Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. There’s a lot of money at stake, with the Council family (including its Council Controlled Organisations like Auckland Transport) planning to spend $3.593 billion in operating costs and $2.791 billion on capital investment. This was always going to be a really tough and complicated budget to get right and unlike Central Government, Auckland Council can’t just run a massive deficit when times get tough – they legally have to balance their budget. This change alone would probably avoid the need for most of the nasty cuts proposed in Council’s budget. According to this Spinoff article, Auckland Council owns nearly $3 billion worth of golf courses (mostly their land value, presumably).

Source: Stuff March 20, 2023 21:57 UTC