TLDR: Auckland Mayoral candidate Efeso Collins is about to get the endorsement of PM Jacinda Ardern with less than a week to go in the campaign. But Collins says he won’t step into line behind the Beehive on infrastructure funding for climate change action.
Collins told me in a ‘hoon’ interview recorded in the podcast above that he wanted to see a Mayoral taskforce on climate change challenge the Government to provide more funding for emissions reduction action and medium density housing.
He agreed that would mean reprioritising the Government’s preference for low debt and a high credit rating over much bigger investments in public transport and low emissions housing.
“I think we've really gotta take it to the Crown and say, if this is what we want to achieve as a nation, then we've got to look at all of our settings. That includes economic settings or financial settings that we've set ourselves and asking ourselves whether they're too restrictive.” Efeso Collins
The two-term councillor, who is up against self-styled ‘Mr Fixit’ Wayne Brown as his main opponent from right of politics, is campaigning for fares-free public transport and ‘mode shift’ away from cars to cycling and walking in a city growing up rather than out.
Elsewhere in the interview, Collins said he favoured:
the Government rebating the $300m gathered in GST every year on top of rates to the Auckland Council;
an agreement with the Government about plans for population growth through migration that can be matched with infrastructure spending;
replacing the current Regional Fuel Levy with congestion charges in a phased way; and,
Auckland Council putting two voting councillors onto the board of Auckland Transport.
The full audio of the interview is above.
Ka kite ano
Bernard
Challenging the priority of a AA+ rating over climate change action