Auckland mayor locks in regular meetings with PM
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has already locked in quarterly meetings with the prime minister and has advocated for his city in 11 meetings with ministers — in sharp contrast to just three for the capital city’s mayor.
It was last week revealed that Wellington mayor Tory Whanau had met with just three new Government ministers, including one that was a please-explain about the city‘s water crisis and another when Let’s Get Wellington Moving was ditched.
Whanau, a former Green Party chief of staff, campaigned for the top job on her ability to work the halls of Parliament for Wellington. She was elected at a time when councils nationwide are increasingly looking for central government for various reasons, from needing help to pay soaring infrastructure bills through to lobbying for changes to quake-prone building laws.
Brown said he had a “robust” relationship with the new coalition Government, which had “come to realise Aucklanders are important in the scheme of things”.
“We have already seen responses from this Government on issues that matter and that we've called for in my manifesto.”
He had arranged to meet Prime Minister Christopher Luxon every three months and said the pair “get along very well”.
He had also met with ministers Simeon Brown, David Seymour, Mark Mitchell, Nicola Willis, and Chris Penk. Topics discussed included transport, water, a regional fuel tax, crime, cyclone recovery, an Auckland deal, a regional amenities funding board, an Auckland city deal, and building and construction standards.
A spokesperson for Whanau said she regularly met government ministers at events to discuss Wellington issues. There was also advocacy through groups like the Mayoral Forum and nationally through Local Government NZ (LGNZ), of which Whanau is on the national council.
“She has a constructive relationship with the Government as evidenced by the agreement reached last year on transport projects to help grow our city.”
Brown in 2023 used his casting vote to pull the Auckland Council out of LGNZ.
A Dunedin City Council spokesperson said its mayor, Jules Radich, had already met with Matt Doocey, Simeon Brown, Penny Simmonds, Mark Patterson, and Shane Reti. Discussions had included Three Waters, Dunedin Hospital, economic development and electricity generation.
It was last week reported that Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger had taken six meetings with new ministers, while Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry had at least five.