Hubbard putting help for needy ahead of council

Dick Hubbard. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Former Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard has opted not to join a clutch of ex-mayors seeking places on the new Auckland Council, and has decided to be a philanthropist instead.

Mr Hubbard, who chairs the board of his cereal company Hubbard Foods, put out what he called "a teaser" a few weeks ago indicating that he could be interested in a council position.

But he dropped the idea and instead unveiled a new "Dick and Diana Hubbard Fund" at the launch last night of the Auckland Communities Foundation, which aims to match donors with needy Auckland causes.

He said his roles with Hubbard Foods and on the boards of several charities meant he could not commit to a fulltime job as a councillor.

"When I rationalised it, I realised it didn't make sense," he said.

"I'm always a little bit diffident about being recycled. I think you give it your best shot, you put a tick in the box and you move on. There are enough ex-mayors floating around to get lost in the crowd."

The Hubbard fund is one of eight new funds started by the Communities Foundation, with an emphasis on helping at-risk youth and reducing poverty.

British health researcher Richard Wilkinson told 130 people in a video screened at the launch that the widening gap between rich and poor since the 1980s meant New Zealand was no longer the "fair go society" that it used to be.

He said closing the gap again would benefit the rich as well as the poor because there would be less violent crime and even the children of the rich would be "less likely to become involved in drugs or to become teenage parents".

Mr Hubbard, 63, said his fund would start small, because his business still needed more capital, but the fund would grow.

"We are still working through the brief, but our interests have tended to be young people."