Ports’ future in question

As rumours swirl that Auckland mayor Phil Goff is mulling the sale of Ports of Auckland (POAL), the suggestion has emerged that it was the port who made the recommendation.

Port staff met with Goff on Tuesday for a standard briefing but threw a surprise in by suggesting Auckland Council sell the port, a council source said.

Or at least part of it. They want the company split into a land business, which the council would keep, and an operating company to be sold off, the source said.

The push for this, the source said, was that council ownership is onerous for the port in terms of expansion so private ownership could be more conducive to reclamation and development.

A POAL spokesman declined to comment saying ownership was a matter for the council.

But the port issued a statement confirming the meeting with the Mayor over the future of the port.

‘‘Included in those discussions were how we proceed after the Ports Future Study, an industry overview, options for interim development of the port and considerations for the relocation of the port.

‘‘We also discussed work that was started under the previous council to evaluate the potential to split the port land from the operating company. This is the first time these matters have been discussed with the current Mayor,’’ POAL said.

Goff said in a statement on Tuesday that he had ‘‘had wide ranging discussions but no specific proposal on the port’s ownership has been presented,’’ Newsroom reported.

‘‘I’ve made no decisions about the port’s long term future as yet, but intend to make progress on this matter over the course of this term.’’

A partial sale could raise hundreds of millions of dollars for a council struggling to fund much needed infrastructure but would also attract strong opposition from people against port and wharf expansion.

Goff’s campaign for the Auckland mayoralty was clear that he favoured port relocation but to keep the land in council hands and open it for public access and use.

That change would require the port’s land and operating arms to separate.

Any council decision on ownership would likely be many months off as reports and consultation would be required.