Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and port boss Jan Dawson hold meeting after latest war of words

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown speaks at his inauguration last month. Photo / Supplied

New Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and port chair Jan Dawson have held a meeting - but whether it will bring an end to their war of words is anyone’s guess.

Neither party will comment on details or the outcome.

A spokesman for Brown said the meeting was “professional”.

The meeting was “to discuss their views on the future of the port”, the spokesman said.

“Working with his councillors, the Mayor will outline his and the Governing Body’s expectations for the port on a range of issues for the 2023/24 financial year. This is intended to provide certainty for all stakeholders, including workers, customers and central government.”

The meeting, presumably called at short notice, followed Brown on Tuesday declaring in a Herald Premium Q&A event that he was looking to replace the board of the council-owned port because he had lost confidence in it - and Dawson’s later response.

The port chair, an experienced company director appointed late last year in port board governance reforms by former mayor Phil Goff, said the mayor’s statement caused uncertainty for thousands of people whose livelihoods were linked to the port, and for businesses who relied on imports.

The port is New Zealand’s main imports gateway and a cornerstone of the country’s supply chain.

Dawson in her response said the mayor’s statement was “disappointing” given it was made before he’d met port leaders. Chief executive Roger Gray only started in the job in April this year.

“The mayor’s comments create uncertainty for the 3000 Aucklanders whose livelihoods depend on the port, and also for the thousands of businesses in Auckland and surrounding areas that rely on imports and an efficient supply chain,” Dawson said.

“We repeat our invitation to the mayor to visit the port to discuss the operations, economics, and its importance to Aucklanders.”

Their exchanges escalated ongoing tensions between the port company and the mayor since Brown’s election.

A major plank of his election campaign last month was the need for a better financial return for the city from the port, and getting rid of its lucrative vehicle import operation to free-up waterfront land for Aucklanders to use.

In her response to Brown’s latest salvo, Dawson said there was “no doubt” the port in recent years had not performed from a safety, operational and commercial perspective.

But moving the cars to another port, either Northport or Tauranga, would double the emissions of importing vehicles.

“The port business is a valuable $2 billion asset owned by all Aucklanders and closing the port would see this wealth transferred to other regions.”

She cited a Maritime Union statement on Tuesday that the “Ports of Auckland is too important to the country to be drawn into a local power struggle”.

Dawson’s statement said the situation at the port was changing with improved safety, operational and commercial performance.

“Throughput has improved by 30 per cent since April. The board are confident the port will meet and even exceed its statement of corporate intent profit targets for FY23-FY25 and return dividends of $30 million per annum for FY23 and $50m per annum in the medium term.

“At the mayor’s request, the port has also commenced work on the examination of the use of the area between the Ferry Building and Bledisloe Wharf and will report on this to the mayor on 31 March 2023.

“There has been no reluctance in the past by the port to return the land to the community. Over the past 25 years we have returned 117ha of land to council. Any transfer needs to be economical and practical.”