KEY POINTS:
Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard says he will defend in his election campaign the controversial policy of raising the price of water to subsidise other council spending.
Mr Hubbard said the new policy, to raise $280 million over 10 years, was "perfectly justifiable and defendable".
Water bills have gone up 19.6 per cent in two years - on top of overall rates rising 21.4 per cent in three years. Household rates specifically have gone up 32.7 per cent.
Mr Hubbard yesterday unveiled a key strategy of his campaign - mobile billboards on the back of nine buses. The buses have begun running on Auckland City routes, and will continue up to the local body elections.
"I have very deliberately and very carefully chosen the expression 'The People's Mayor' because that sums up what I believe and what I stand for," he said.
Mr Hubbard, who is trailing former mayor John Banks in a Herald-DigiPoll survey by nearly six points, said failure was not an option as he sets out to break the bogey of one-term mayors.
The poll put Mr Banks on 43.2 per cent, Mr Hubbard on 37.4 per cent and adult entertainment businessman Steve Crow third on 7.9 per cent.
If he loses this election, Mr Hubbard will become Auckland City's third successive one-term mayor. Mr Banks and his predecessor, Christine Fletcher, were each voted out after three years in the job.
Mr Hubbard said he would stand on his achievements and address policy issues concerning voters - such as combating traffic congestion and graffiti, protection of heritage, making Auckland a cleaner and greener city, better urban design, safety, and providing community facilities such as pools and recreation centres.
Asked where people's extra rates had gone, Mr Hubbard said it took two to three years for policies to come to fruition.
On the transport front, work had started on upgrading the busy Greenlane intersection, a contract had been let to begin work on the $47 million Britomart-to-Newmarket dedicated busway and the council had been buying properties to widen Dominion Rd.
Mr Hubbard is the first mayoral candidate to express support for the water policy, which has been widely criticised and led to the political downfall of City Vision leader Dr Bruce Hucker. It is the subject of an investigation by a select committee, which has still to report to Parliament.
A Herald-DigiPoll survey of 400 Auckland City residents found 80.7 per cent of people did not support the council demanding higher dividends from its water company, Metrowater, to pay for stormwater projects traditionally funded from rates. Just 16.2 per cent of people supported the policy.
Mr Banks and another mayoral candidate, Alex Swney, have promised to dump the water policy. The centre-left City Vision ticket has promised to stop using Metrowater as a "cash cow", and it is understood the centre-right Citizens & Ratepayers Now will promise to dump the policy when its manifesto is released next week.
Mr Hubbard has left the door open for a backdown on water: "The principle is sound. What we now have to understand is the political acceptability of it."
