Brown’s budget goes to the vote
Councillors will vote on Auckland's proposed budget for 2023/24 and whether to sell its shares in Auckland airport today, while an axe hangs over Michael Wood's career for not selling his
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, June 8, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: inside the decline in student numbers at Otago University; National releases infrastructure plan; alliances splinter among the freedom movement; but first, a big day for Brown and airport shares
Wayne Brown (Image: Tina Tiller)
Wood not felled but on shaky ground
Never has owning shares in an airport been so politically fraught. First, let’s cover off where Michael Wood currently stands. Questioning in the House by National’s Nicola Willis yesterday yielded an updated tally of the number of times Wood had been asked by the cabinet office to sell his Auckland airport shares (12). What started as a line of questioning on pecuniary interests from National’s Paul Goldsmith is now last chance saloon for Wood and the question mark that hangs over his career is leading both the front pages of The Herald and The Post this morning. BusinessDesk’s Dileepa Fonseka reports (paywalled) that prime minister Chris Hipkins is frustrated the cabinet office did not warn him during the cabinet reshuffle about Wood's repeated failure to sell his shares. I am going to hand the last word on this (for now) to
who has some handy tips based on her experience as a parent on getting someone (a child, Wood) to do something after they have failed to do it despite being asked multiple times.Auckland councillors to vote on proposed budget today
We move onto the other Auckland airport shares story now — the question of whether or not Auckland councillors will vote today to support Wayne Brown’s proposed budget and plan to sell the council’s stake in Auckland airport. Brown wants to sell the shareholding to help address a $325m budget shortfall. The Herald’s Bernard Orsman reports that if Brown can offload the airport shares, household rates in Auckland will rise by 6.7%. If not, they could rise by 9.8%. Brown came out a month ago discussing a 22.5% increase to average rates. That figure had officials scratching their heads.
Partial sale of shares could be compromise
It’s understood Brown doesn’t have majority support for selling the shares and as Newsroom’s Matthew Scott reported yesterday, a partial sale of the shares is one of the compromise options on the table. This morning Scott reports that almost a quarter of the city’s governing body have indicated they are undecided or want to explore more options than the current all-or-nothing settings. Slightly complicating matters and related to the fall-out around Wood not selling his shares, is the matter of whether two councillors could be prevented from voting. Councillor Chris Darby joined Wood’s wife Julie Fairey yesterday in updating declarations of interest to show that their spouses held shares in Auckland airport. Auckland council’s Phil Wilson said whether share ownership created a conflict of interest could “only be determined on a case-by-case basis”.
Iwi offer Brown an alternative
Iwi put another option on the table, with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei repeating an offer they’ve made to successive mayors: sell them the port land that was taken without the iwi’s consent. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair said the iwi “have made it clear to successive Auckland mayors that we are open, willing and able to purchase council assets it is selling, such as the Ports of Auckland.” Blair says tangata whenua coupled with a national investor like the Super Fund were obvious potential investors who would ensure the sold asset remained in the control of Aotearoa New Zealand-based owners.
The building plan to help improve healthcare in our capital
Southern Cross Healthcare is investing in a huge expansion of their Wellington hospital campus, adding surgical capacity to the region and ensuring the facility is future-fit for the evolving needs of healthcare.The new campus will make it much easier for people to access a wider range of treatment all in one place, including two new surgical theatres, enhanced hospital and rehabilitation facilities, and a purpose-built, ultra-modern orthopaedic specialist centre.Check out the plans for Southern Cross’ healthcare expansion in Wellington on their website here (sponsored)
Retention key issue behind drop in student numbers at Otago
Stuff’s Hamish McNeilly has dug into the numbers behind the University of Otago’s decline in student numbers. Emails released to McNeilly under the Official Information Act about the decline highlight retention as one of the major reasons behind the drop. McNeilly has a bit more background on his reporting on his Substack,
. Meanwhile, Massey University staff are being asked to clear rat traps as the university looks to cut a further 37 non-academic positions on top of restructures last year to facilities management workers. This morning, The Detail looks at the broader issue universities are facing as many look to cut jobs in bids to balance the books.
Big plans for infrastructure planning
The National party unveiled plans for a National Infrastructure Agency at a conference in Christchurch yesterday. interest.co.nz’s Dan Brunskill has a good report on the plan. The party would give the agency a mandate to pursue public-private partnerships and bypass some public input into key projects. It would expand Crown Infrastructure Partners (the entity responsible for the government's investment in ultra-fast broadband) into that agency. Infrastructure minister Megan Woods also spoke at the conference and talked to a piece of work to standardise how infrastructure projects are assessed, and prioritise what gets built. As BusinessDesk’s Oliver Lewis reports (paywalled), Woods described it as a possible “gamechanger.”
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Political alliances among the freedom movement are splintering
You may need to take notes to keep track of this one but it’s a good read from Stuff’s Nadine Roberts on the wheels within wheels and fires within fires of the freedom movement. Just over four months out from the election, the alliances among some of the political parties that formed out of anti-Covid restrictions groups are splintering. Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki is looking to sue far-right media outlet Counterspin. Sue Grey, co-leader of Freedoms NZ with Tamaki (a coalition of five parties including Grey’s NZ Outdoor and Freedom party and Hannah Tamaki’s Vision New Zealand) announced her party would be carrying out an investigation into allegations made by Counterspin against Tamaki. Adding to the divisions, Canterbury businessman Leighton Baker announced he was forming the Leighton Baker party on Sunday creating fears he would split the freedom movement vote.
Click and collect
Christchurch cycleway safe for now (paywalled)
TAB's new operator, Entain, appears to have breached the New Zealand Gambling Act within a week of receiving ministerial approval
Dancers from a second strip club in Wellington speak up about more coercive behaviour while advocacy group, Fired Up Stilettos, protested at parliament grounds yesterday (featuring brilliant photos from Stuff’s Robert Kitchin)
Folic acid will be added to bread-making flour from August to prevent birth defects
“What the duck?!?” is no more after Apple updates autocorrect software
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