Auckland Mayor Phil Goff reveals wins, regrets for 2018 as he weighs up political future

Monday, 31 December 2018

Councillor Cathy Casey and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff at a governing body meeting of Auckland Council in December where the Mayor was accused of turning Council into an 'A' team' and a 'B' team.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has revealed a rift between him and his councillors is his sole regret of 2018.

The mayor, who entered politics back in 1981, will arrive at a political crossroads as he decides whether to seek re-election in 2019.

Goff said the highlights of his past year included a record-breaking 10-year budget, passed with overwhelming support from around the council table.

But what about his lowlights? Goff said he did not have any 'major regrets', but did raise one episode.

* Auckland Mayor Phil Goff attacks under-investment, unveils 'deliver it' budget

* Water quality whitewash? Auckland mayor under fire over clean beaches claim

* Is Phil Goff losing control of his council?**

'I think sometimes that council spends too much time on the little things … that absorb energy disproportionate to the value of those things,' he said.

The mayor was referring to a period in winter when his councillors become particularly frosty over his office's handling of a $1 million stadium feasibility study by consultants PwC.

Councillors Cathy Casey, Efeso Collins and John Watson claimed the report could only be viewed in Goff's office under supervision, so took their case to the Ombudsman.

In response, un-redacted copies of the report were made available for all councillors to read, after which they had to be returned to the mayor's office.

A letter to Goff, signed by nine councillors, followed. It carried claims of a lack of transparency and distrust.

Eventually, though, the Ombudsman sided with Goff.

'There was a big publicity around whether councillors could get an electronic as against a hard copy and the Ombudsman came out and said: 'no, that's natural, that's not improper',' Goff told Stuff this month.

'But we wasted a lot of energy over that, and the so-called letter by nine people expressing concern about it.

'Everybody knows what the problem is – confidential information is too readily leaked and that's a regret.'

At its best, Goff said the council worked 'cohesively and constructively together.

'Yet you'll see big arguments over second or third level issues that shouldn't really consume our time and energy in the way that they do.'

On the flipside, Goff was quick to rattle off his 'wins' for the year.

'I think the highlight of the year for me was getting, first of all, the 10-year budget through with an overwhelming majority,' he said.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff will make a call early in 2019 on whether to seek re-election.

In what represents Auckland's largest ever investment in infrastructure, the budget will pump $26.2 billion into the city over the next decade.

'I remember following it before coming into this place and Len [Brown] just sort of scraping by with a one or two vote majority for the budget I think the year before I stood,' Goff said.

Then, in December, Goff waltzed to another victory as his annual budget passed 19 votes to one.

'Which is really interesting because the biggest issue facing Government, local or central, is always the budget issue because that's where you allocate your resources,' he said.

'And to get the degree of unanimity on a council that's not famous for unanimity was pretty remarkable.

'So on the big issues to get that overwhelming support, which indicated that councillors from a variety of different personal and political backgrounds coalescing around a plan, which is the mayoral proposal for a budget, is a big deal.'

The 10-year Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) was another feather in Goff's cap.

'So in the ATAP, for example, we got a record $28b [in] central and local government investment, plus they're putting in another $3b or $4b for light rail,' he said.

'We can start to transform the city when we've got a level of investment where we can make a big difference. Is it enough? Well it's never enough – that's the nature of government.'

Among other wins, Goff pointed to the new eastern busway, locking in funding for SkyPath and a plan to make Waiheke Island predator free by 2025.