New Auckland Council budget chair outlines priorities for committee

A first-time Auckland councillor picked to chair the committee overseeing financial policy says she wants to give people confidence the city is investing in the right places.

Victoria Short was appointed as chair of Auckland Council's Budget and Performance Committee, responsible for setting the annual budget and 10-year Long-term Plan, on Tuesday.

The wider committee reshuffle was approved following a lengthy Governing Body debate, with the motion passing 13 votes to eight.

“I think it’s incredibly important because it is, I guess, the purse of Auckland Council and we are a massive organisation,” Short told Local Democracy Reporting.

“I think we have the second largest balance sheet behind Parliament, so it is a massive deal.

“So I think for the next two years, the more recent thing that’s going to be coming up is the long-term plan.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced changes to Auckland Council's committee leadership, including the appointment of Victoria Short as chair of the Budget and Performance Committee. Photo/PMN News/ Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

“So that will set the strategic direction for Auckland for the next 10 years. So that’s something I’m really keen to get behind.”

Short said she was surprised when Mayor Wayne Brown asked her to take on the role.

“I think I went silent for a little bit, but yeah, I was really, really excited and quite honoured really.”

Brown said the reshuffle was intended to put the council’s strongest-performing councillors into leadership positions ahead of work on transport reform, Plan Change 120, the Long-term Plan and the Auckland Deal.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Brown said it was “the first time Auckland has had a trained accountant in charge of its budget committee, believe it or not”.

The reshuffle prompted an extended debate among councillors, with some questioning whether changes to committee positions reflected performance or councillors’ voting records.

Brown defended the changes, saying he had selected the team he believed was best placed to deliver the council’s priorities. He also acknowledged voting was “a part of” his assessment of performance.

Short said she believed her accounting background and work during her first months as a councillor had contributed to her appointment.

“I think it’s my experience and the fact that I’m an accountant. I’ve also managed to, I guess, prove what I can do over the last eight months, nine months that I’ve been in the role.

“I’ve worked incredibly hard with Deputy Mayor [Desley] Simpson, and in fact she’s been a great mentor for me in learning the ins and outs of Auckland Council.”

"We set the budget for the year, and we also set the 10-year plan. But we also do a lot of financial policy around how staff should be managing the funds," she said.

Asked to identify three priorities, Short pointed to transport reform, Plan Change 120 and the Long-term Plan, although she said it was difficult to narrow the committee’s work down to three areas.

Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, whom newly appointed Budget and Performance Committee chair Victoria Short credits as a mentor. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

“We’ve got the transport reform,” she said. “We’ve got LTP, and we’ve also got PC120. So there is a lot happening. So I mean, those are probably the top three.”

Short said she wanted the next Long-term Plan to be progressive without being excessive in how its programmes were funded.

“I want Aucklanders to feel that it’s a progressive LTP. I want them to feel like, yes, this is the direction that we should be going. But also one that isn’t, I guess, over the top in the way of how we fund things.

“Yeah, I think for the next LTP, I just want Aucklanders to feel confident in the way that we are progressing the city. And it’s investing in the right places, ensuring that we are putting the money where it is needed.”

Short, who is of Kiribati heritage and one of four Pacific councillors elected, said she hoped more Pacific people would trust their abilities and put themselves forward for leadership roles.

Newly appointed Auckland Council Budget and Performance Committee chair Victoria Short (centre right, in green) is one of four Pacific councillors on Auckland Council's Governing Body. From left are Alf Filipaina, Lotu Fuli, Victoria Short and Josephine Bartley. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata.

“I’d love to just see more of us around the table and trusting their own skill and trusting who they are. Because I really believe we are leaders. And we’ve navigated the Pacific for thousands of years.

“How hard is it to navigate a city? So, no, I’m just really proud. And I hope they are proud too.”

She acknowledged feeling added responsibility as a Pacific councillor taking on the leadership position.

“I do. I think there’s that factor of, you know, Pasifika people looking up and going, I can do that too. But there’s also, like, I don’t want to let them down.

“This is a cool opportunity, well, an awesome opportunity for us to be able to really showcase what we can do in the way that we think, because Pasifika people are community. But it’s also, you know, we, we can actually take up these leadership roles and we can actually perform.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.