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Released private emails show Wayne Brown’s concerns with consultant’s fees

Wayne Brown emails news

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has expressed concerns over the consultancy fees associated with the Waitematā Harbour crossing study.

Documents obtained by State-funded news outlet RNZ under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act reveal that Mayor Brown, in private correspondence with Transport Minister Simeon Brown, suggested reevaluating the roster of consultants engaged in the harbour crossing study, with an eye towards ensuring value for taxpayer money.

Mayor Brown’s correspondence with the minister covered a range of pivotal issues, including the Regional Fuel Tax, the reconsideration of the Auckland Light Rail project, and water reforms.

In a key message dated 14 January the mayor lauded the minister for his handling of the Auckland Light Rail initiative but quickly pivoted to address the harbour crossing study. He requested a detailed list of consultants involved, including their compensation, hinting at a desire to prevent wasteful spending on what he views as unfeasible mega-projects.

This request comes in the wake of Auckland Council’s rejection of the previous Labour government’s costly proposal for transport tunnels underneath Waitematā Harbour. The council’s transport committee voted against the $56 billion project, which lacked support from key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Transport and Auckland Transport. Brown has been a vocal critic of the proposed second crossing, advocating instead for innovative, cost-effective solutions that better serve Auckland’s needs.

A spokesperson for Mayor Brown clarified to RNZ that his comments were made in a tongue-in-cheek manner, drawing attention to the mayor’s frustration with the government’s tendency to allocate substantial funds to consultants for projects that struggle to move past the planning stage. The spokesperson highlighted Mayor Brown’s dedication to refining Auckland Council’s procurement processes, indicating an expectation for the government to adopt a similar focus on efficiency and practicality.

As of now, Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s office has yet to respond to inquiries from RNZ about the correspondence.

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7 COMMENTS

  1. “Consultants” always bloat any budget straight to hell, particularly when they’re the kind who are of no practical utility to a project. Elon Musk was able to fire near 90% of Twitter’s latte connoisseur/Tiktok queen labour force and the company kept ticking along just fine.

    “Consultants” very often also comprise key political leadership’s close contacts and future employers, personal friends and family members, but we’re all supposed to pretend not to notice 😉

    Big up to RNZ for going all out to obtain these documents under the information Act in their quest to let the public know that Wayne Brown is…um…doing what most of the constituency wants him to.

    Thanks, I guess? 🤷🏼‍♂️

  2. This is the thing about all these Councils
    Lesser Sanhedrins
    Nasi the Mayor
    They all have a multitude of highly paid staff
    And then they go out and hire consultants anyway?
    DuuuuuuH!

    • True.

      “They all have a multitude of highly paid staff
      And then they go out and hire consultants anyway?”

      Why? Because they want to look good without taking responsibility for actually making it happen (but they can say that something is happening) – and they are loosely connected to it.
      Looking busy, but doing nothing…

      Style without substance.

      The mantra of our culture.

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