Auckland mayor Wayne Brown hits back at claims he's planning a rates hike after dropping f-bomb

Friday, 3 October 2025

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown at the launch of the State of the City report.

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has hit back at claims he's planning a rates hike, after telling a ratepayer lobby group to 'f… off' over a pledge to keep rates low.

A screenshot seen by RNZ shows the mayor's curt email reply to the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance, with the subject heading - 'Is Wayne Brown planning a rates blow-out?'.

The Ratepayer Protection Pledge asked candidates to commit to opposing any measures that will see the burden of rates exceed the level of inflation and population growth.

It also asked them to support initiatives to improve the transparency of council expenditure, and oppose unelected appointments onto council committees that hold spending and regulatory powers.

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown details his plans if re elected, saying his age does not prevent him from leading the city. The video captures Brown speaking about priorities and his confidence in continuing as mayor.

Wayne Brown said nothing could be further from the truth.

The mayor has labelled the pledge 'gimmicky', and said his focus was keeping rates down and stopping wasteful spending.

'From the moment I took office, I have worked extremely hard to keep rates down. We have the best track record of any urban Council this term,' Brown said.

'We've done that by tackling the real problem, wasteful spending and excessive costs. It's not glamorous, but it's the only way to deliver real results for households.'

Brown said he had delivered, despite dealing with rampant inflation.

'From the moment I took office, I have worked extremely hard to keep rates down. We have the best track record of any urban council this term.'

'We've done that by tackling the real problem, wasteful spending and excessive costs. It's not glamorous, but it's the only way to deliver real results for households.'