What will the mayoral candidates do for Aucklanders?

Mayoral candidates are in a race to secure votes before October’s election, showcasing their priorities and goals they wish to achieve for Aucklanders.

TWN asked Auckland’s leading candidates Leo Molloy, Viv Beck, Efeso Collins and Craig Lord what they would provide Aucklanders with if they were to be voted in as mayor.

Local businessman Leo Molloy’s intention is to scrap fares on public transport, focusing on the needs of tertiary students.

“I understand the value of tertiary education, I understand the students. Providing free public transport is an obvious opportunity for me to say to the students that I am here to help you!”

Labour Councillor Efeso Collins stated “My focus is all of Auckland, one of the things that will have a particular impact on young people and tertiary students is my desire to run a fares-free proposal, with Auckland Transport and the Government.

“It is important that we consider our climate change activities and our actions. If we could get people out of their cars and on buses and trains, that will help us put a dent in our carbon admissions.”

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck stated, “I think one of the things we need to do is fix Auckland Transport and insuring people can get around to where they need to go easily.”

The mayor candidates also have other priorities to create a better city for Aucklanders.

Collins also told TWN he would like to focus on homelessness and affordability within Auckland.

“As for the homelessness, that is something I hold dear to me. Homelessness we know has the greatest impact on Māori, Pacifica, rainbow, youth, and disabled communities, so we have a lot of work to do when it comes to homelessness.”

Beck says she wants to create a city with support frameworks to help all Aucklanders.

“We do have emergency housing, the issue with that is people are not in the right environment and do not have the right support. We need to see better management and a more sustainable solution for people that are living in those circumstances.”

Molloy stated he wants to bring life back into the city, “We need to bring the city back to life, if that’s brought to life it will have an impact across the south, the west, the north and the east.”

Former engineer Craig Lord told TWN he wanted to bring the council back to the basics, which he says will help benefit Aucklanders if the council does their job right.