The Budget Debate at Auckland City Council

Auckland Council signed off the budget last week by a vote of 14 to 6 with one abstention. A majority of councillors voted to sell a 7% stake in the airport and retain the other 11% holding. This is going to raise about $865 million to pay down debt and save a net $23 million of interest costs. For households, rates are sort of nudging a bit over inflation at 7.7%. And importantly, for a lot of people, a lot of communities, many proposed funding cuts were rolled back.