Auckland mayor Wayne Brown meets with Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick. Photo: Office of the Mayor of Auckland / Supplied
Auckland Central MP for the Green Party Chloe Swarbrick has met with the city's new mayor Wayne Brown for the first time today.
A statement from Brown's office said he thanked Swarbrick for her support to return to public use the Ports of Auckland land currently filled with imported used cars.
The pair agreed the port land should remain under the ownership of the council and the next steps would be to work on a plan and timeline for its future use.
They walked to work together via Karangahape Road before an hour-long meeting at his office, which he described as "constructive, friendly and business-like" in a statement.
They committed to work together on immediate steps to improve safety and vibrancy in Auckland's city centre.
Swarbrick said there were "low-hanging fruit" to improve the city such as:
- Support for Māori Wardens - including a city centre base at Myer's Park, community engagement and Heart of the City and City Missions' Street Guardians programme
- Urgent public toilet strategy and resourcing
- A one-stop, single-contact point for people experiencing or concerned about those experiencing homelessness
She also asked for public spaces to be revitalised and barriers to night-time food truck licences revoked. This follows recent negative experiences of the White Lady, a long-time takeaway truck in the central city.
Brown said he would follow up on those matters with the relevant agencies and officials today.
They also discussed the economic and financial outlook for Aucklanders, with the mayor emphasising central and local government each had to trim unnecessary spending to reduce the pressure on households.
On climate change, Swarbrick urged Brown to support initiatives to reduce Auckland's greenhouse gas emissions faster than central government's targets and to maintain and enhance investment in public transport.
Brown said the council was already investing significantly on climate change, and would need support from central government on climate-change adaptation.
Brown also met with ACT party leader and Epsom MP David Seymour.
Brown described his meeting with Seymour as a "meeting of minds on trimming wasteful bureaucratic spending."
The Auckland mayor said he supports in principle ACT's proposed Housing Infrastructure bill which would transfer 50 percent of GST revenue from a new house to the local council that issued the consent.