Viewpoint – Big year ahead

It hasn’t been the best start to the year with the weather events of recent days. While the region held up well overall, some of our communities north of Auckland didn’t fare as well. A big thank you to all those who followed Auckland Emergency Management direction and took measures to look after each other and to the emergency services that were stood up to respond. My thoughts go out to the family of the man recovered from the Mahurangi River.

Coming back into the office, it’s not lost on me that 2026 will be a big year for council, the Auckland region and the country.

We are continuing our work to build the physical resilience of our city region – the Making Space for Water programme is one of those, alongside transport reform and a new housing plan. This year will see the opening of two major projects – the City Rail Link (CRL) and International Convention Centre, that have taken ages and cost ratepayers and taxpayers a fortune to complete. They were needed, but could have been done cheaper. As I’ve said before, I’m all about doing things better, cheaper and faster, and while the CRL and ICC have been complex, they’re both among the most over-budget projects ever delivered in this country. On the bright side, they’ll provide lots of lessons on how not to do big projects!

I’m also looking forward to council getting our hands on Auckland Transport (AT) planning and turning AT’s focus on to public transport because it’s something they actually do well. The rest, like strategic decision-making and long-term planning, will come back into council which will become a road controlling authority like every other council. Make no mistake, it’ll be a big challenge, but I’ve never been one to shy away from the big issues. After all, I was re-elected and given the mandate to finish the fix we started in my first term, like Get Auckland Moving and Stop Wasting Money.

This year is also a big year for a new partnership approach if agreement can be reached between government and the biggest council in the country. The first of the government’s City Deals could signal a fundamental shift in the relationship between central and local government because we deserve to be treated as the genuine partner we are.

Finally, my updated manifesto will be published this year with a list of what we’ll do and how government can help us deliver – namely, by being more hands-off – so we can get on with lifting prosperity, building confidence, growing our tech economy and focusing on maximising benefit from the new southern link flights between China and South America, through Auckland.

There’s plenty more on the list, but it’ll be helpful for the government to be reminded that it’s the Auckland region that will decide who will win the central government elections at the end of the year.

Note: Red tape and a ‘we know best’ attitude won’t be a vote winner.

Yes, it will be a big year. Let’s get on with it.