By Adam Ray
The first ever Mayor of the Auckland region will take office within the next hour.
Len Brown and 20 councillors on the Auckland super council will be sworn in at a special inauguration in the Town Hall.
Mr Brown arrived for work to few handshakes, a hug and musical fanfare – though the footpath welcome was in sharp contrast to tonight’s grandeur, which will see a full orchestra playing a specially commissioned fanfare for Auckland.
Mr Brown’s only change to the office recently vacated by John Banks is a new desk.
“Fits like a glove,” he told reporters.
Mr Brown will have to wait for other trappings – his new robe and mayoral chains haven’t even been made yet, but he says he is ready to be mayor of Australasia’s biggest council.
“I’m a tall fellow, so I can handle it,” he joked.
Day one started with a Maori blessing in Aotea Square.
“Feels like I’ve had a whole day’s worth of work already,” he said.
“It’s strange to be in the office at 7am.”
Today was also the first day for more than 8000 staff at the new council – the only reported glitch; email calendars didn’t work.
“We’ve got no major crisis, just a few hiccups around systems, but we’ve ironed those out,” says council chief executive Doug McKay.
But the big job today is the inauguration for the Mayor and councillors. Mr Brown will also outline his plans for the city, but he says it won’t be a spend u.
“They elected me for their Scottish prudential style of financial management, and that’s what they’ll get,” he says.
One of Mr Brown’s advisors told 3 News it will be Mr Brown’s “Obama moment” – a reference to the American president’s powerful oratory.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to lift this machine up and propel it forward,” Mr Brown says.
He will likely have a better idea of how heavy that challenge feels when the new council holds its first business meeting tomorrow.
3 News