Mr Fix-it gets back into the thick of it

Grant Kirby describes himself as a centrist. Picture / Bastiaan Beentjes

Grant Kirby is Auckland's Mr Fix-it.

The 62-year-old has variously been called on to sort out Motat, Britomart, Auckland transport and the meltdown at Rodney District Council.

In 2000 he was appointed commissioner to replace the dysfunctional Rodney council, saying his 18 months working closely with communities to restore order was a career highlight.

When former Auckland City Mayor John Banks needed someone to prop up the doomed eastern highway, Mr Kirby took the hospital pass - and has stayed on as project director for scaled-back transport plans for the eastern suburbs.

When fashion leaders sparked a public revolt to keep the red pebble pavers in Vulcan Lane, Mr Kirby was called on to review Auckland City's dubious consultation practices.

The former surveyor was appointed by the Government to be a transport advocate for Auckland, where he had difficulty working with the Auckland Regional Council. He was also chairman of the Local Government Commission from 2000 to 2005.

Mr Kirby joined the old Auckland City Council in 1968 as a surveyor and left the bigger, amalgamated council in 1993 as director of city services with responsibilities ranging from the art gallery to compost.

He is admired and respected by politicians of the left and right for being able to deliver big, complex projects such as Britomart with practical nous and simple solutions. His language is frank and clear.

At the 2004 local body elections, Mr Kirby flirted with standing for the ARC but decided to stay clear of the political trenches to continue working behind the scenes from his farm at Kaukapakapa.

He calls himself a centrist.

One Auckland leader, who did not want to be named, called Mr Kirby the "gumboot man".

"He's the man successive councils use to drive things through, be it Britomart or Rodney.

"He just wades through the work."