The 2022 Auckland mayoral election will be held on 8 October. Photo / Dean Purcell
The 2022 Auckland mayoral election will be held on 8 October. Photo / Dean Purcell
In the fourth and final series on the policies of the Auckland mayoral candidates, Super City reporter Bernard Orsman runs through the policies of some of the chasing pack for one of the most demanding political jobs in the country.
In his second bid to become Mayor of Auckland - Lord came third in 2019 - the independent media operator's main pitch is to make Auckland Council a "world-leading provider of core services", ensuring it is an entity whose sole purpose is to serve the community as the community requests.
To achieve this, he will focus on necessities over niceties, starting with the appointment of an Independent Services and Performance Auditor as recommended by the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance in 2009.
"The purpose of this auditor is to provide assurance to the council and the public that all parts of the Auckland Council are providing high-quality services in a cost-effective manner."
The auditor will report directly to the mayor and have the power to go public if their recommendations are not adopted.
Lord also wants to address the preferred contractor system, saying there is an abundance of capable contractors willing and able to service their city, but the bureaucracy makes it almost impossible for them to be a part of the system.
"I will help the council create new procedures that will remove the stifling red tape and help those particular small businesses grow."
Other policies are holding the council-controlled organisations (CCOs) to account, and returning the control back to the council.
"This will be achieved with operational changes to the CCO Oversight and the Appointments, Performance, and Review committees. While Panuku and Unlimited are on the radar, the first point of call will be an overhaul of Auckland Transport.
"Auckland Council is supposed to be a service provider that caters to what the residents want, but at this point in time, the message coming out is that the residents will get what council and the CCOs tell them they are going to get," said Lord.
The lawyer and co-leader of the New Conservative Party is another candidate focused on core services, keeping rates low and opposed to "global warming taxes".
"Clean the failed procurement systems for tenders, tenders all jobs openly and examine cost" and "ensure there is no corruption".
Johnston wants to "stop Auckland Transport's lunacy" and "rogue behaviour by CCOs and council".
On transport, Johnston is focused on rail to efficiently and conveniently move people and goods around the city with feeder buses. He would scrap light rail and build a railway line from the Puhinui station to the airport. Rail to the North Shore, via an expanded harbour bridge or new harbour crossing, is another goal.
"Free parking should be available in sufficient volume so people can drive to the [rail] station.
Crime, safety and keeping youth away from gangs is a priority for Johnston, who wants to provide after-school facilities, sports, entertainment and education to teach young people life skills and social responsibility.
"Crime starts young. Positive help will cut down future criminal growth."
His is an "investment and an insurance policy" to share in the wealth of our city and not leave anyone behind.
Auckland mayoral candidate Michael Morris. Photo / NZ Herald
Morris, an ethical vegan, is standing under the banner of Animal Justice Auckland as a forerunner to an Animal Justice Party for next year's general elections.
"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," he told a mayoral debate organised by the Auckland and Albany University Student Associations.
His three policy platforms are justice for non-human animals, justice for the environment and economic justice.
He would repurpose Auckland Zoo away from entertainment to conservation, control unwanted animals using non-lethal techniques where possible, such as speying and release for feral cats; and require plant-based options at all council-run venues.
Morris supports the council's climate policies but wants to plant more trees, extend bike lanes and provide free public transport, as well as promote Auckland as a C40 city.
"Eating animals is inhumane, destructive, pandemic-forming and unhealthy. I support a transition to a low-emissions, plant-based economy as outlined by the Productivity Commission in 2018," said Morris, who has a PhD in zoology.
Auckland mayoral candidate John Lehmann. Photo / Supplied
Serving one term before handing the reins over to someone is all Lehmann will do if he wins the mayoralty. And two-thirds of his salary will be given to charity.
Lehman is promising to abolish the Regional Fuel Tax and spend what's left on road upgrades and improving parking.
Other transport plans include a review of Auckland Transport (the board is likely to go), free bus journeys, smaller and more frequent bus services and looking at electric trolley buses and trams.
Lehmann wants to help the homeless and have a major crackdown on crime, including an "idiot's board" with mug shots of repeat offenders for 12 months; scrap the Unitary Plan for a minimum land size for housing, and open up new areas for development.
Other policies include one-off registration for dogs and planting fruit trees in parks and reserves to provide produce for people and to attract bees.
"Locals will be able to take pride in this initiative as everyone in the community will be free to enjoy it. It makes perfect sense."
Auckland mayoral candidate Gary Brown. Photo / Greg Bowker
Instead of light rail costing billions of dollars, the money would be better spent on emulating the Northern Busway in other parts of the city, says the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board chairman.
He is also opposed to removing minimum requirements for parking and plans to remove kerbside parking for bike and bus lanes, saying parking should be retained in business areas and towns "so spending in these areas doesn't decrease and die".
"I'm only for housing intensification where there is adequate infrastructure ... this would be mainly in the central city and townships with amenities, not suburban areas with narrow roads for emergency vehicles.
"I believe environmental actions are important and should take precedence over charging our constituents a climate tax, especially when there are no KPIs or quantification to measure the benefits for each individual suburb."
Rates should be pegged at inflation and it's time for an independent auditor to go through the council books to find savings, says Brown.
Mike Kampkes
Auckland mayoral candidate Mike Kampkes. Photo / Supplied
The builder is standing to oppose Labour and National's "disastrous intensification law" about to be inflicted on Auckland.
As mayor, he would use every legal power to contain the medium-density rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan. Needless to say, he is opposed to the Government's three by three-storey housing on most sites in Auckland with no design standards.
He wants punitive targeted rates on empty "ghost" houses to encourage owners to rent them out or sell them and create an incentive scheme for empty nesters to take in boarders.
Kampkes is another candidate who wants to overhaul Auckland Transport, saying its primary job should be to free up bottlenecks and keep the transport network free-flowing and in good repair.
Say no to Three Waters, Kampkes says: "It's anti-democratic and effectively theft of Auckland's water."
The outsiders - Lisa Lewis and John Palino
Auckland mayoral candidate Lisa Lewis. Photo / Supplied
Adult entertainer Lisa Lewis is standing for the mayoralty from Hamilton; John Palino is having a third go - this time from his home in Orlando, Florida in the United States.
Lewis says if you can survive in the sex industry you can survive in any industry.
Under the slogan "Let's Erect Auckland Together", Lewis has an interesting mix of policies, including an electric bus shuttle for cyclists to cross the Harbour Bridge, introducing Meatless Mondays and supporting firefighters in using recycled water in modified skip bins.
"I pledge to take a 50 per cent pay cut if elected Mayor of Auckland in my first year in office as an act of solidarity towards Covid-recovery," she says.
John Palino has been advocating for a new satellite city in Manukau or further south since his first tilt in 2013 when he became embroiled in the sex scandal between Mayor Len Brown and Bevan Chuang, a council advisory board member who had a two-year affair with the mayor.
This election, Palino says a targeted GST for Auckland on items less than $5000 could raise $1.8 billion a year and allow tourists to pay a fair share of the city's growth.
Auckland mayoral candidate John Palino. Photo / Hagen Hopkins
He's also calling (from afar) for Auckland to create its own detective office to ease pressure on the police.
"The detectives will take the cases from the police and find these criminals that are making life difficult for Auckland. People need to know that something is being done to find these people."
Other mayoral candidates are John Alcock, Tricia Cheel (STOP Trashing Our Planet), Michael Coote, Tony Corbett, James Dunphy, David Feist, Alezix Heneti, Robert Hu, Pete Mazany, Phil O'Connor (Christians Against Abortion), Ryan Pausina and Dani Riekwel.
