It's crunch time for Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown as he attempts to get his final budget signed off by city Councillors.
The main sticking point is the sale of the Council's $2.2 billion worth of shares in Auckland Airport. The council has a $375m dollar Budget hole and Mayor Brown maintains privatising the airport shares is the only way to keep household rates rises to 6.7 per cent (in line with inflation) and to avoid cuts to social services and the arts.
However it's not clear whether he has the numbers to get his budget passed. One of those firmly behind the Mayor is Howick Ward Councillor Maurice Williamson, who joins Kathryn to talk about the process today and Manurewa-Papakura Ward Councillor Angela Dalton who's against the airport share sale.
Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell
