My nominations are in!

Exciting milestone this morning as I handed in my paperwork to become a candidate in the upcoming elections. Handing in my paperwork in my local library is always a special moment and keeps it truly local.

I've worked hard as the Chairperson of the Local Board, providing leadership through significant challenges leading to rewarding successes. But there's more to do, so I'm standing again for Botany where I live. The Chairperson is elected by the Board when we're sworn in (late October).

And Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland deserves a more ambitious, disciplined, and diverse council. We need representatives who understand their communities, investing time to listen and respond to residents. So I'm once again standing for Auckland Council, as a candidate for Howick (which includes Pakūranga, Botany and Flat Bush).

There's a bit of paperwork involved. Nominations require a deposit of $200 per role, which is refunded if you get enough votes. You also need two locals to nominate you, confirming your connection to the place you want to represent. Each candidate can provide up to 150 words and a photo thay goes into the booklet sent out with voting papers.

Election day is Saturday 11 October, with voting papers delivered (in the mail) from 9 September.

You can find out more about the elections, including key dates at www.voteauckland.co.nz

Fixing funding of local boards

We need $216.5M to maintain our assets over the next 10 years, but we’ve only been allocated $114.1M.

At our workshop last week, the Howick Local Board received an update about our asset portfolio and it was pretty confronting. Over the next 9 years, we need $216.5M to maintain our existing assets (like playgrounds, libraries, and leisure centres). But Auckland Council has only allocated us $114.1M, leaving a 47% gap!

We've got enough funding to cover our priority renewals (those in the worst shape), but if we don't maintain all assets they will degrade, reducing their ability to serve the community. Deferring maintenance leads to higher costs in the future as parts break.

We're looking at all options to help close this gap, including changing how we deliver services to rely less on physical assets, optimising the assets we do have, and working with partners to deliver outcomes. But the scale of the challenge means none of this will be easy.

Council have two main funding sources for our assets:
🛠 operational expenses (like day-to-day maintenance, utilities) are covered by rates ($3B), fees ($1.9B) and other revenue ($1.3B).
🏗 capital expenses (like major renewals, new assets) are funded through operating revenue ($1.1B), subsidies ($0.9B), and debt ($1.7B) which is paid off over the lifetime of the asset (like you would a mortgage). To keep the interest manageable, council tries to keep the debt below 250% of revenue (270% absolute max).

New assets can also get funding from development contributions ($0.2B) which is a charge that properly developers pay to help fund assets in the area they're building. These funds cannot be used for anything other than the asset they were collected for.

The good news for Howick Local Board is that our venues for hire (valued at $4.5M) are generating enough revenue from hirage to cover their own day-to-day expenses. But as these buildings need more significant renewal, we need capital funding. And our libraries (valued at $32M), pool and leisure centres (valued at $15.6M) need upgrading so they can keep pace with our growing, changing population as well as shifts in technology and demands. And we know our playgrounds aren’t delivering what our communities need, with gaps especially in Flat Bush.

It’s important to note that Local Boards don't determine what our budget is, we only get (some) control over where our allocated budget goes. How much money each Local Board gets is decided by the Governing Body made up of the Mayor and 20 Councillors. Funding used to be based on what assets we had plus some discretionary funding, but this year we’ve moved to a different formula (known as fairer funding) which is based on population (80%), deprivation (15%), and land area (5%). For example, Howick has the largest population (160k), but lower deprivation (11%) and land area (69.7km2).

The Governing Body decides how much money they want Local Boards to have, then staff allocate it using this formula. Local Boards get less than 10minutes every year to present our feedback and beg for the resources we need to serve our communities. And not all the Councillors even bother to turn up to listen.

Auckland Council group OPEX from Long Term Plan 2024-2034

While the 21 local boards have a huge impact on their communities, they represent a small part of a large complex organisation. To put this into context:
🛠 Auckland Council operating budget for this year is $5,133M – all local boards are $491M (5%) and Howick is $37M (0.7%, 3rd highest).
🏗 Auckland Council’s capital budget for this year is $4,274M while all local boards are $212M (5%) and Howick is $10M (0.2%, 6th highest)

The cause of these issues go back before the creation of Auckland Council, with legacy councils building assets that they couldn’t afford to maintain. But even since the amalgamation, decisions have compounded the issues – like not fully funding depreciation until now so debt has ballooned. And in 2020, Auckland Council passed an emergency budget which slashed the capital spending. For Howick Local Board, the capital funding for 2021 went from a planned $20M to $1.5M. While it’s slowly increased over time, it’s never come back to the previous levels and never enough to compensate for the deferred maintenance.

Some budget pressure can be helpful - it makes us challenge decisions and focus on prioritising what’s important. The Howick Local Board has achieved significant savings over the past few years AND managed to deliver more value for our communities. But the growing gap is leaving our assets in a poor state and forcing us to make short-term decisions to balance our budgets.

This is a challenge across Auckland so there's a regionwide portfolio review underway to provide quality advice to local boards. We're expecting staff to come back to us in November and December with more information for the newly elected Board, with the intention of putting in place a plan by July 2026. This will be a major challenge for the new Howick Local Board to tackle.

Fixing the underlying issues will take longer but is essential for a thriving city. In my opinion:
💰 our budgeting process needs more focus on the outcomes – what do we need, not just what we’ve always done
👥 local boards need more opportunities for genuine involvement in regional decisions – we know our communities, help us serve them better
🏘 council needs to be more agile and responsive – we’re too slow and cumbersome, weighed down by complex structures
📑 staff need to provide more quality advice to elected members so we’re making the right decisions – 15 years to develop asset management plans is too slow
🏛 government needs to provide councils more funding sources so they’re not relying on debt and rates – portion of GST would be a good start

Because our workshop are open to the public, the materials are published online: https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/07/20250724_HLBWC_ATT_13171_WEB.htm

Pre-Election Report released

“By 2034 we are projected to see an additional 200,000 Aucklanders joining our diverse community. That is slightly more than Hamilton being added, in only nine years. This rapid growth brings increased demand for services and infrastructure, such as transport, water services, parks and community facilities,” says Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson.

“To accommodate this growth, we must confront the challenges our region faces, while ensuring long-term financial sustainability. These include addressing Auckland’s relatively low productivity and lifting the region’s economic growth to support development.”

As part of the build up towards the elections, Auckland Council has released it's pre-election report.

There are six key issues for the incoming council to tackle:
📈addressing productivity and growth challenges
🏗infrastructure investment to support population growth
🏢protecting and enhancing our assets
🌏climate resilience and environmental sustainability
👥community services
💰funding for Aucklanders' needs.

Essential reading for anyone considering standing for council and helpful for voters as they elect their representatives to tacke these challenges (and more).

https://voteauckland.co.nz/en/information-for-voters/pre-election-report-2025.html

I'm standing for our community

I'm pleased to announce that I intend to stand for the Howick Local Board and Auckland Council in the elections this October. 

I'm proud of the work we've done on the Howick Local Board over the past three years.  I've enjoyed the privilege of being the Chairperson, leading the Board through some significant challenges and rewarding successes. 

Faced with budget cuts and growing population, we've made robust financial decisions, leading to less reliance on rates and enabling us to do more with less. We asked the public what they wanted us to focus on and then we delivered. We're more transparent and accountable with increased communication, visibility, and opening our workshops to the public.

It's been a privilege to serve as one of the Members for Botany (including Flat Bush) over the past three years. We've worked hard to address the gaps, especially where the infrastructure hasn't kept pace with the population growth. By working with community partners we've done more and built a strong foundation for the future. 

We opened Te Taiwhanga Taiohi East Auckland Youth Space, delivered safety improvements focused around schools, and have made real progress on the long awaited Community Centre and Library. The recently announced temporary library will provide space for our communities to connect and grow, as we work on the permanent facilities. 

And Flat Bush residents will now get the representation they deserve with three Members on the Howick Local Board.

But the work isn't finished and I intend to stand again for the Howick Local Board as a candidate for Botany where I live, in the heart of East Auckland.

 It’s been a privilege to serve the diverse communities of Howick, Pakūranga, Botany, and Flat Bush. I've seen local government at its best, empowering communities and embracing the incredible diversity of the people who call this city home.

I love this mahi (work), its localism at its finest. Acknowledging the importance of local communities and their involvement in decisions that affect them. Supporting local businesses, strengthening community bonds, and fostering a sense of place and belonging. Local Boards can achieve all of this and more but they've been held back by poor policy and execution across council.

After 15 years we're still struggling with the basics like financial transparency and effective communication. It's symptomatic of a council that isn't living up to the promise of the super city. While it's been great to see Auckland push back to Government on unfunded mandates and unreasonable consultation timeframes, too often local boards suffer the same under council.

At a local level we see the impact of an organisation not structured to respond to local needs with outdated leases, poor enforcement, and even small issues requiring endless follow up.

At a regional level we're facing significant challenges of housing intensification, climate change, and an uncertain economic outlook.

The last few years have proven to me yet again that the systemic issues at council are holding this city and its people back. 

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland deserves a more ambitious, disciplined, and diverse council. We need representatives who understand their communities and invest the time to listen to their residents, not just at election time.  

I know our city has the potential to be incredible as I've seen glimpses of it. With the right people around the council table, we can achieve it. That's why I'm standing again for one of the two Councillors for the Howick Ward (which includes Howick, Pakūranga, Botany and Flat Bush).

I have proven that I will work tirelessly for my community. I want to use my skills and experience to help our city. I’m grateful for the support I received when I stood in 2018, 2019, and 2022. It would be an honour and a privilege to serve as East Auckland's representative on council.

I will continue to be highly visible, results driven, and truly independent. I will utilise my passion for community, my experience in governance, and my knowledge of council to deliver for every resident of East Auckland.