Recovery Budget will keep Auckland on the move

Last week, we passed Auckland Council’s 10-year Budget for 2021-2031.

It is a Recovery Budget that invests $31.8 billion into our City and its infrastructure and will help Auckland and New Zealand pull out of the Covid-19 crisis while addressing transport and traffic congestion, sustaining and enhancing the environment, improving water quality and the resilience of our water supply, building more infrastructure for housing and tackling the threats posed by climate change.

Responding to the pandemic

This is the single largest infrastructure package in Auckland’s history and a 21% increase on our previous 10-year Budget. It responds to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, which while not as severe as had previously been predicted, are nevertheless projected to cut council income by more than $750 million over this and the next three years.

If we slashed our spending to reflect this loss, we would have to cut essential services on which Aucklanders rely and cut projects to build much-needed infrastructure for transport, housing and the environment.

We chose not to do that and instead continue with projects that will create jobs and stimulate recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 and not adopt a stop/start approach that would have cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs.

More funds for capital projects

We have increased funding for capital projects by $900 million in the first three years of the budget. This maintains the planned pipeline of work—despite the impact of Covid-19.

Funding for renewals and maintenance has also been increased by 50% over the previous 10-year Budget.

Auckland Transport’s renewal’s budget in the next three years has nearly doubled from $160 million to $309 million, and Watercare’s infrastructure budget over the 10 years has increased from $5.7 billion to $9.7 billion. This will help ensure that future generations of Aucklanders are not left with the consequences of not investing in new and renewed infrastructure—as we have seen recently in other cities around New Zealand, such as with the failure of Wellington’s water services. 

Prudent management

While the budget maintains the investment that Auckland needs to be a world-class City, we are also aware that we need to manage our finances prudently and responsibly.

We are locking in $90 million a year in savings from cost efficiencies, having successfully saved $120 million this year. Making these savings has been difficult, but it is necessary to reassure Aucklanders that we are doing everything in our power to achieve value for money.

We are also selling surplus properties to raise $70 million a year to reinvest in critical assets and increasing our borrowing limits.

We are maintaining our commitment to a long-term average general rates increase of 3.5% with a one-off 5% rise for the next year. This amounts to an extra 73 cents a week next year for the average-value property compared to previously signalled 3.5% rise, bringing the total increase in rates on the average property next year to $147, or less than $3 a week.

By comparison, Wellington is proposing a 16% increase in rates and Tauranga 17%.

Auckland has one of the lowest levels of rates rises of any City in New Zealand.

Some will say that we have gone too far with this rates increase; others will call for even higher rises. However, I believe that we have found the right middle ground which does not overburden the ratepayers but also ensures progress can be made.

This is a Recovery Budget that will keep Auckland moving.

Phil Goff is Mayor of Auckland. He writes a regular Column for Indian Newslink. The above story has been sponsored by