Auckland rates increase of 7.9% is passed by councillors

Tuesday, 26 May 2026

After a long day of debate, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has secured his budget of an average 7.9% rates rise, fending off an amendment for a reduced 5.9%.

It means, on average, households will pay an additional $320 per year.

Brown’s proposed budget included $3.6 billion in investment in transport, water and community assets, a 213% debt to revenue ratio, $106 million of budgeted operating savings and $67m of asset sales.

He told councillors the rates rise was needed simply to pay for the first year of the City Rail Link’s operation.

But, North Shore councillor John Gillon put up an amendment calling for the chief executive to come back and report to the committee on how an extra $60m could be saved.

Read more

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It specified considering scrapping Auckland’s food waste collection, and freezing spending on hires, consultancy, travel and catering as well as deferring a $7m contribution to a major events fund.

The amendment also called to defer funding depreciation of assets for a year ‒ an idea previously put forward by councillor Christine Fletcher.

But councillors heard from staff that it could affect the council’s credit rating, increasing borrowing costs at a time when the council was staring down fuel cost increases and inflation.

During debate, deputy mayor Desley Simpson said she didn’t think increases “could be as low as 5.9%”.

“The mayor’s budget already absorbs well in excess of $200m of financial pressures … That’s close to the entire rates revenue of Hamilton City Council.”

Councillor Mike Lee said the council appeared to always have something external to blame for its rate rises.

“It was the droughts, then it was the floods.”

Called councillor Daniel Newman: “What about the locusts?”

Lee suggested it had cast doubt on whether the council would stick to its promise of a 3.5% rise next year.

He said there was a “Sheriff of Nottingham” attitude within the council for the public.

North Shore councillor Richard Hills said, “it does sadly seem there is always a crisis, but they’re not made up.”

He said a pandemic and a fuel crisis couldn’t be prepared for.

“There were cuts to almost every part of this organisation.”

In making his amendment, Gillon said his North Shore ward was being asked to pay for the City Rail Link (CRL) despite it not being “relevant” to them.

Howick councillor Maurice Williamson asked staff how much of the CRL’s operating cost would be “covered by the fare box”.

“If we’re having ratepayers covering $26m, I want to know what the users of the CRL are paying?”

Hills pushed back: “Ratepayers don’t catch the train?”

Said Williamson: “No they won't. The vast bulk of ratepayers won’t use the CRL.

“In Howick we don’t even know that trains exist. We’ve only read about them in books called Thomas the Tank Engine,” he said.

Hills said that while the CRL did not extend to his ward, the North Shore had a busway and ferry services that the rest of Auckland contributed to.

“It’s a give and take.”

Councillor Christine Fletcher said some councillors were “taking the moral high ground” while sitting in an “ivory tower”.

“The public don’t want us rating them out of their homes and by majority they have opposed this increase.”

Sarah Paterson-Hamlin said a 5.9% increase would leave the council with an “untenable” budget.

She said that the average household’s fuel bill had gone up $25 a week, but the reduced increase would only gain households $1.60 a week.

“We can choose to be despairing on the 7.9% and that there isn’t a CRL station outside our house, but I’m choosing to celebrate how low the rises are.”

Manurewa-Papakura councillor Matt Winiata said “it costs money to live in a big city”.

“Wellington has got a stinky harbour and a double digit increase … we’ve got something that will bring us into the future.”

Maungakiekie-Tamaki councillor Josephine Bartley said the “millions were going into communities that are calling for rates cuts”

“It’s pissing me off … What about the rest of our areas that are awaiting to get that kind of funding?”

Shane Henderson said the amendment was “a vote for a blank check to hack and slash services”.

“The Santa parade isn’t safe according to this resolution. How many Aucklanders want us to cut something like that.”

Ultimately the amendment lost 15 votes to eight.

The first round of voting was completed by the budget committee and a second vote by the Governing Body to approve Brown’s budget then took place.

Brown said a lot of work had already gone into getting a balanced budget at 7.9%.

“We’ve got this down to a nought increase plus a railway.”

He accused his councillors of “showmanship” and “sloganeering”.

“You are just setting up the CEO to fail, and what’s the point of doing that?”

Simpson said she probably would have voted for a decrease in rates rises if it had been more realistic.

She told the mayor she would be “holding him to account” in keeping to a 3.5% rates increase next year.

Brown said “as long as you vote for 7.9% this year … Yes I will.”

In the end, councillors voted at a Governing Body meeting 14 to seven to approve Brown’s budget.