A new ticket for Auckland?
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has expanded his Fix Auckland campaign from one candidate to two with the addition of deputy Desley Simpson, now he is recruiting a team to gain influence on the council.
The treaty that Brown reached with Simpson, seeing her decide against challenging the mayor at October's election, is intended to be a forerunner to the Fix Auckland slate for council seats.
Brown says he alone was Fix Auckland in 2022 but now wants a team. 'She will be standing for Fix Auckland and we look forward to others joining us.'
This is a very significant move, as it means Desley will be dropping the C&R ticket which she has been elected on previously. Will Fix Auckland stand against C&R or co-operate with them?
A right-leaning councillor, Sharon Stewart, is retiring from the Howick ward and that seat alongside fellow ward councillor Maurice Williamson, could be a possible joint Fix Auckland ticket.
The Whau ward councillor, Kerrin Leoni, is contesting Brown's mayoralty so her ward seat could yet be another Fix Auckland target, having swung between C&R and Labour candidacies in past elections.
Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Angela Dalton, who had a strong personal following as a former local board chair, is also retiring, leaving an opening that could fit Brown's intentions. Dalton's Papakura colleague, Daniel Newman, has supported Brown's major initiatives.
A ticket which reduces the number of high spending Councillors would be a good thing. But if Fix Auckland and C&R end up splitting the vote, then it may backfire. Ideally all the non-left tickets should co-operate rather than compete.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
India is Trump's latest tariff target and Woolworths losing share to Pak nSave
Why new US tariffs could be a turning point for NZ trade policy University of Auckland Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey is with us to discuss what this means for Kiwi businesses – and whether we need to reprioritise our trade relationships.
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Community forced into byelection due to a lack of candidates
Why new US tariffs could be a turning point for NZ trade policy University of Auckland Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey is with us to discuss what this means for Kiwi businesses – and whether we need to reprioritise our trade relationships.
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Concern drivers could pay more with new road user charges
Private companies will need to keep the costs of running the government's new road user charges scheme as low as possible, the AA says. The government is inching closer to replacing petrol tax with electronic road user charges on all light vehicles, in what Transport Minister Chris Bishop calls the biggest shake-up of road funding in half a century. He says it'll be fairer and will be like paying a power bill or Netflix each month and will be in place by 2027. The changes will put an end to the existing two-tier system, in which petrol users pay a fuel excise duty of about 70 cents a litre at the pump, while diesel, electric and heavy vehicles pay paper-based road user charges based on distance travelled. However, Labour says the timing of the coalition's transition to a universal road user charges system risks "clobbering" motorists with more costs. AA's policy director Martin Glynn said his organisation was also worried about how much motorists would have to pay under the new scheme. He told Morning Report he was unsure if it would be more expensive. At present the minimum road user charge kicked in once a light vehicle had travelled 1000km. That was $76 and $12-$13 for an administration fee. With private providers being brought in to run the revised scheme they would need to be making money, Glynn said. "We really want to see the administration costs be as low as possible." He agreed with the minister that with more vehicles becoming more fuel efficient, the current petrol tax penalised those with older vehicles. "It's become more unfair over time and it's going to become more unfair if we don't change." The current system of buying RUCs was "a bit clunky", he said. Those using diesel or a heavy vehicle purchased RUCs online from the NZ Transport Agency or they could go to an agent. Motorists needed to keep an eye on their odometer to ensure they stayed up to date. The other problem was the the RUC came in the mail and needed to be displayed on the dashboard. AA supported Bishop's plan to make the system fully electronic. Annual warrant of fitness checks were the main way to ensure compliance at present. "But it's fair to say it's difficult to enforce being an annual system so there's a fair degree of evasion and avoidance and that's something that will have to be addressed in the transition." Heavy vehicles already have an ERUC, a device in the trucks that monitors kilometres and location.
