Fran O'Sullivan: Lame horses leading mayoral race

Manukau City Mayor Len Brown (left) and Auckland City Mayor John Banks briefly greet each other. Photo / Greg Bowker

Auckland voters will face quite a dilemma if the mayoralty of the new Super City stays an effective two-horse race.

The mayoralty of the Auckland council is an immensely important role. Perhaps second only to that of the Prime Minister when it comes to the breadth of political leadership skills that it will entail.

But neither Auckland City Council Mayor John Banks nor Manukau City Council's Len Brown are displaying the discipline to inspire public confidence that they are capable of successfully performing in the mayoral role.

Banks' daft plan to mount a bid for Auckland to host the 2020 Olympics - a sure-fire recipe for municipal bankruptcy - is a case in point.

When news of the Banks' proposal first trickled out, I thought the mayoral candidate had simply run off at the mouth. Or, that he was desperately wanting to shift public focus away from the revelation that his pristine claim that he had "never charged a sandwich, lunch or coffee to the ratepayers of Auckland" had all along been a porkie.

But Banks spokesman Scott Campbell confirmed that the Olympic proposal was "something the campaign team" had been exploring. It was a serious suggestion and not a calculated effort to divert attention from scrutiny over Banks' expenses.

Campbell, a former TV3 political journalist, is not the sharpest knife in the block if he thinks this confirmation will inspire public confidence. The reality is that it costs an inordinate amount of cash to host an Olympics Games. The 2000 Australian games cost $3.6 billion. The cost to Greece of hosting the 2004 Olympics came in at $16 billion, which was double its original target and part of the reason why that country is now an economic basket case.

The ability of the Auckland council mayor to fund such flights of fancy from ratepayers' cash was never in the prescription for the new Super City. But the fact that Banks believes this would be within his mayoral capacities is surely reason enough for the Government to amend the legislation giving rise to the Super City to ensure that the Auckland council cannot commit funds to pursuing mega-billion projects that are clearly outside the capacity of New Zealand, let alone Auckland, to fund.

After all, the Government pulled the plug on a bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games because the projected $600 million loss was outside fiscal capacities.

In Brown's case, he revealed himself as the ultimate political pantywaist by the way he reacted to requests to justify the personal expenditure on his council credit card.

Brown's public meltdown at the recent Manukau City Council meeting was compelling viewing. His anger was plain for everyone to see as he slapped himself in the face and beat his chest.

His later claim that "only Jesus Christ had withstood such a high level of scrutiny as him, and come out clean" was barking stuff. People don't have to "know Brown" to pass judgment. And pass judgment they have. My sense is that public confidence in Banks and Brown is now sliding. That's already apparent in the business sector, where hopes were high that the amalgamation of eight Auckland councils into the Super City would help drive economic growth and opportunities. Chief executives responding to the Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey rated Banks' ability to lead the Super City higher than that of his competitor. But that survey was taken before Banks trotted out his daft Olympics proposal.

While Banks and Brown were busy shooting themselves in the feet this week, schools and organisations were focused on developing leadership skills through the Leadership Week programme developed by the Sir Peter Blake trust.

Westpac CEO George Frazis - who chairs the Blake trust - said leadership was about "preparing for tomorrow". "Great leaders help people dream and inspire people to stand tall and deliver on their dreams."

But they also have to be grounded in reality. What Auckland wants to hear more about from its mayoral candidates is how they will cope with the real challenges facing the city - everyday issues such as transport, public safety and jobs. Not flights of fancy. And certainly not resorting to bizarre "Christ complexes" when challenged.