Matt Doocey stuffed bed tax, Wayne Brown says

Thursday, 30 January 2025

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown claims former tourism minister Matt Doocey managed to “stuff up” the prospect of a bed tax.

Brown has lashed out at the former tourism minister as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon promises to boost tourist numbers -- a major plank in the Government’s new economic growth plan.

Both Brown and Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers have been calling on the Government for legislation to allow them to impose a levy on accommodation in their districts, called a “bed tax”, to help with promoting and managing more events in Auckland and building needed infrastructure in Queenstown.

The Government has not given a firm indication it supports the idea. New Tourism Minister Louise Upston said she is “open” but a bed tax is not a priority.

Brown claimed Doocey had been working on a policy but had managed to “stuff up” the idea, as he intended to handle the proceeds “centrally, from Wellington”.

“Well bugger off. … Centrally managed from Wellington is just stupid.”

He claimed Tourism Industry Aotearoa the association’s chairperson Dame Kerry Prendergast were to be involved because “they all love to have a committee, and pay themselves, and dream up sh…, and put out pictures of the South Island”.

“I'm not interested in it coming out of Wellington. If you raise it in a city, it stays in the city… It's there for us to do big events … that’s good for the economy.”

Brown said Luxon had “improved his Cabinet” by removing Doocey from the tourism portfolio and handing it to Minister Louise Upston. Doocey remains in Cabinet as minister for mental health.

He claimed Doocey told him that if Brown kept talking about a bed tax, he’d stop work on it.

“I pointed out, 'You've done nothing so far, so that's bit of an idle threat', and you're gone anyhow, mate. So that didn't work.”

Doocey, speaking to The Post, said he did not understand Brown’s criticism. He was not looking at “anything in detail” in regard to a bed tax.

“I was only saying nothing was off the table. So I'm a bit confused by that comment, but most people are with Wayne, and I'll let the next minister talk about her portfolio.”

Asked if he had “threatened” Brown about going public about the issue, Doocey laughed before walking off.

Prendergast said in a statement she “completely refute[s] a national sustainable funding solution for tourism was ever to be distributed by TIA [the association]”.

“I get, as an ex-mayor of Wellington, that every region has to present their needs and views.

“We believe after extensive consultation and consideration that a national solution make[s] sense for New Zealand, and as a membership organisation we continue to represent our members by talking to government about that rather than local solutions.”

Upston said her immediate focus was getting more tourists into New Zealand, before considering a bed tax.

“Look, I'm reserving the right to look at what has been done. I haven't had the full briefing on that, but my message to the industry … is, I'm open. That's not one of the short term and immediate challenges that I'm focused on.”

Asked if a model which had revenue collected in Wellington was being previously considered by the Government, she said: “Yeah, but it's not to say that that's necessarily where we'll go. I want to keep an open mind.”

Regional deal: ‘Hot air and piss in wind’

Brown said Auckland Council put forward a bed tax proposal again in its application for a “regional deal” with the Government.

But he said the regional deal scheme, in which the Government and councils in chosen regions would collaborate on specific policies, amounted to “hot air and piss in wind”.

“It was just sloganeering. They have got to deal with us one way or another. So we've filled out the form, but … it was the dumbest form. Jesus, who drew that up, I don't know. It was a typical piece that came straight out of Yes Minister.”

He said the Government was “a group of people of varying degrees of effectiveness, intelligence and competence. Todd McClay is the upper end of that lot. Doocey is at the very bottom”.

Continuing his appraisal of the Cabinet, he said: “I get on well with [Chris] Penk, [Simon] Watts, [Mark] Mitchell very well.”

“Mitchell and I are friends really, Todd McClay, I really enjoy his company and working with him. Goldsmith’s good. Shane Reti is good. Judith Collins is fine. Simeon Brown is fine. I like Bishop.

“I need to know Nicola Willis more than I have. But now she’s the minister of economic development [economic growth] I’m very keen to meet her.”