Auckland city deal ends ‘Punch and Judy’ squabbling, say PM and mayor
Friday, 10 April 2026
See the city deal commitments at the bottom of this story.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland mayor Wayne Brown have signed a “landmark” city deal, which they say will fundamentally change the relationship between the supercity and Wellington.
Both described it as a mark of “mutual respect”, with the agreement signalling that the “parent-child” relationship between central and local government was over.
“This is about wanting to work in an adult to adult way,” said Luxon.
“One of the things that’s important about this deal we signed today is we didn’t ask for any money,” added Brown. “It’s not about money. It’s about mutual respect.”
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“It’s about no more stuff arriving unannounced and unwanted.”
Key commitments in the deal include both parties contributing $5 million to relocate Auckland Cricket to Colin Maiden Park, a roof for the Auckland Tennis Centre, and a commitment to “work together” on a harbour crossing and time-of-use charging.
Auckland is the first cab off the rank for a deal, with Queenstown and Rotorua expected next.
The joint appearance on Friday seemed to mark a thawing of an at times frosty relationship between the PM and the mayor.
“We’ve had a Punch and Judy show going on,” said Luxon. “Where, actually, central government and local government haven’t been on the same page.
“That's just totally, utterly counterproductive in a small country like New Zealand, right?
“We’ve got to move this relationship to the next level and that’s really what our motivation as mayor and prime minister has been about in doing this deal together.”
Brown even eased up on Wellington after weeks of telling it to “pick up the toilet paper from its coast line”.
“Wellington’s a policy city, and that’s not bad. That’s what it’s there to do. But we have to bring policy and practicality together, and that’s been missing.
“And that’s possibly because they haven’t listened to us, but I’m hard to ignore,” said Brown.
Luxon backed that up.
“We’ve talked about it being a parent-child relationship where things are done to Auckland and what we want to do going forward is we want to work with Auckland and that makes it an adult to adult relationship.”
The PM said that while the deal was a commitment to work on infrastructure planning over the next 30 years, it did not necessarily commit to funding.
“What we are saying is we’ve actually listened to the mayor, who has said the priorities for him and his council are northwest rapid transit, airport to Botany busway, level crossing removal on the City Rail Link, and that is now recognised by the Government.”
Said Brown: “And, I went out of the way to make sure we didn’t get tangled up and squabbling over relatively small things.
“Auckland Council’s nearly a $10 billion business … I didn’t want to be worried about half a million here and there.”
One bugbear between the pair has been Brown’s aspirations for a hotel bed-night levy, which the Government has said it won’t look at until next term under the deal.
After previously strong rhetoric, Brown softened up on the issue for the cameras.
“I’m a long-term thinker. I’ve got long-term views like Māori and like Chinese. It takes a little bit longer to get a good thing for the long-term,” he said.
The one thorn still evident in the joint press conference was the proposal of a rates cap.
“If we’d known it was coming, I’d have pointed out that I didn’t think it’s a very clever thing to do,” said Brown.
Minister for Auckland Simon Watts said they had “agreed to disagree on this matter”.
“That shows mutual respect,” he said.
The potential site of a new harbour crossing was another point of respectful disagreement, with Brown still fixed on the idea of Meola Reef, saying it had been the subject of a 1963 report.
“I’m not going to have a squabble over where, but the thing is from now on, [the project] has to be done together,” said Brown.
“As opposed to these guys, I have built infrastructure most of my life,” he said.
Perhaps most crucially, there was talk of Luxon and Brown sitting down for a beverage - it follows Brown having made the comment he couldn’t work with a PM who only drinks diet coke.
“He and I'll be sitting down having a few, well he'll be having a few beers, I'll be having a cup of tea,” said Luxon.
Key commitments of the Auckland deal
Establishing a long-term partnership between Government and Auckland Council, including regular meetings between the PM, ministers and mayor. There will also be a senior official from both Government and council who will be accountable for delivering on the deal.
Reviewing Eden Park’s ownership and operating model, recognising Eden Park as the national stadium, and contributing $5 million each toward relocating Auckland Cricket to Colin Maiden Park.
Investing in the redevelopment and roofing of the Auckland Tennis Centre to support international events.
Developing a strategy for innovation precincts in areas such as the Fisher and Paykel precinct and around University of Auckland’s flagship innovation centre in Newmarket (including MedTech-iQ); and strengthening Auckland’s global trade and investment links.
Jointly developing a destination and major events strategy to grow tourism, events, and hospitality in Auckland.
Establishing a coordinated 30-year transport strategy for Auckland, with priority projects reflected in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2027 including the North-West Rapid Transit project, Botany to Airport public transport, Mill Road, and CRL level crossings.
Working together on the additional Waitematā Harbour crossing project, time-of-use charging, and more efficient transport network management.
Introducing a new Crown uplift funding tool for mutually-agreed, high-priority projects. The Crown will consider contributing funding for projects where the Council raises new funding significantly above current Long-Term Plan and BAU funding levels (e.g., from council asset recycling or targeted rates).
Working together on Predator Free 2050, Pest-Free Auckland, the Auckland Indigenous Biodiversity Strategy, and restoring the biodiversity of the Hauraki Gulf.