Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown are set for a contentious showdown over transport funding in New Zealand's biggest city

A big fight is brewing between the Minister for Auckland and the Mayor of Auckland over what roads will be built and how they will be paid for. 

National saw an easy win in promising to scrap the regional fuel tax, which adds 11.5 cents to Auckland petrol prices, during the general election campaign. 

It came at zero cost to their fiscal plan, voters are very sensitive to fuel prices, and played into their narrative about cutting taxes. Surely it helped them scoop up some votes! 

However, it flies in the face of the party’s values such as devolution and allowing local governments to call the shots about what happens in their own communities.

Auckland Council asked for the tax in 2018 when it was struggling to fund transport upgrades without breaching its debt ceiling. The city’s fiscal position has not improved since then.

Now, Mayor Wayne Brown has said the Government’s decision to get rid of that revenue stream, without having a replacement ready, will result in the cancellation of projects. 

He was elected on keeping rates as low as possible—while acknowledging they have to rise significantly—and doesn’t want to lift them further to cover the missing fuel tax money. 

Simeon Brown, the Minister of Transport and for Auckland, said he had told the Mayor to spend any remaining money on “projects which are of mutual priority to the Government and Auckland Council”. 

Wayne Brown, in his signature style, basically told the Minister for Auckland to go get stuffed. 

“We've got to decide … what goes in Auckland. This is my city, not theirs," he told Stuff. 

If the Government wants its priority projects completed, such as the Eastern Busway, and the completion of the City Rail Link, then it needs to give the Council tools to fund them. 

“The money’s got to come from somewhere, we can’t just magic it up,” Wayne Brown said. The shortfall will add up to about $1.2 billion over the next four years. 

Minister Simeon Brown said, in a speech on Friday, that he was committed to working with Auckland Council to deliver a transport network that was better value for money. 

“I look forward to having constructive conversations with Mayor Wayne Brown on these issues,” he said. 

Constructive: a word which here means “contentious and combative”.

Beehive versus the capital

Wellington city mayor, Tory Whanau, also described a recent meeting with Simeon Brown as being “constructive”. 

It's hard to imagine the evangelical, conservative minister and the permissive, leftist mayor finding huge amounts of common ground — but they seem to be making the best of it. 

Prior to the election, Whanau said it would be “deeply concerning” if Brown became Minister of Transport.

Once he had the role, he was key in cancelling most of Let’s Get Wellington Moving — a locally-designed transport project which the previous Government was co-funding.

Then last month, Brown publicly criticised Whanau for missing a deadline to provide him with information about Wellington’s water crisis. Constructive criticism, you might call it. 

Water management is another area where the Coalition Government has promised to scrap a Labour-era policy without first having a replacement ready. 

National’s alternative to Three Waters is still under development and the jury is out on whether the more localised model will actually achieve balance sheet separation. 

One more possible battle with local councils will be over National’s alternative to the medium density residential standards, which were intended to allow more dense housing in big cities. 

The Housing Minister has told city governments they have to zone for 30 years worth of growth “immediately” or else the central government will step in and do it for them.

That could turn into a big fight if local councils, who often oppose new housing, attempt to fudge their homework or defy the Government’s edict — as happened in Christchurch.