Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown defends his annual $235 million operating cost calculation for the City Rail Link as scepticism arises. 

He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "most of when you pay your rates, is paying things off. They're not free.

"It's not free to have a road. It's not free to have a train. It's not free to have a bus."

LISTEN ABOVE

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown defends his annual $235 million operating cost calculation for the City Rail Link as scepticism arises.&nbsp;
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "most of when you pay your rates, is paying things off. They're not free.
"It's not free to have a road. It's not free to have a train. It's not free to have a bus."
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With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Wayne Brown: Auckland Mayor defends annual $235 million operating cost for City Rail Link

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/3b737f6f-6b3a-4eaf-9d63-b3a70081837b/transcript

So I was in Christchurch giving a speech to part of Local Government New Zealand - the South Island arm - so the room was full of mayors and councillors from across the South Island.

One of the topics up for discussion was what councils around the country need to do, or could do, to win back public approval. I have to be honest: I left that room - and you know my views on councils - feeling just a little bit sorry for the councillors and mayors I met.

The ones I spoke to seemed to be honestly trying. They admitted they’ve got more to do and that there are stupid costs they need to cut as well. But what they told me is that they’re up against it.

They’re dealing with things they can’t change: national laws like the RMA that tie their hands, and unelected staff who just go ahead and do their own thing. And sure enough, there’s a story that illustrates at least some of that perfectly.

Wellington City Council staff have spent $130,000 on new art for their flash new building - a building where they’ve hogged the top floors and shoved the mayor downstairs, where he’s staring at a wall.

Now, the thing is, they don’t need art. They have no money and they’re going hard on Wellington ratepayers. They do not need to be spending on art. They’ve already got an extensive collection they could draw from, which includes Colin McCahon, Toss Woollaston, Ralph Hotere, Dick Frizzell - Pablo Picasso, for goodness’ sake.
Judging by the criticism from elected councillors, it seems those councillors didn’t even know the unelected staff were splashing out on fancy art.

That’s what these people are up against: bureaucrats who treat ratepayers like a bottomless ATM. That is a major problem.

Now, I’m not making excuses for elected councillors or mayors - they have their own part to play in big spending.

But some of them are genuinely trying. They’re just up against decades of ingrained largesse like this.

LISTEN ABOVE

So I was in Christchurch giving a speech to part of Local Government New Zealand - the South Island arm - so the room was full of mayors and councillors from across the South Island.
One of the topics up for discussion was what councils around the country need to do, or could do, to win back public approval. I have to be honest: I left that room - and you know my views on councils - feeling just a little bit sorry for the councillors and mayors I met.
The ones I spoke to seemed to be honestly trying. They admitted they’ve got more to do and that there are stupid costs they need to cut as well. But what they told me is that they’re up against it.
They’re dealing with things they can’t change: national laws like the RMA that tie their hands, and unelected staff who just go ahead and do their own thing. And sure enough, there’s a story that illustrates at least some of that perfectly.
Wellington City Council staff have spent $130,000 on new art for their flash new building - a building where they’ve hogged the top floors and shoved the mayor downstairs, where he’s staring at a wall.
Now, the thing is, they don’t need art. They have no money and they’re going hard on Wellington ratepayers. They do not need to be spending on art. They’ve already got an extensive collection they could draw from, which includes Colin McCahon, Toss Woollaston, Ralph Hotere, Dick Frizzell - Pablo Picasso, for goodness’ sake. Judging by the criticism from elected councillors, it seems those councillors didn’t even know the unelected staff were splashing out on fancy art.
That’s what these people are up against: bureaucrats who treat ratepayers like a bottomless ATM. That is a major problem.
Now, I’m not making excuses for elected councillors or mayors - they have their own part to play in big spending.
But some of them are genuinely trying. They’re just up against decades of ingrained largesse like this.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Here's the real issue impacting local councils

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/81c6a172-882c-4ab6-b7b8-b43f0047bb5e/transcript

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 1 May, 2026, former Defence Minister Ron Mark explains why he wouldn't  be rushing to help the US open the Strait of Hormuz.

An Australian reading expert tells us why New Zealand can be world leading in literacy.

One New Zealand chief executive Jason Paris outlines what went wrong with an internet outage.

And on the Sports Huddle, Nathan Limm and Clay Wilson debate whether Papua New Guinea's got an unfair advantage in recruiting NRL players.

Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

LISTEN ABOVE

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 1 May, 2026, former Defence Minister Ron Mark explains why he wouldn't &nbsp;be rushing to help the US open the Strait of Hormuz.
An Australian reading expert tells us why New Zealand can be world leading in literacy.
One New Zealand chief executive Jason Paris outlines what went wrong with an internet outage.
And on the Sports Huddle, Nathan Limm and Clay Wilson debate whether Papua New Guinea's got an unfair advantage in recruiting NRL players.
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
LISTEN ABOVE

Full Show Podcast: 01 May 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/4c1bd01e-758c-4e11-bb2f-b43d00767380/transcript

One billion dollars in cash has appeared in Kiwi wallets since last year. 

The Reserve Bank said that in March of 2025, there was $8.59 billion worth of physical cash in circulation. Now, that number has risen to $9.57billion. 

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the cause of this is likely due to global instability. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if the Iran war through the month of March, cause some people to think that, you know, there was some pretty big issues out there and maybe they wanted to have a little bit more physical cash with them."

He likened the jump in the amount of cash to a similar increase that happened at the start of the COVID pandemic. 

LISTEN ABOVE

One billion dollars in cash has appeared in Kiwi wallets since last year.&nbsp;
The Reserve Bank said that in March of 2025, there was $8.59 billion worth of physical cash in circulation. Now, that number has risen to $9.57billion.&nbsp;
Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the cause of this is likely due to global instability.&nbsp;
"I wouldn't be surprised if the Iran war through the month of March, cause some people to think that, you know, there was some pretty big issues out there and maybe they wanted to have a little bit more physical cash with them."
He likened the jump in the amount of cash to a similar increase that happened at the start of the COVID pandemic.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Brad Olsen: Infometrics Principal Economist on an extra $1bn physical cash in Kiwi wallets

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/f16e0855-5f82-472d-8fe8-b43d00765c51/transcript

Wayne Brown: Auckland Mayor defends annual $235 million operating cost for City Rail Link

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