Mayoral Forum wants Westhaven Marina to stay in public hands

The Auckland Mayoral Forum wants to see Westhaven Marina secured in public ownership and has asked the region's chief executives to prepare a report it can take to councils for support.

Westhaven Marina has been put up for sale by international tender by Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL), but the Auckland Mayoral Forum says it should stay in public hands.

At its meeting today, the Forum resolved

.1. That the individual councils of the Auckland region consider the following proposals in respect of Westhaven:

(a) That the hard-stand area be held for public ownership

(b) That ownership be vested in Auckland City Council

(c) That Auckland City Council be requested to negotiated with Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL) to purchase their interest

(d) That the Marina (including the marina berths) be managed by an appropriate trust.

2. That a paper be prepared by the ceo Forum for presentation to councils.

Auckland Mayoral Forum chair and Rodney District Mayor, John Law, says the Marina needs saving from being sold off to commercial interests. "This is Auckland's waterfront and it belongs to the people. It's vital we secure public ownership because it's a key regional asset that we all care about," he says.

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