Auckland faces rate hikes of 3.5 per cent for eight years straight and $2.8 billion of cuts to capital projects.

The Super City's been costly for residents of the former Auckland City Council who have been hammered by a new single rating system.

Big cuts to transport, parks and community services will be outlined later this morning when Auckland Mayor Len Brown unveils the first draft of a new 10-year budget.

Auckland's quarter-acre dream is far from over - huge sections of more than half an acre are being sold from $350,000 within the city boundaries.

Lydia Sosene writes: A full-strength alcohol outlet would be a recipe for disaster and the social cost on our struggling community will continue to triple.

Hundreds of capital projects totalling about $300 million are being deferred by Auckland Council this year to address pressures in next year's black budget.

With the economy performing well on most other fronts the residential property market remains its major defect.

The liquor industry and health authorities will have a say on a controversial draft alcohol policy in Auckland from today.

No doubt the Government was delighted the publicity following last month's Auckland volcanic cones treaty settlement was dominated by talk of the replacement tree for Maungakiekie.

Property values in Auckland have skyrocketed since 2011, but residents should not to be alarmed about imminent rates increases. PLUS: See how the valuations have changed.

Land slips on Maungawhau/Mt Eden have prompted a call for the Government to help ratepayers with urgent restoration work on Auckland's volcanic cones.

Drip, drip, drip - it's the sound of the slow but inexorable dribble of information about the Michael Parekowhai artwork on Queens Wharf finding its way out.

Auckland ratepayers face a bill of about $40 million to prevent part of the downtown seawall between Princes and Marsden wharves failing in a moderate earthquake.

The Auckland Council was an early supporter of Te Ururoa Flavell's Gambling Harm Reduction Bill and it saw the legislation as a toolkit.

Plans for a lavish clifftop mansion - the unrealised dream home of former bankrupted Sensation Yachts owner Ivan Erceg - can be revealed for the first time.

This week, the Herald ran a leaked image of the mystery $1.5 million sculpture Mayor Len Brown has regally decided will be plonked at the end of Queens Wharf.

Cameron Slater asked an ex-prostitute to help dig up more stories on Len Brown when it became clear he wasn't going to resign, according to Nicky Hager's new book.

Auckland Transport staff have made repairs to the sea wall at a number of other locations in Auckland, writes Phoebe Falconer.

Plans to install a state house as a piece of art on Auckland's waterfront have been called a waste of money, offensive and plain stupid.

The Cornwall Park Trust Board is to meet residents worried about what revisions to its 'modern' lease will mean to their rent prices.

Leaked images of the secretive $1.5 million sculpture planned at the end of Queens Wharf show a simple, two-storey weatherboard state house.

A subdivision for 60 houses at Helensville is being criticised by youth lobby group Generation Zero as a bad case of urban sprawl and costly for ratepayers.

The son of an Auckland councillor and former top athlete has been caught driving while disqualified for the third time, but will be back behind the wheel in weeks.

The winning house from the first series of The Block is up for grabs again.

In the Auckland Council's brief existence it has inspired enough "visions" to rival the Vatican's 2000-year-old collection. Queen's Wharf, coastal walkways, sewers, volcanic cones - scratch the surface and you'll find a corny vision to go with it.

The enthusiasm of Auckland Council's tourism and events arm to pull World War I commemorations into its orbit has prompted a councillor to warn it against "muscling in".

A local board has had to go it alone in appealing against a proposed new liquor store opposite a Mangere school, after the Auckland Council refused to back the appeal.

Rising interest rates, LVR restrictions and the onset of winter have taken the heat out of the housing market, according to just released QV figures.

Making a dollar entertaining and trading in streets and parks is about to involve more red tape and expense, with Auckland Council proposing to tighten controls.

'We're only trying to make a living.' Intersection windscreen washers say a police and council crackdown won't force them to ditch their brushes and bottles.