Wayne Brown dreams big for Auckland's waterfront

He wants to open up more wharves for recreation, but the port that's using them has no intention of just giving them away.

Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, August 4, by Catherine McGregor. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.

In today’s edition: Questions swirld over whether the $20 billion fiscal hole actually exists; Why the renewable energy source beneath our feet might be the answer to our “dry year” problems; Donald Trump on his way to Washington DC for arraignment. But first, is the mayor’s pool-on-the-sea idea just pie in the sky?

An artist’s impression shows a seawater pool and wetland areas on Auckland’s downtown waterfront (Image: Nick McKay/Eke Panuku)

An ambitious vision of a waterfront open to all

There’s no timeline, or budget, or even confirmation that the land is available. But mayor Wayne Brown is charging ahead with proposals to open up more of Auckland’s downtown waterfront to residents. The details can come later, he says; for now, he wants Aucklanders to get excited about the potential for the space. Yesterday Auckland Council released a report by its placemaking agency, Eke Panuku, laying out options for Queens Wharf (which the council owns directly) and Captain Cook and Marsden wharves (which are owned by Ports of Auckland). Proposals include “an open-air seawater swimming pool, aquaculture, an exhibition centre and ‘Te Ao Māori showcase centre’, and an amphitheatre in the water”, writes the Herald’s Simon Wilson (paywalled), who was first to report on the plans.

Wayne Brown wants to get a move on

Brown loves the proposals and thinks work could begin in as little as two years. He tells 1 News he’s in a rush “to create a better downtown environment… so that when people come here on a cruise liner, they think: 'Wow, that's cool!' Instead of: 'Urgh, what are they doing there with that stuff?'" The idea is to wrest back the two finger wharves from Ports of Auckland, which is currently using them for vehicle imports and cruise ship berths, and figure out what to do with the rest of the port later on. The Eke Panuku plan proposes a “staged release” of the port’s 77-hectare commercial area over the coming decades, with the ultimate goal of clearing port operations from the area entirely. Eventually, the report suggests, “about half the land could be built on, for commercial and public uses, with the remainder retained for public open spaces and ‘infrastructure’,” Wilson writes.

Not so fast, says Ports of Auckland

Opening up more of the waterfront to residents sounds like a good idea – except to the people currently using it. Ports of Auckland chief executive Roger Gray tells Stuff’s Jonathan Killick and Todd Niall that any handover of wharves would be dependent on developing Bledisloe Wharf (the big one next to Marsden), “such as completing the northern berth and investing in additional cargo handling facilities”. The “northern berth” is a controversial plan to reclaim more land for the port area; it was dropped after an outcry in 2015. That year, then Metro editor Simon Wilson wrote that it would “vandalise the beauty of the Waitematā” and “turn the channel between Devonport and downtown into even more of a river than it already is”. Meanwhile the Maritime Union has rubbished Brown’s proposals for “pools and barbies on the waterfront”. It’s concerned not just about the recreational plan, but about news the council is considering selling an operating lease for the ports to a global operator. Together, the plans risk undermining not just the ports but the wider Auckland economy, national secretary Craig Harrison tells the Herald’s Bernard Orsman.

Aarhus shows Auckland how it’s done

Brown says his dream of opening up the waterfront to Aucklanders was inspired by a visit to the Aarhus Havnebadet, or Harbour Bath, the world’s largest seawater baths. Opened in a former industrial area of the Danish city in 2018, the complex includes “a 50-metre long pool, a children’s area, a circular diving pool and two saunas”, writes Lonely Planet. In its first week of operation more than 25,000 people visited Havnebadet, which does not charge an entrance fee but has occupancy limits. 

Support independent journalism in Aotearoa by becoming a Spinoff member.

It’s because of our members that our small team of journalists are able to cover stories the length and breadth of New Zealand and tell them in an engaging and compelling way. From up-to-the-minute news and sharp political reporting to stories that delight and entertain – it's all made possible thanks to the support of readers like you. Tautoko mai, become a member today.

The mystery of the $20 billion ‘hole’

Nicola Willis’s unfortunate turn of phrase grabbed the headlines, but what exactly was the “hole” she was referring to? At the NZ Herald (paywalled), Thomas Coughlan performs a deep dive on Winston Peters’ claim that there is a $20b hole in the government’s books and public service bosses are being told to cut 10% from budgets to fund it. “The ‘hole’ format,” writes Coughlan, “... is one beloved by politicians, journalists and the commentariat, and usually refers to an error of arithmetic.” The government’s opponents haven’t been able to provide evidence of any error, which suggests the “hole” they’re referring to is actually a deficit. Coughlan explains why our deficits are getting larger, what that means for New Zealand (spoiler: it’s bad, but not disastrous at this stage), and whether Grant Robertson’s big-spending budgets are to blame. Nicola Willis certainly thinks so. 

The renewable energy source beneath our feet

In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey drills down into the future of geothermal electricity production in this week’s interview with Isabelle Chambefort from GNS Science. She’s excited about the potential for deep drilling to uncover ‘supercritical’ heat that supercharges geothermal power output, helping solve the dry-year problem bedevilling our hydro dominated power system.

Click and Collect

• Wayne Brown says North Harbour Stadium will “probably” be pulled down next year “because nobody uses it”. 

• Donald Trump is en route to Washington DC for arraignment on charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. '

• July was New Zealand’s fourth-warmest on record, while it was Dunedin’s warmest-ever.

• Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger will receive extra training after a council meeting he was chairing descended into chaos. (The Press, paywalled)

• Wellington mayor Tory Whanau took two return flights to Christchurch in the space of three days, Andrea Vance reports for The Press (paywalled).

• Christchurch’s Catholic bishop has ordered a suspension of all exorcisms in the diocese following revelations in a recent episode of Paddy Gower Has Issues. 

• Part of lower Queen Street in Auckland remains closed after reports of a shooting.

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.

Right now on The Spinoff

Sela Jane Hopgood shares a delicious guide to the best Pacific Island eateries and food stores in Auckland. Just because you’re old and boring now doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun in your 30s, writes Gabi Lardies. The hottest month in human history has just ended; Shanti Mathias talks to a climate researcher about what it means for New Zealand. As election season heats up, politics experts Nicole Satherley and Lara Greaves explain how to interpret political polls. And Sam Brooks reviews Shaneel Lal’s diary of a young activist.

Sporting Snippets

• Saturday’s All Blacks test against the Wallabies will be the just the second time in 94 tests that NZ hasn’t fielded a Barrett brother.

• Second-ranked Germany are out of the Fifa World Cup thanks to a 1-1 draw with South Korea.

• The Silver Ferns lost 59-48 to Jamaica at the Netball World Cup but will still advance to the semifinals.