But when RNZ first approached Brown about the council\u2019s catering bill and the lunches served to him and his colleagues, he was not concerned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurely if I\u2019m going to sit there for seven hours and listen to what some of the councillors dribble on about, I can have a couple of sandwiches at lunchtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re focusing on the wrong things. You should be talking to me about really big, important things, not the musings of some new councillor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cost of lunches for governing body meetings and workshops fluctuated year-to-year; at $3123 in FY2022, $18,439 in FY2023, $10,471 in FY2024, and $15,625 in FY2025.<\/p>\n
Brown said the council had pulled up boards who spent \u201ca lot of money on booze\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe discourage that immensely.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the council itself is very parsimonious. Recently, there was a gathering of all 160 board members, and there was a proposal to spend $32,000 on catering, which was cut back to $2000. In other words, you gave them a cup of tea and a bun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councillor John Gillon, who requested the information about catering, said what was being provided was more luxurious than the mayor was letting on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may only be taking a couple of sandwiches, but there\u2019s definitely more on offer; gourmet paninis, filled rolls, a wide selection of salads and pasta, meatballs on sticks, sausage rolls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Auckland councillor John Gillon. Photo \/ Auckland Council<\/p>\n
He said the elected members could bring their own food or buy something during lunch break.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy with some tea, coffee, and biscuits, but anything beyond that I don\u2019t see as being necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s office backtracked on Brown\u2019s comments shortly after he spoke to RNZ.<\/p>\n
It said the mayor had directed that food should no longer be served at full council meetings, as he believed the issue had become a distraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants councillors focused on delivering outcomes for Aucklanders, not debating meeting catering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mayor hopes councillors concentrate on large sums of money, given the fact that this is a multi-billion-dollar organisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also noted that using a LGOIMA on your own organisation is not the right way to achieve meaningful results, and said the decision removes an unnecessary sideshow so attention can stay on the important work that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Gillon said those lunches were only a small part of the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil doesn\u2019t seem to have a specified budget for catering. It seems to be left up to the project managers and the heads of departments to decide on an ad hoc basis how much they\u2019re going to spend on catering.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor that reason, the figures tend to fluctuate each year between the departments. Sometimes they\u2019re spending huge amounts, and sometimes they\u2019re spending small amounts. But what I think this indicates is there needs to be a much firmer policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he would be taking further action to try to bring down the council\u2019s overall catering costs if the mayor did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surprised he\u2019s [the mayor\u2019s] not concerned about the amount being spent on catering. I would\u2019ve thought he\u2019d be keen to take advantage of this revelation. I\u2019ll be speaking to the [Auckland Council] CEO about whether there are ways to rein in these costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillon noted that council staff had advised him that the best way to get the information he was asking for was through the LGOIMA process.<\/p>\n
Economist Brad Olsen said while avoiding extravagant spending was important, the council had bigger fish to fry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always a legitimate question to be asked over spending on things like food for council meetings.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut a lot of times when you look at spending on the likes of food for meetings, if you are having extremely long meetings, often you do need to, or it\u2019s best to provide something because you do keep people engaged.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mayor is probably right that, if it\u2019s become a distraction, they probably can go without it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I do get the worry here that we seem to spend an enormous amount of time sometimes on smaller pieces, whereas bigger changes that could be looked at around procurement, getting better value for money across, say, the likes of roading or water contracts or similar, it\u2019s probably going to deliver a lot more to the organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Economist Brad Olsen. Photo \/ RNZ, Samuel Rillstone<\/p>\n
Workers\u2019 rights advocate Chloe Ann-King said she was interested in what any savings made as a result of the mayor cutting back on catering were spent on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s it going to be put? Is it going to be put into food banks? We do have massive food insecurity in this country, so Wayne Brown saying we\u2019re going to cut lunches for workers who are already on high wages and can afford food. What difference is that going to make?<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone should be fuelled at work and fed, but that should be across the whole of New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council financial advisory manager Brian Chan said light snacks for long and important meetings were appropriate, as was catering for special occasions like inaugurations, community events, blessings and p\u014dwhiri, or for special guests and delegations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften, elected members will spend an entire day, and into the evening, participating in a meeting and only taking short comfort and refreshment breaks in order to get through a long and complex agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur catering spend is not on lavish morning teas or long lunches for council staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an internal catering team which provides simple, cost-effective catering options for justifiable business purposes. This enables us to keep costs down and gives us the flexibility to adjust quantities when needed and not over-cater.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said council staff were expected to \u201cshow restraint\u201d and consider whether catering was necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are guided by the Standing Orders of the Governing Body for elected members and the council\u2019s Catering Guide for staff and external events.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatering is not provided by default. Our guidance states that morning tea may be approved for business meetings over 2.5 hours long and lunch may be approved if the meeting is over four hours long and if there is no easy access to kitchens, kitchenettes or council cafes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said serving alcohol at council events was a \u201crare exception\u201d but permitted in some circumstances.<\/p>\n
Auckland Transport pointed out that its catering costs dropped from over $300,000 in 2023 to under $200,000 in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do limited catering for board and committee meetings where these exceed three hours or run concurrently, and there are no options for board or management members to leave and buy their own lunch. This is always considered and limited, using council catering suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watercare said it also had a strict approval process for entertainment and hospitality spending.<\/p>\n