FIRST Union's Budget Submission w/ Robert Reid: 5 April, 2023

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s plan to address the budget shortfall includes cutting funding to many public services, while retaining expensive golf courses that ratepayers are paying for. 

It also suggests selling public assets like shares in Auckland Airport to help fill a $295m budget shortfall. 

FIRST Union, a union representing 30,000 workers in Aotearoa, recently made a budget submission to Auckland Council. They branded Mayor Wayne Brown’s Submission as insufficient and irredeemable, and made several suggestions for improvement. 

Arno spoke to FIRST Union President Robert Reid, and started off by asking what FIRST’s position is on the proposed $21m budget cut for bus services.