Max Bowden's: Key v Brown... And The Loser Is Auckland

23 September 2011

Max Bowden's BusinessSense: Key v Brown... And The Loser Is Auckland

Ructions over the Rugby World Cup "fanzone" in Auckland have taken the lid off a political battle which will have dire long-term consequences.

John Key, and his cabinet with him, have a serious dislike for the politics of Supercity mayor Len Brown.

This is evidenced in the way Brown was humiliated by the Govt over its fanzone coup (with Key ordering McCully to wrest control) and the way Brown's draft Auckland plan was snubbed.

No-one comes out of the first big test of NZ's ability to handle a huge event like the World Cup particularly well. The nonsensical decision to have a Govt organisation control things on one side of the waterfront and the council to control them on the other should never have been allowed to happen.

It shows the deep divisions which have emerged between Key and Brown. They are politically diametrically opposed. Throw in the pugnacious McCully and rail hater Steven Joyce into the mix and you have real trouble. French train operator Veolia simply tops up the "odd couple" situation at play.

The damage has been done. Brown is a loose cannon, but Auckland needs to work with central Govt to get its economy humming. It is a huge part of NZ GDP. If this Govt can't, or won't, work with the City Council, there's trouble ahead.

Trans Tasman www.transtasman.co.nz has the details:

"More Humiliation As Govt Ignores Len Brown's Rail Loop Plan

John Key says Auckland Mayor Len Brown’s plan for a $2.4bn inner-city rail loop “won’t happen anytime soon.” Brown has made building the rail loop by 2018 a core plank of his mayoralty, and this week described it as a “game-changer,” made all the more urgent by the transport debacle on the Rugby World Cup opening night. Key says he is not convinced of the merits of the rail loop.

The clash on the rail loop underlines the strained relations between central Govt and Auckland super-city bosses arising from the RWC transport debacle. Brown was “humiliated” according to some observers by the Key Govt’s waterfront takeover. He and his cohorts had “dropped the ball,” throwing into question both their judgment and capacity for the job.

The PM instructed his Rugby World Cup Minister “Do whatever it takes” to solve Auckland’s immediate problems, in the wake of the chaos on the waterfront fanzone. Post-event reviews disclosed Auckland City Council besides under-estimating the size of the crowds which would gather on the waterfront, didn’t have the resources to handle the event.

They also disclosed a yawning gap between the repeated assurances given to central Govt by Auckland Transport officials their systems could cope, and the actual performance. Specifically, Auckland Transport and its provider Veolia, failed to put appropriate communication systems into place, didn’t have the staff on the platforms and the carriages they said they would, and lacked any backup bus system available.

One emerging lesson from the Sept 9 fiasco is trains aren’t a total answer. Auckland needs flexible transport systems, trains, buses, ferries and motorways to cope with major events, and even every-day traffic. Diverting available investment funds into a single transport mode won’t lift Auckland towards its goal of being a world-class city.

The RWC opening night debacle not only has added fresh fuel to the central Govt’s skepticism over Mayor Brown’s rail ambitions but it has also left unresolved questions about the capacity of management of Auckland Transport, a council-controlled organisation whose board was appointed by the Govt."

Auckland should have had a new waterfront stadium for the Rugby World Cup. But unfortunately it still has the Eden Park dinosaur, and its ancient rail system.

Auckland must succeed for NZ to succeed. Opposing forces pulling in different directions from Auckland and Wellington won't help.

The Key Govt has been given kudos for its political management. The onus is on Key to establish a more effective working relationship with Brown to make the Supercity concept succeed!!

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