Wayne Brown says Auckland’s priorities are set through its deal with Government, not campaign announcements.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has told voters to treat election-campaign promises with scepticism, saying parties are pitching projects without knowing what they will cost.
Brown made the comments in a statement released by his office on Tuesday 6 October.
He accused every party of chasing headlines and a lift in the polls, and said Aucklanders should be asking whether each project was a top priority and what it would cost them.
“As usual transport is where the biggest and dumbest promises are being made. We all know what happened when one lot proposed Light Rail, and National’s RONPS projects have blown out to tens of billions of dollars more than what they promised in 2023. We don’t need any more announcements like this that parties will regret once government officials tell them what projects really cost.”
Brown said the city’s priorities were already set out through its deal with central government and its long-term transport planning.
“We have a City Deal with the Government, not with individual political parties all panicking about poll numbers,” he said.
He said the new Auckland Regional Transport Committee was developing a 30-year transport plan for the region, which would be agreed jointly by the Council and the Government.
“The future of Auckland’s transport and infrastructure network won’t be determined by politicians making promises during an election campaign,” Brown said.
He said politicians who wanted to know what the city was asking for should read his manifesto, which is due to be released soon.
“It outlines the issues that matter most to our city, the investments we need and the reforms required to unlock Auckland’s potential,” he said.
Brown aimed his criticism at both ends of the political spectrum.
“We’re no more likely to get level crossings done in order to get the Greens elected than we are to build motorways in order to get the National party elected,” he said.
He said he would keep challenging any party that claimed to speak for Auckland without engaging with its elected leadership.
“Nobody gets to decide what Auckland can or can’t ask for. As Mayor, I’ll continue fighting for the investment, infrastructure and policy changes our city needs to succeed.”
