Ominous early signs for ratepayers from new Auckland Council.

New rail loop in CBD will add huge and on-going running costs to all ratepayers.

League move to Eden Park from Mt Smart will add millions to rates bills

Councillors calling for higher pay.

Reports over recent days clearly indicate that the daily operating costs of the proposed extended rail system through a new underground loop will need to be heavily subsidised by Auckland ratepayers. The Minister of Transport has pointed to the existing operating shortfall in rail funding and the proposed extention will push rates increases to 7.5% or even higher.

The economic gain from the project will be limited to those who work and shop in the CBD but would appear to bring no gain to the rest of the spread-out Auckland population. Cities which have central public transport rails systems also have substantial populations to support those systems – and even then are typically highly subsidised from taxation, local regional and national.

Auckland's population of 1.4m, possibly rising to 2m in 30 years is not big enough to support a central area underground rail system, especially when most of the population lives far out from the proposed central loop extention. Or is it proposed all future population will be located in the central area?

The present urban trail system is a huge burden on ratepayers – for the benefit of some geographically favoured residents mostly in parts of the South and West.

The Auckland Council must insist on a business plan which shows who will benefit, and how, from this new CBD loop. And above all how will it be funded without imposing an extra burden on ratepayers.

On a lesser scale – but still significant, is the idea being mooted that Rugby League will move from Mt Smart to Eden Park – unless millions are spent on further upgrading the recently upgraded Mt Smart.

Then of course there have been calls from some councillors for higher pay.

So far the new Council appears to have been occupied discussing the creation of an Auckland ‘peace city’.

The Council need to be careful about its spending plans if it wants to keep the peace with its ratepayers.

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