Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown offers a chocolate snack to councillors during a break in discussions around the annual budget. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown offers a chocolate snack to councillors during a break in discussions around the annual budget. Photo / Jason Oxenham
EDITORIAL
Is there something in the air over Ray Emery Drive in Māngere, or is something in the waters of the Manukau Harbour?
Somehow this week, central politics, local governance, and business converged in a triple whammy over Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL).
First came the revelations around Michael Wood,who continued to act as Minister of Transport while failing to act on requests to divest himself of Auckland International Airport shares.
Wood had been one of the higher performing ministers in a government that has been more looking for a stable holding pattern than seeking new horizons in the past months. His record stood for nought, however, as his shareholding grounded his flight and he was stood down by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
The MP for Mt Roskill has now advised a broker to sell his airport shares for charity but faces extra questions after it emerged former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office had been wrongly told the shares had already been sold.
Auckland Minister Michael Wood during Question Time in the House. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Yesterday, the second issue looming over the airport was brought to a head halfway down Queen St where Mayor Wayne Brown’s budget was put to the Auckland Council, pivoting on the sale of an 18 per cent share in the airport to offset debt and avoid substantial cuts to services.
In an incidental circle-around, Wood’s wife Julie Fairey is an Auckland councillor and was caught in the downdraft of her husband’s fall from favour. She amended her declaration of potential conflicts and sought urgent advice that her spouse’s shareholdings as well as a trust she may be the beneficiary of would not prevent her from participating in the Auckland Council budget decision-making.
Yesterday afternoon the mayor was proposing a partial sale of airport shares in a bid to strike a “consensus” with fellow councillors.
Brown proposed a part-sale of shares (8.09 per cent of the 18.09 per cent holding), achieving savings of $28 million next year and limiting a rate increase to 7.7 per cent.
Earlier in the day, just as Auckland Council were taking their seats for the budget debate, the two major airlines using the airport declared their unified opposition to the scale and cost of Auckland Airport’s planned redevelopment and calling for an urgent rethink of the plan.
AIAL announced in March this year that it would spend $3.9 billion on the initial phase of the airport redevelopment over the next five to six years. The redevelopment will be paid for by airport users, the two largest being Air New Zealand and Qantas.
An artist's impression of Auckland Airport's planned new integrated terminal.
All up, the intense political and business heat generated this week reflects the crucial significance of New Zealand’s major gateway with the world.
As we rebuild out of a pandemic, this importance will only increase and any manoeuvring on Auckland International Airport comes at very high stakes indeed.
May our local governance, central political, and corporate leaders be granted the sagacity to act in the interests of this essential strategic asset.
