Michael Morris animal justice campaigner and Auckland mayoral candidate. Photo / Bernard Orsman
Michael Morris animal justice campaigner and Auckland mayoral candidate. Photo / Bernard Orsman
Animal justice Auckland candidate Michael Morris rode 19km on his bike from Papatoetoe to Auckland University last night to call for people to be allowed to take their dogs on trains.
Dogs and other pets can only travel on trains at off-peak times and must be wearing an approved muzzle and lead or in a pet carrier.
Morris called for a plant-based eating and a plant-based economy at a mayoral debate organised by the Auckland and Albany University Student Associations.
He also wants to abolish intensive farming due to 49 per cent of global warming in New Zealand being caused by animal agriculture.
The 59-year-old with a PhD in zoology said he was at the debate, organised by the Auckland and Albany Student Associations, to represent a marginalised part of the community, which is the animals.
"I'm the only candidate in the country prepared to stand up and represent the 150 million land animals and 300m fish killed each year in New Zealand," Morris said.
This earned him the title of "Mayor for all dead animals in Auckland" from the moderator and political commentator Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury.
Questions to five mayoral candidates - Morris, Efeso Collins, Viv Beck, Wayne Brown and Craig Lord - traversed issues that are important to students, like public transport, housing and climate change.
On the issue of reliable and affordable public transport, Efeso Collins won the loudest applause for his fares-free public transport policy, bringing barbs from Lord that "free is not going to happen...sadly Efeso hasn't said where this free money is coming from".
Down country, said Lord, Uber buses are being trialled and it should be looked at in Auckland.
Collins hit back, saying public transport should be seen in the same light as free education and health.
"There is plenty of money available. We just need to reprioritise where our current budgets go and we will be able to pay for public transport," Collins said.
Brown, who is trailing Collins by less than 5 points in the latest poll, said nothing is free and somebody else pays.
He suggested the trick to affordable public transport is to stop wasting money and get prices down for everything.
Auckland Mayoral Candidate Wayne Brown. Photo /Greg Bowker
"We don't have to have such huge buses. Small buses running more often would be better," Brown said.
Free public transport for students, seniors and low-income earners is Beck's policy with one proviso - it would be capped at $50m a year. She also wants to ditch light rail and build a busway to the Northwest and rapid buses from Botany to the airport.
"Better public transport to the people, faster and cheaper," Beck said.
Morris supported free public transport, particularly in areas badly served, like South Auckland.
