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John Banks, Andrew Williams and Len Brown - Source: Q+A -
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Today Paul Holmes talked to the three mayoral contenders for the title of Auckland Super City mayor. Auckland mayor John Banks, North Shore mayor Andrew Williams and Manukau mayor Len Brown all got the chance to share their vision for the country's largest city.
Here's what they said:
PAUL HOLMES Next month, voting papers are
going to be sent out to the households around the country as we get
to elect our mayors and councils for the next three years. Now, we
will know all of the winners on October 9, but no race around the
country is attracting such interest or is as crucial to New
Zealand's future as that for the Auckland mayoralty and who gets to
lead the new single supercity. Six candidates have confirmed their
standing. In order of declarations, they are Manukau mayor Len
Brown, Auckland mayor John Banks, actor and Auckland
theatre-company founder Simon Praast, property manager Colin Craig
and North Shore mayor Andrew Williams and water campaigner Penny
Bright. I should say to you at this time that despite some
continuous speculation, I am not standing for the mayoralty of
Auckland. This morning& This morning we have the three standing
mayors with us. This is the first time they've been together on a
campaign platform. The first time they've all debated. Their order
of speaking this morning, and the order in which they're standing,
has been deciding by the drawing of lots. We'll start with an
opening statement of 30 seconds from each of you. What I want you
to tell us in 30 seconds is how Auckland will have improved after
three years of your leadership. John Banks, 30 seconds.
JOHN BANKS
- Auckland Mayor
I want all citizens of this great city to have the same
opportunities that I've had. It's about investment, growth, jobs,
opportunity, security and prosperity around investment, growth and
jobs. This is going to be the greatest change ever seen in local
government's history. It's going to take experience. It's going to
take consistent decisive leadership from day one. All of the
decisions are going to be difficult. We need to embrace all of the
communities. There's much more that unites us than divides us, but
it's going to be about investment, growth, jobs, consistent
decisive role-model leadership.
PAUL
Thank you, that is 30. Mr Williams.
ANDREW WILLIAMS
- North Shore Mayor
Paul, in three years' time, I will have delivered a cruise terminal
down on the waterfront at Captain Cook Wharf, not at Queens Wharf.
I will have delivered electric trains across the region and
integrated ticketing. I will have delivered economic growth across
the city and all the economic sectors together to have one large
strong city working together. I will have brought the communities
together from Wellsford in the north to Pukekohe in the south and
really create a united Auckland with all those communities, those
21 local boards. And I will have brought vibrancy to the city
through the arts, music, culture.
PAUL
Thank you, Mr Williams at 30. Mr Brown.
LEN BROWN
- Manukau Mayor
Paul, after three years of leadership, our people will see that
Auckland really is the most liveable city in the world. Our economy
will be booming. We'll be fixing our transport. We'll be building a
rapid-transit system with rail to the airport, inner-city loop,
rail to the North Shore. Our communities will be safer and
stronger, and our local boards will be preserving their local
identities. We will have capped our rates, and we would have
produced a brilliant, beautiful city. That's my commitment to the
people of Auckland.
PAUL
Which all sounds very utopian and sounds like it's
going to be easy, but, of course, you're all realists, and you're
all current mayors, and you know it is not going to be easy. Just
tell me about leadership. First of all, imposing a leadership
across the whole region. How does, say, a current mayor of Auckland
lead the people of Manukau? How does the current leader of Manukau
lead people in Birkdale? How does the leader of Takapuna, for
example, lead the people of Papakura? Big ask. Mr Williams.
ANDREW
I think that's very important, Paul. And one of the
things I'm very worried about is that this will become an Auckland
Central takeover of the rest of the region. What I bring to it is a
perspective of around the region that I already have connections
from the north to the south to the west and to the east, and as far
as the Gulf Islands. We have to bring them all together.
PAUL
What I'm asking is how you do it, Mr Williams.
ANDREW
Uh, in a collegial manner, through all the
different organisations. We've got so many ethnicities across this
city. So many of the aged, the youth, all the various community
organisations. We've got to bring everyone together and get on to
the same sheet.
PAUL
Where, though, Mr Brown, you're talking about being
kind of an Elizabethan court in progress, moving around the various
regions to hold the council meetings, yes?
LEN
Absolutely. Yes. Yes. I think that rotating council
meetings will be an essential way of actually giving the community
a sense that they are really valued. That you care for them. Do you
want them to connect in? Communities are saying very clearly that
they feel that they will be marginalised. They'll lose their local
identities. So we need to get around the communities. Secondly, we
need to ensure the local boards are empowered so that they will be
the primary connect for those communities. Paul, we're in danger of
losing those communities through this change.
PAUL
Right. They're inevitably going to lose a bit of
local identity, aren't they, Mr Banks?
JOHN
Well, we're going to lose local identity if we're
going to have marches in the street like we did in Manukau City
yesterday over liquor outlets and the proliferation of the same.
Unprecedented numbers of new booze outlets in South Auckland taking
young people on a journey to hell. We've got push back on the
liquor outlets. We've got to have a united Auckland singing from
one song sheet. We need to reach out to all the communities from
Wellsford to Tuakau, from Little Huia to Maraetai.
PAUL
Yes, yes. But how would you do this? Would you move
council meetings around like Mr Brown's going to do?
JOHN
No, because I'm going to engage with the local
boards. We need to reach out to the local boards, give them the
powers they need to do the job we expect, to spend local
monies.
PAUL
What kinds of things are they going to do, in your
mind, the local boards?
JOHN
Liquor outlets in South Auckland, those people that
marched in the street yesterday want to push back. We're going to
push back on liquor outlets. In one street in South Auckland,
there's five outlets. In one street.
PAUL
No, you made the point.
LEN
In terms of the liquor outlets in South Auckland, I
want to see leadership on this. And the only way to deal with the
proliferation of liquor outlets - and there are 500 off-licences in
Auckland as against 187 in
Manukau City-
ANDREW
And there's even less on the North Shore.
LEN
There is a major proliferation across the region, not
just Manukau. And I want to say the key issue here is Parliamentary
leadership and a leader of Auckland delivering a change in the
legislation to enable local communities to have a serious say in
the granting of liquor licences.
PAUL
But, see, here's the problem-
LEN
The only way to seriously curb it.
PAUL
You are already showing us a problem. I asked you how
you're going to guarantee the locality, the importance of local
communities. You quite rightly mentioned a demonstration in Manukau
City yesterday. But you're each talking- you're all talking about
the proliferation of liquor outlets as if this is going to be
driven not by the local boards, but by central mayoral
leadership.
JOHN
Well, it does need central mayoral leadership. To
make this work, all the decisions on day one are going to be very
very complex and difficult. It needs experience when it counts, and
it needs stable leadership, and a leadership based on a lot of
experience as a local councillor, regional councillor, a Member of
Parliament, a minister of the Crown, a minister of local
government, and twice the mayor of Auckland.
PAUL This is you?
JOHN Yes, sir.
PAUL
You slid, Mr Banks, very easily into that, if I may
say so. Let us-Can we discuss - and I'm reluctant to do this, but
the public, I'm assured, expect it - can we discuss some of the
perceived weaknesses of each of you? Mr Banks, how do we believe
someone whose candidacy for the mayoralty of the supercity is
viable because he stopped being who he really is? And, of course,
the newspaper was... (LAUGHS) There was even a picture of a
leopard, a mayoral candidate with the spots of a leopard. You've
made remarks in the past, not too long ago, about homosexuals and
it being unhygienic and so forth. You've said we don't want
transvestites in the police force because we don't want them
mincing up town with stockings on, fishnet stockings-
JOHN
Paul, if you're going to vote for me on my faults,
you're not going to vote for me. If you're going to vote for me on
my experience, you're going to vote for me. If you're going to vote
for me on consistent, decisive leadership when it matters, you're
going to vote for me. I can unite Auckland. This is important.
We've got to get it right. It's our biggest opportunity.
PAUL
I understand that, and people change, Mr Banks, but I
think the feeling is you really are very confrontational. You've
been very quiet for three years because you want this new job. Have
you- Is the old Banks going to come back the moment you win
re-election? If you win.
JOHN
Well, let's be fair about it. I've been elected to
public office 10 times. I'm only the second mayor in Auckland
that's ever come back from exile. The people of Auckland are very
generous. They'll judge me on my strengths of leadership, decisive
decision-making, experience when it matters - from day one.
PAUL
Let me go to Andrew Williams. Perceived weaknesses.
Do we need more public toilets?
ANDREW We do, Paul. We need a lot more lemon
trees, too, I can say.
PAUL
Yes. Hmm. I hope no lemon trees have been damaged.
Well, Andrew, it's a fair enough question. We had that incident
after a bit of an afternoon at a restaurant. And then, of course,
we had the revelations, several revelations, over a period of time,
about abusive texts to people like the Prime Minister.
ANDREW
Yes, and that was proven to be wrong, Paul. The
Prime Minister didn't get those at 3.30. He woke up and read his
texts at 3.30. Our records show the last text was sent at 12-
Sorry, 15 minutes past midnight the night that Parliament rose at
midnight from the second bill. So sorry, I dismiss it.
PAUL
Nevertheless, who sends a text to the Prime Minister
at a quarter past midnight, Mr Williams? He's got work.
ANDREW
Paul, actually, the texts went to all four MPs on
the North Shore. The other MPs as well.
JOHN
Paul, let's cut to the politics of substance.
PAUL Hang on. What I'm saying is people want to
know the mayor is going to be rational. Now, here you are sending a
text to MPs at a quarter past midnight.
ANDREW
As they came out of the Parliament. As they came
out of the Parliament, Paul.
PAUL
All right. Mr Brown. Let's go to you. The public is
sick of free-loading by elected officials. We have the case of
Murray McCully this week, of course, and the $185 bottles of Pinot
Noir for the IRB. And you're credit-card happy, it seems. We bought
groceries at New World on the mayoral credit card. How could you
have done that, Mr Brown? How could you have done that?
LEN
Paul, we've all had question marks over our mayoral
experiences.
PAUL
But just a minute, you bought groceries on the
mayoral credit card from New World in Takanini.
LEN
I have been on the front foot on this issue. I've
acknowledged that I could have been tidier. I sent my records off
the Attorney-General- uh, for the Auditor-General's assessment.
Sent 'em straight back. Uh, Paul, I acknowledged my mistakes, and I
have learnt my lesson, and I know that we won't do it again.
JOHN
What I can tell you, Paul, I never had a credit card
as a minister of the Crown.
PAUL
No, the PA did.
ANDREW
No, you use other people's credit cards.
JOHN
I've never had a credit card as the mayor of
Auckland. And I've had $432.80 worth of expenses, in six years,
outside the mayoral office. And I spend $75 a week on flowers, and
my office runs...
ANDREW
Wasn't it $11,000 last year?
JOHN
My office....
PAUL
Mr Banks, I want you to... Gentlemen, please
ALL TALK AT ONCE
ANDREW
$11,000 in flowers, John? $11,000 of flowers?
PAUL
I want to get onto the substantial issue. I want the
substantial issues.
JOHN
Please, those living glasshouses should not be
throwing stones, Paul.
PAUL
Hang on, Len. Just a minute, Len. Please. All right.
I really have to address this. It's all very well decorating the
office, making it look nice, sending flowers to nice people who are
not very well and so forth.
What you said was, 'I've never had a credit card.' You just
repeated that. Of course, your PA does. That gives the impression,
Mr Banks, with respect, of slipperiness.
JOHN Well, $432.80 of expenses outside...
PAUL
'I don't have a card.' The PA does.
JOHN
$432.80 of expenses outside the mayoral office in six
years. What I'm going to-
PAUL No, answer the question.
JOHN
What I'm going to tell you is this is about
affordable progress and the mantra will be affordable progress. And
the outcome will be value for money.
PAUL
Mr Banks, please, answer yes or no.
JOHN Talk about the politics of
substance.
PAUL
Does that give a look of slipperiness, saying 'I
don't have a credit card.' It turns out the PA does? Yes or
no?
JOHN
The PA buys flowers with the credit card. That's
all.
PAUL
Answer the question. All right-
JOHN
There's no groceries.
ANDREW
$11,000 worth.
JOHN
There's no groceries. There's no pork. There's no
flash meals. There's no long liquid-lunches. There's none of that.
And by the way, at the new council, there'll be no credit cards for
any of the elected officials, and the transparency and
accountability will be on the website every three months.
PAUL
All right, Mr Banks. Thank you. Good, good, good.
People can check the website and find out everything. Let's move on
to substantial issues. Or substantive, as we say these days.
Transport. The greatest
bugbear in Auckland. Andrew, you start us off.
ANDREW
Absolutely. Transport is 80% of Aucklanders'
problems. That's the big one. And what we're going to do is roll
out the public transport absolutely with integrated ticketing
across the whole of Auckland.
PAUL That happens next year anyway.
ANDREW Yep. No, no. But it has to be completed.
We have to have better ferry services. We have to have the full
transport system running all around Auckland.
PAUL
Can I stop you there? Better ferry services? What do
you mean? Go to more places?
ANDREW
Yes.
PAUL
So we use the harbour more as a transport?
ANDREW
Yeah, we've got the biggest open highway out there
being unused, effectively.
LEN Well, not only that, but, for example, at
Half Moon Bay, that needs upgrading. The Bayswater Marina needs
upgrading. We need to be considering&
ANDREW
Takapuna, Browns Bay, Hobsonville.
LEN
&the investment into our other marina. Now, Paul,
this is a part of an overarching, innovative transport system. So
clearly we're investing in rail. Rail to the airport. Rail to
complete the inner-city loop. Rail to the North Shore. And so,
Paul, this is an opportunity for a step-change.
PAUL Now, let's talk about the
inner-city loop, because this is where all trains come into
Britomart. We knock the back wall down on the Britomart, and then
we build an underground loop that takes us all around
Auckland.
ANDREW
And a cross-harbour tunnel to go to the North
Shore.
PAUL
No, let's talk about that shortly. That's another big
one, Andrew. But this inner-city underground loop, I understand the
hope is that 370,000 Aucklanders can be delivered within the CBD in
30 minutes. All of you want this? All of you are on the same
page?
ANDREW and LEN AGREE
JOHN I don't have a problem with that.
PAUL The government has a problem. The
government won't pay the one and a half billion. So how are you
going to get it off them?
JOHN
Advocacy. For the first time in history. For the
first time in history, one council, one mayor, one voice, one song
sheet and a big lobby group to Wellington. We can do it. But it's
not going to be about these issues, Paul. This election is going to
be about who is the best-qualified candidate to deliver on the
vision with affordable progress, with the most experience around
consistent, decisive leadership.
PAUL
And the way you will be judged on that is do we the
have inner-city loop and do we manage to get it? Do you have the
leadership to get that? Len Brown.
LEN
That's exactly right. So it's just not about rates.
It's just not about taxes. It's also about the possibility of us
issuing significant infrastructure bonds. It's also about us
considering whether or not this is an appropriate project. And
other appropriate projects for PPPs.
PAUL
Ah, yes, I know. And you're not opposed to
those?
LEN
No, I'm not. I'm comfortable for us to go through that
process and look at those as one of the four alternatives.
PAUL
What I'm asking you- Hang on, Andrew. What I'm asking
you all is how you're going to get the $1.5 billion off Steven
Joyce, who doesn't think he's got the money.
ANDREW
Paul, in the last 15 years, Auckland received $3
billion in its fuel taxes when it gave the government $7 billion in
fuel taxes. We were $4 billion underfunded. It's time that Auckland
got a lot of that funding back. And so what we're doing now- and
we're getting $900 million a year this year from the government.
Five years ago, we were getting $50 million for Auckland transport.
Finally the ledger is coming right. We're getting the spending
here. And it will happen. But we will have to have private-public
partnerships to do, for instance, the cross-harbour tunnel.
JOHN
Fixing the train set is critical. We push 18 trains
an hour in and we pull 18 trains an hour out of the Britomart. This
will give us 36 trains running up Albert St and back to Mt Eden.
The train set will work with double tracking, modern rolling stock
and electrification. It can be built with economic infrastructure
bonds. $600 million has been lost - 600 million - by the people and
their savings in shonky finance companies. We can put all of that
money into economic infrastructure bonds to build Auckland, where
the seniors have their money safe, they get a good return and
they're doing something great. They're building a greater
Auckland.
LEN
So, Paul, it's not just about the issue of
credibility. It's about the issue of trust and believability. Who
does Auckland actually believe can deliver on these projects? Who
has had strong focus? For example, in Manukau, we have at last the
first extension&
ANDREW
They've got a lot of bus lanes in Manukau.
LEN
&to suburban rail in 73 years. So this is about
believability and trust. Who do we trust to hold our public
assets?
PAUL Train line- Who do we trust? I don't
know.
LEN
Who do we trust to look after our communities?
JOHN
No, Paul, but there's-
PAUL Who do we trust? Tell me the
answers.
LEN
We are going to hold our public assets. We are going
to hold our airport shares. We're going to hold our port shares.
We're going to hold our water - waste water, storm water - Paul.
Who do we trust to actually hold those airport shares in the
future?
PAUL
I assume you're saying we're trusting Mr Brown on
this.
JOHN
No, Paul-
PAUL
No, hang on, Mr Banks, please. I've got to move on.
The third harbour crossing. People outside Auckland will think it's
the second harbour crossing. It's not. Third harbour crossing.
We've got the Harbour Bridge, which it's totally a bottleneck
nightmare. Third harbour crossing, what do you favour, Mr
Williams?
A NDREW Within the next 12 months we will confirm exactly what it is. I believe it will be tunnels going across.
PAUL That's what you want?
ANDREW And it should be staged. And the first tunnels-
PAUL Is that what you want? Is that what you
want?
ANDREW
Absolutely. And the first tunnel should be for the
rail. We get as many people off the roads and into rail going to
the North Share, and the rail will go all the way to Orewa, not
just to Takapuna or the lower North Shore. To Orewa. And people
from the North Harbour area will be able to go all the way through
to the airport. Now, you imagine the step-change in Auckland when
people don't have to drive all the way to the Auckland Airport,
they can take a fast train there.
PAUL
Give me a date, then, on completion of the third
harbour crossing.
LEN
15 years. 15 years we need to drive through with some
urgency, Paul. The reason is that these three projects are critical
in step-change for Auckland's transport transformation. So we need
to move quickly on it.
JOHN
Promises, promises, promises.
PAUL
No, hang on, Mr Banks. I just want-
LEN
This is about vision, Paul. This is about
delivery.
ANDREW
The clip-ons have to be fixed within 20
years.
PAUL
We need the third harbour crossing.
ANDREW
The clip-ons have to be fixed within 20 years.
PAUL Let's go back to start. So the first stage
you would see is a tunnel, that's rail.
ANDREW
Yes.
PAUL
And when would that be completed by?
ANDREW
Uh, by 2018 I've said.
PAUL
2018. What comes next?
ANDREW
Four years later, the road tunnels.
PAUL
How many road tunnels?
ANDREW
Two road tunnels, one each way. So you've got four
tunnels. This is how the modern technology is, because, Paul,
within 20 years, the clip-ons are going to have to be physically
replaced on the Harbour Bridge.
JOHN
Oh no, Paul. Let me have an opportunity.
PAUL
Hang on. Let me finish this off. So give me the year
for the completion of the challenges of the third harbour
crossing.
ANDREW
It will start in 2022 and it will take about five
years to build.
PAUL
Right, Mr Banks.
JOHN
Dear me. Promises, promises, promises. Billions and
billions and billions of dollars. The best-qualified candidate to
work with this John Key government, this National Party government
this year and after the election next year is myself. We've got to
have open dialogue and good conversation and being able to pitch up
our arguments and being able to win those with a united Auckland of
one voice.
PAUL
Yes, all right, but these are platitudes, with
respect, Mr Banks. Tell me about what your vision is for the third
harbour crossing.
ANDREW
And provide more revenue-making bus lanes.
PAUL
Tell me about what your vision is for the third
harbour crossing.
JOHN
My vision for a third harbour crossing is around all
of the major projects. Most of the major projects about roading
construction build, integrated public transport well on the way.
The first three years of the Auckland Council, the mantra will be
affordable progress. The outcome will be value for money and
holding rates-
PAUL
Have you got no dates in your mind about the third
harbour crossing? You can have all the roading projects in the
world, but you can't go underwater.
JOHN
I agree with third harbour crossing. I agree with
rail from Albany to the airport. It's about affordable
progress&
PAUL
No dates, Mr Banks?
JOHN
&coming out of an international recession. We've
got to keep rates down, and we've got make sure there's
efficiencies. We've got to make sure there's value for money, and
we've got to make sure, on day one, there's great services to the
rate-payers.
LEN
Paul, I understand that-
PAUL
So no promises or guarantees from you on third
harbour crossing? Is that what I take?
JOHN
Yeah, the promise is one day there'll be a third
harbour crossing. Is it 15 years or 20 years? I don't know. I'm
best qualified to talk to this government about that and work with
Steven Joyce on it.
PAUL
So a decision, we know, is going to be made on the
third harbour crossing by the end of next year. Anyway, we're
talking 2025, 2028. The Auckland waterfront, Mr Brown, Mr Williams,
Mr Banks. Now, whether- It's widely regarded by Aucklanders, and I
think possibly New Zealanders as well, as if not the gateway to New
Zealand, it's certainly our shop front. What would you do, what is
your vision for the Auckland City waterfront?
LEN
We're going to have a master plan that will be put in
place one year after the mayoral election. We're going to do a
major promenade along the Quay St road. In front of the waterfront,
we're going to upgrade and update Wynyard Quarter. I see the
potential of a major exhibition-
PAUL
Can I say, people outside of Auckland, Wynyard Point
is Tank Farm?
LEN
That exactly is. We're going to put a wonderful
exhibition centre. That's the place for our iconic development. I
want to do a cruise ship terminal on the Captain Cook Wharf. I'm
looking at the possibility of ensuring that Queens Wharf maintains
itself as an open public area. And, Paul, I am not keen on carrying
out significant work on the Port sight at this point. I want us to
take a long hard look at the Port facility, Bledisloe,
Fergusson.
PAUL
So you wouldn't consider anything like, for example,
an international design competition for-
LEN
Absolutely. But we need to actually show respect to
international design competitions, not start the competition and
then abort it halfway through, as what happened with Queens
Wharf.
PAUL
Yes, which was very Mickey Mouse. It was. All right,
Mr Williams.
ANDREW
Paul, you received my policy statement yesterday. I
very clearly-
PAUL
Yes, it was very long, and it was Saturday.
ANDREW
Yeah, it was Saturday. But I very clearly stated
Queens Wharf is not the place for the cruise ship terminal. That's
there for the people of Auckland. That's there to open up the
waterfront. Captain Cook Wharf has to be the one to be extended and
turned into a dedicated cruise terminal.
PAUL
Yeah, but do you have a vision for the integration of
that entire stretch-
ANDREW
Absolutely. Absolutely. And, Paul, what I have a
vision for is much of Quay St will get undergrounded into a tunnel
so that the whole of the area becomes a very pedestrian-friendly
link to Queen St. Queen St is our main street for Auckland. It is
cut off from the harbour. What we want to do is pedestrianise it at
the bottom so that the people of Auckland can really enjoy the
waterfront.
PAUL
Your vision for the waterfront.
JOHN
It's not about iconic buildings.
PAUL
You've had many years.
JOHN
It's not about- Well, yes, six years ago it was me
that saved Westhaven from a certain sale to a Taiwanese property
investor.
PAUL
Your vision?
JOHN
I bought Westhaven for 50 million for the people of
Auckland and your great-grandchildren yet born. My vision is not
about iconic buildings. My vision is about a truly iconic
waterfront. An iconic waterfront at the bottom of Queen St,
Onehunga, all up the east coast bays, Maraetai, Piha Beach, where
Bob Harvey comes from, is the iconic waterfront. We need to protect
and enhance with an integrated plan and a master plan for all of
the development from Bledisloe right to Westhaven.
PAUL
Ok, now, here's the guts question, in a way. And
everyone's going to be asking this. The thought was, early on, when
we talked about a supercity, that we might get a situation where we
have what the Americans have, which is the executive mayor with a
wide range of decision-making capability. In fact, we end up where
whichever one of you is going to be elected, or any of the other
candidates is going to be elected, will be one vote of 21. In the
end, it's the same as it always was. What can the mayor do? What
are you going to be able to guarantee the people of Auckland you
can do - briefly, please, I'm running out of time - with the
limited power you have as one in 21 votes on the council.
LEN
It will depend on how inclusive you are as the mayor
and your ability to actually unite that council. We've had a
history of divisive politics in Auckland City. I'm going to unite
our council, for a start. Have the opportunity to appoint the
deputy mayor and the chairs. So with a united council, we're going
to deliver out a vision in this city based on a transportation
reformation, of strong economic growth-
PAUL
So it's persuasion? It's persuasion and
inclusion?
LEN
It's persuasion and inclusion, yep.
ANDREW
Paul, I have a plan to have four deputies under me.
One for the north, one for the south, one for the west and one for
central.
PAUL
That will be a nightmare, don't you think?
ANDREW
No, no. The four deputies will help bring the whole
of Auckland together, because this cannot all be on one single
person. This is wrong. The same way as it cannot all be on the
Prime Minister. You have ministers around the Prime Minister. Four
deputies.
PAUL
Good. Thank you. And Mr Banks? Four deputies,
yes.
JOHN
What unites us is far greater than what divides us.
We have to work together from all corners to make sure it works,
but what it will be about is affordable progress and value for
money. Savings, efficiencies and good services. It will be about
consistent decisive leadership, embracing the communities,
embracing the account-uh, the people. Leaving political persuasions
at the door, leaving cronyism behind, making it work, because we
have to make it work for Auckland, and we have to make it work for
New Zealand.
PAUL
Well, I wish the three of you luck, and I thank you
very much for coming on the programme. Manukau City mayor Len
Brown, North Shore City mayor Andrew Williams and Auckland City
mayor Mr John Banks.
