Who has the power in secret deal negotiations between ministers and Auckland?

Thursday, 8 January 2026

A “regional deal” between Auckland and the Government is set to be a model for a national investment programme, but six months on secret negotiations appear stalled as powerful personalities trade public barbs, reports Jonathan Killick.

“Normally, they just dump on us,” Auckland mayor Wayne Brown told a public meeting on the sometimes strained relationship between central government and their local council counterparts.

But this year - a general election year - he told councillors that the balance of power had tilted in his administration’s favour, as holding sway with Auckland voters is critical for holding the country.

“At certain times a landlord has more power and at certain times a tenant has more power.”

His comments were made at the last official governing body of the year. The topic of discussion: how negotiations are progressing with government ministers on a 10-year regional investment deal.

Auckland is the first cab off the rank for the new regionalised investment model, ushered in by Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop.

Last August, council chief Phil Wilson said the goal was to ink the deal before Christmas, possibly before local elections, but it would appear that behind closed doors progress has been stalled.

“It’s time to leave,” this reporter was told, being unceremoniously kicked out of a public council meeting under controversial official information laws that allow for confidential “public excluded” sessions. Clearly it’s a sensitive topic.

“What about public transparency?,” asked councillor John Watson.

But, councillors were warned by staff that the Government had bound them up in non-disclosure agreements - and they should be careful what they say in a public forum.

Some couldn’t help themselves before the meeting went into secrecy. Glancing at the draft deal in her information pack, councillor Lotu Fuli asks, “is that the best we could get?”

It was a blunt “yes” from council’s group strategy director Max Hardy, but mayor Wayne Brown was less willing to concede ground, interjecting with: “at this stage”.

“Nothing has been decided yet … And the others on the other side might be asking the same question,” Brown said of the Government.

The council submitted its “light touch” regional deal proposal last February.

It included a new “Advanced Technology Institute” focussing on AI and quantum computing, transit visas for travellers between Asia and South America and changes to traffic management rules (road cones), among other wishlist items.

There were also a couple of requests that may well be sticking points - Brown’s long sought after hotel bed-night levy and reform of housing intensification rules to allow infrastructure to catch up with growth.

Subsequent legislation to immediately zone for an additional 2 million homes foisted on the supercity wasn’t what the council had in mind.

Two days after the mayor’s comments, Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown told attendees of an event hosted by advocacy group the Committee for Auckland that if councils are cash-strapped, maybe they “actually need to prioritise”.

“I think many New Zealanders when they're looking at their rates bills are asking that question - why are councils not prioritising?” Minister Brown said.

As a ratepaying eastern Auckland suburbanite himself, he didn’t appreciate not having a choice about having to pay for a green food scraps bin, he said.

“Probably about 15% of Aucklanders actually use them, and it’s adding 80 bucks to everybody’s rates bill every year.

“What about giving people a choice, so that actually people can have a little bit of money to put back in their own pockets?”

As for intensification, Minister Brown said allowing more development would mean more ratepayers to foot the bill.

“If councils are looking for additional revenue, maybe they need to unlock more opportunities to build houses,” he said.

He was echoing the sentiment of Watts who in December caught some in Auckland Council off guard, announcing a rates cap of 4%, promising to get councils “under control” and “help restore discipline”.

“I have made it clear that the Government will not support new taxes and revenue tools for local authorities at a time when we believe there is scope for improvement in the value for money New Zealanders receive in return for their rates.”

So much for Brown’s hotel levy.

At the meeting of councillors, Josephine Bartley raised the issue of the apparent “power imbalance” that allowed the Government to legislate for intensification while capping rates - in addition to already leaving a shortfall by scrapping the regional fuel tax against thte council’s wishes.

Mayor Brown assured councillors that off the back of his own sweeping victory in the local body elections, National MPs would feel the heat in the general election this year if they didn’t bend on the core issues.

As the deal nears its second year of negotiations, still shrouded in confidentiality clauses, the question becomes: How far into campaign season will ministers let it get before a deal is struck? And what will they have to concede?

“Their rates cap is rates crap, and I interpret it as a voting cap,” said Mayor Brown.