First shots in mayoral race
Auckland mayor Phil Goff said a hoped-for second term would be about ‘‘Building Auckland’s future’’ as he launched his tilt at re-election in October.
Goff told an audience of 230 at his launch yesterday it could be easy to leave Auckland’s challenges to someone else but that was not his style.
A pledge to explore extending the Living Wage from council staff to at least some contractors was the only hint of new policy.
In response, main rival and former Labour Cabinet colleague John Tamihere called Goff a ‘‘puppet for central government’’ under whose watch things had worsened. ‘‘There are huge problems in this city that Goff has totally neglected,’’ said Tamihere in a statement in the first serious exchange of fire since launching his bid in January.
Goff’s launch attracted political supporters, including Labour Cabinet ministers Phil Twyford and Jenny Salesa.
Goff campaigned in 2016 on introducing the Living Wage to all council employees, a policy that will be completed this year.
But in his launch speech he was not specific on how far an extension to contractors might go after making a reference to cleaners. ‘‘I have asked [the] council to begin the work of looking at all the implications of how we can extend the Living Wage to some of our contractor group, and we’d probably want to start with cleaners,’’ he told Stuff.
‘‘Cleaning our offices is a fundamental job that’s done for council officials and elected representatives – that seems to be a good place to start the next step.’’
He wouldn’t say when the next phase of extending the $20.55 an hour rate would be complete for contractors. The wage is $4 higher than the statutory minimum wage.
Goff was building his campaign on a narrative of continuing initiatives taken by the council during his first term in office.
Those included new targeted rates to accelerate work to improve water quality at beaches and in streams, and to tackle pests and threats to the natural environment.
Goff has also linked the continuing rise in home construction to his three years as mayor.
Neither Tamihere nor Goff have released any detailed policy, with Goff telling Stuff his campaign might not get into full swing until a few months before the October poll.
The three other declared mayoralty candidates are third-time challenger John Palino, 28-yearold cafe owner Joshua Love, and media ‘‘operator’’ Craig Lord.