Press Release

3 March 2019

The reluctant mayoral candidate

Auckland Mayoral candidate John Tamihere has welcomed Phil Goff’s announcement that he has stumbled on a decision to seek a second term.

“It’s Game On – I’ve been waiting for Phil to make up his mind and I’m glad he has finally come to a decision,” Tamihere said.

“Auckland desperately needs strong leadership and that’s why I’ve committed to being Mayor for three terms if I am elected. There are huge problems in this city that Phil Goff has totally neglected – in fact they’ve got worse under his lack of leadership – and it’s time we got these issues out in the open and got them sorted,” he said.

Tamihere identified a number of issues that had arisen under Goff’s leadership:

1. “Auckland Transport is totally out of control with their sham consultation processes, the huge waste of money we see around the city and their obvious and deliberate policies to create rather than ease congestion. Why hasn’t Phil pushed back against the plan to slow the entire city down by making 700 kilometres of our roads only 30 km/hour? Even the Automobile Association says this will create even more congestion.”

2. “Under Goff, Council spending and debt levels are out of control and no-one will front to talk about it. Lack of leadership means Council’s spending is not held to account.”

3. “Under Phil’s Mayoralty we’re seeing huge cost blowouts in infrastructure projects.

4. “And Phil’s the only Mayor in New Zealand that has imposed new petrol taxes on his own people.”

“What’s worse is he’s trying to fool us by saying he’s independent, even though Labour has endorsed his Mayoral campaign” Tamihere said.

“He looks like a puppet for central government.

“I’m putting Auckland first. I’m independent and I won’t be a puppet.”

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