Leaders push for fair share of Fix It Fund

South Auckland leaders are ramping up pressure on Auckland Council to expand its $20 million Fix It Finish Fund, amid warnings the city's youth are being short-changed on sports and community infrastructure.

The fund was set up after the sale of Auckland International Airport shares once held by the legacy Auckland City and Manukau City councils.

Thirteen local boards put forward 15 projects worth around $60 million, but only a fraction will be covered by the $20m pool.

Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia told Local Democracy Reporting earlier this month that councillors risked treating the Fix It Finish Fund as a cost-saving exercise instead of an investment in equity.

“Councillors may look at these projects and see only cost. But the real cost will be the loss of talent, because every year that goes by without an indoor court or a track is another year our young people miss out,” he said.

He said sports clubs in South Auckland had already started turning away teams because of the lack of court space.

Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia and deputy chair Vi Hausia present their proposal for the Fix It Finish Fund. Photo / FuliforManukau Facebook

"Volleyball competitions that started in Ōtara have had to move elsewhere. We’re losing talent because we don’t have the right number of quality facilities,” Autagavaia said.

“The projects identified here are game changers. Extending the number of indoor courts by five and installing a synthetic athletics track will be transformational, not only for Ōtara and Papatoetoe but for South Auckland and the city as a whole.”

At Tuesday’s Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board meeting, Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli said she and her colleagues were fighting to make sure the Fix It Finish Fund lived up to its promise.

A slide presented to the board shows the proposed projects competing for the $20m Fix It Finish Fund. Photo/FuliforManukau Facebook.

“We were very clear that $20 million across the whole city is not enough, and that needs to be reconsidered because the types of facilities and the projects that were listed in the Fix It Finish Fund are really important to our community,” she said.

The fund is only $20 million and all of the projects were really good, she said.

"When you think about 13 local boards, that’s more than half of Auckland. All of those projects, if they were funded, would benefit more than half of the city.”

At Wednesday’s Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board meeting, Councillor Alf Filipaina relayed the views both South Auckland board chairs had shared with him and Fuli.

Manukau ward councillor Alf Filipaina says he will keep fighting for more funding despite two failed attempts to lift the Fix It Finish Fund. Photo/PMN News Mary Afemata

“The Chair, Tauanuʻu [Nick Bakulich], and also the Chair of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, told both the councillors in Manukau Ward that $20 million was just a slap in the face with the $1.2, $1.3 billion that have now gone into the Auckland Future Fund,” Filipaina says.

Filipaina told the board he and Fuli had twice tried to increase the fund but were voted down at the governing body.

“There were two occasions that both your councillors for the Manukau ward supported an increase. That did not happen. That doesn’t mean that we are going to stop putting recommendations up for that fund to be increased,” he said.

Filipaina said he and Fuli would continue pressing for South Auckland’s fair share.

Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli told the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board the $20m fund is not enough to meet community needs. Photo/file.

“The battle at this stage, we lost that one in regards to the money, but the war is not over and we will continue to fight for our communities.”

Funding battle

The Fix It Finish Fund was intended to recognise the contributions of former Manukau and Auckland city councils, which retained their airport shareholdings.

But South Auckland’s leaders say the current allocation fails to reflect that legacy or meet today’s needs.

With projects like the Manukau Sports Bowl redevelopment hanging in the balance, councillors and local board chairs warn that without greater investment, South Auckland risks losing more than just funding, it risks losing its next generation of talent.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown was approached for comment but did not respond by deadline.

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