Queen's Wharf, Auckland

Queen's Wharf (above-left of centre). There is a lot of demand for another cruise passenger terminal, but I believe some of the new ships are just too big to berth down at the current one - Prince's Wharf (above-right of centre).
Close up it's a blank slate - just a couple of sheds beyond the ferry passenger area, out from the old Ferry Buildings.

The Queen Street Wharf was at the heart of the City of Auckland - when that first wharf was put up by the settler government shortly after 1840. As far as I know it was always a public access area - until recently. The government and the ARC want to change that. If it wasn't for the recession and the demand collapse for used Japanese cars this re-publication would not have happened - it would still be the Ports of Auckland's biggest outdoor car park. A return to public use is historic. Well done. As far as National's ability to use chequebook diplomacy in Auckland is concerned - as Labour did - this move will assuage many fears north of the Mumbai Hills. It's fortunate to have the PM and about half of the Cabinet from Auckland.

"Party central" says the PM. It must be good to be the PM sometimes. He's booked the punters in for a primo location, but what parts are to be privatised and what parts will be for the public? If they whore it out like the Prince's Wharf (which is a 7-level building - see image) what will the public be left with?

PM: “Both the ARC and the Government have each paid $20 million in order to ensure this asset is available to be developed for the benefit of Aucklanders and all New Zealanders.

“We consider this joint purchase excellent value for money.

“I want to thank Mike Lee and his team for helping facilitate this purchase.

“Queens Wharf will be the cornerstone asset in a wider waterfront development programme.

“By purchasing this site we have secured an asset that will live long after the Rugby World Cup has finished and give pleasure to visitors and locals alike for generations to come.

“The challenge now, is to Auckland city leaders who must move swiftly to begin the infrastructure programme that will transform this now publicly-owned space into a world-class waterfront attraction.

“We have bought an asset that, if developed properly, will have a major impact on Auckland and New Zealand’s economic performance. “I urge Auckland local and regional bodies to rise to the challenge this opportunity presents.”

What does it mean? It is an economic asset. That says whoring it up. But who will whore it up and how? Britomart had a public process - will this?

A Waterfront Development agency was mooted by the Royal Commission, this purchase may be a step in that direction. It will be a lot of work and a lot of public contention.The intricacies of the $20m+$20m financial back-scratching is noted by Auckland City Councillor Aaron Bhatnagar on his blog this afternoon:

1. The ARC badly needed to recapitalise the Ports of Auckland after their subsidiary investment arm Auckland Regional Holdings stood accused of asset-stripping POAL to pay for public transport improvements. ARC have been able to solve two problems at once:

a) they have finally, after promising it last year and then going silent, managed to honour the promise to open up the red fences to the public

b) they have been able to "quietly" recapitalise the Ports through an asset purchase, instead of having to reverse the asset strip through an embarrassing injection of funds. This is, if you like, an honourable rescue for the Ports of Auckland, and is now effectively partly subsidised by the government in return for the wharf.