Auckland's mayor has proposed setting up an 'Auckland Future Fund' which would help pay for repairs needed after natural disasters.
Wayne Brown said the fund would initially be worth $3-4 billion and would need to achieve a return of at least 7.5 percent.
The money to set it up would come from the sale of Auckland Airport shares and from leasing the Port of Auckland's commercial operations.
The mayor said at least $1 billion from the fund would be earmarked for self-insurance of council property against climate change risks - saving about $25 million each year in insurance premiums.
And he wants the city to save up its pennies for a rainy day - quite literally.
"[It would be] a sizable chunk of cash available readily, should the disaster occur that we've had - and we had a minor disaster this year which has cost us $1 billion," Brown told Newshub.
So, he's proposing to create the fund to act as a buffer, to help protect Tāmaki Makaurau against events like the Auckland Anniversary floods, and Cyclone Gabrielle.
"Everybody likes the idea of an investment fund, but the first thing you've got to do with an investment fund is put something in it!"
This is where the port could come in.
Under the proposal, the council would get proceeds from selling airport shares, as well as leasing the port to independent operators, who would pay upfront to partner with the council.
Mayor Brown expects altogether that would generate about $3b to 4b.
"We've only got two big assets. One is the airport, and one is the port. Neither of them make enough money to cover the cost of even owning them," he told Newshub.
But the alternative that will also be put to Aucklanders is to keep the Port of Auckland in control at the waterfront - an option favoured by the Maritime Union.
The union's national secretary, Craig Harrison, said leasing the port to a global operator would come with a cost to Aucklanders.
"It's actually a natural monopoly in the Port of Auckland. There's no other container terminal," Harrison told Newshub.
"So, a company like DP World or Patricks or any other global operator, while they'll invest billions of dollars in the project, they'll want their return and more, and we've seen good evidence in Australia where DP World for example has been gouging it out, significant increases in freight charges to the Port users," he added.
Port of Auckland said its ownership model is up to the Council Governing Body and it has been actively engaging with the Mayor on the matter.
For now, the port said its focus remains the same: safety, efficiency, and delivering greater returns for Tāmaki Makaurau.
But the mayor said those returns haven't been great enough in recent years and a broad range of options should be offered to the public.
At this stage, the plan is only a proposal and Aucklanders will get to have their say before things start to change.
