- By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter
Funded by New Zealand on Air
An Auckland Council committee chair has shown his colleagues there is no such thing as a free lunch under council’s budget pressures.
At the Planning, Environment and Parks committee on March 2, chair Richard Hills cut the free lunch of the committee as discretionary spending.
This followed the Governing Body making a resolution to encourage cuts to discretionary spending from council, council controlled organisation and local boards the week prior.
At the time of last week’s resolution, Hills was concerned that councillors did not have a common view of what discretionary spending was.
Before going to lunch, Cr Wayne Walker, who moved the resolution to encourage cuts to discretionary spending, asked who made the decision to cut lunch.
Independent Māori Statutory Board member Tau Henare said to Walker, “come on man, you get paid enough.”
Walker later questioned why councillors had not been told prior.
Hills told Walker that he had emailed councillors a day earlier.
“I decided that lunch is discretionary at least in my committee… other chairs can (make that decision),” Hills said.
Howick ward councillor Maurice Williamson quipped that the email actually came in the night before but congratulated Hills on the decision.
“I am happy to pay, delighted to pay. Parliament used to have a tab and you did not even pay [at the time]. You just walked up and grabbed something and they put it on your tab,” Williamson said.
Williamson complained that there was not many choices for food around the Town Hall.
“I crossed the road to a food court thinking wow and it is just nothing but Chinese food. There is nothing like a roll or a pie or a sandwich.”
“If we could have the ability to get the food in I am fine but I do not want it for free.”
Another councillor shouted Uber Eats before the committee continued.
