call to stop all asset sales while uncertainty still hovers over the district's future.
The former real estate agent is concerned about the excessive number of sales "sped up" to beat the merger.