Auckland Council Panel: Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Josephine Bartley & Julie Fairey

I had the fun job last night of moderating a panel with Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson and Councillors Josephine Bartley and Julie Fairey for the Onehunga Business Association. It was a wide-ranging conversation covering the budget, flooding, transport, rates, congestion, bus cancellations… But a couple of things stood out to me:

1. These three Councillors, while covering the full political spectrum, have each other’s backs and want to support each other – this was evident right throughout the panel discussion.
2. The recent weather events had a significant impact on them. They knew the people who lost their lives and were open about how these deaths affected them.
3. My final question to the panel was to ask for something positive for the year ahead. It’s nice to remind ourselves that not everything is bleak all the time!
4. Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson does a fantastic ghost impersonation (hear it between 1.01 -1:23) 👻 👻

Listen via Onehunga FM’s ‘Too Much Talk’ podcast in the link below