Mr Brown also appeared on the programme, accusing Ports of Auckland of not discussing its latest spending plans on the port's footprint with the council, which owns 100 per cent of the company.
Mr Brown said he stood with most Aucklanders on plans by the port company to build the wharf extensions into the harbour.
Plans to build the wharf extensions, followed by reclaiming the seabed between over time, has sparked public outrage, a large protest and legal moves to challenge to lawfulness of the consents.
"They (ports company) have certainly not been effective as I want them to be and as Aucklanders want them to be around communicating the drivers for port development, and that's not a hard thing to do.
"They haven't done this, really, effectively for 170 years," Mr Brown said.
Mr Gibson defended a decision to apply for consents late last year to build the two wharf extensions nearly 100m at the end of Bledisloe Wharf without informing the public or councillors.
He said it was a "non-notifiable" issue, saying the real issues was around reclamation.
"Let's be very clear about where reclamation stands. That's a discussion that we will have with the public when the Unitary Plan is rubber stamped, and that starts at the end of 2016," Mr Gibson said.
The Auckland Council has narrowly voted to ease the rules for further reclamation from its position in August 2013 at mediation on the Unitary Plan, or new planning rulebook for the city.
Mr Gibson said the port company had stood back from an earlier 23ha reclamation he inherited in 2011 and engaged with the public on a new option.
"There was a poll done and 60 per cent of Aucklanders that were polled said they were in favour of the port development," Mr Gibson said.
He said Auckland did not need another port. He also said there also issues with relinquishing cargo in Auckland to Tauranga or Whangarei.
"That has significant impacts on the supply chain, cost of infrastructure.
"And one thing I think a lot of people don't realise is that Ports of Auckland - 70 per cent of the imports that come in through the gate are distributed within a 20km radius, so it's a very low cost, effective supply chain," he said.
Mr Brown has maintained throughout the public furore over the wharf extensions that the council cannot direct the port company to stop work and, if they do not agree, sack the ports board.
Today, Mr Brown reiterated this point, saying "the law is pretty clear on this, and that is that we cannot direct the port, pass resolutions or recommendations interferring in its operational issues".
Last week council chief executive Stephen Town wrote to the council body overseeing Ports of Auckland and "encouraged" it to ask port bosses to halt the extensions until a wide-ranging port study is done.
The port company has started enabling works on the wharf extensions. Main work is due to start this month.
