If you’re like me and you’re never sure about the financial competency of the people elected to council, the next week is going be a big test.

Because over the next week, the council of the country’s biggest city, Auckland- so presumably some of the brightest councillors in this country, purely because there are more people to choose from- are going to decide and then vote on whether they will sell the council’s airport shares.

Now you don’t need a university degree to tell you Auckland needs to sell its airport shares. And yet, there are apparently 12 councillors who don’t want to, which beats the 9 councillors who do. 

So it will fail at this stage. And that doesn’t make any sense.

Because why keep paying $90m-$100m in debt servicing every year so you can pocket a dividend of $40 million this year?

Auckland doesn’t own enough shares in the airport to have a seat on the board and 18 percent doesn’t get you a say over what the airport does.

And that ownership is only going to be diluted when the airport goes for a capital raise.  

Probably much like you, I remember the lessons we learned from the 80s, and I don’t like selling collectively held assets unless we absolutely have to.

My first reaction was a no when I heard Wayne Brown first pitch the idea. Since then, I've seen the numbers and it’s impossible to argue against- we have to.

We can put Auckland’s money into a smarter asset. It sounds nice to own a fifth of the airport, but nice doesn’t pay the bills. 

Tell you what does pay the bills- pushing up your rates, or deep cuts to things some of those councillors care about, like money for homeless people or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

You and I are financially literate enough to know there is no money tree and the books have to balance.

Let's see if the Auckland councillors know that too.

The next week will be telling.

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