The new chief executive of Auckland Council has played down his substantial salary, saying money isn't his "personal motivator".
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown announced a new CEO for the council on Wednesday, with Phil Wilson taking the top job. Wilson has been acting chief executive since July 2 when he was appointed to the role.
As part of the press release announcing Wilson to the role, it was revealed his salary is $600,000 per year and he's contracted for four years.
Wilson appeared on AM on Thursday morning and was quizzed about his salary by AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
He said revealing his salary is "all about transparency", and added he's being paid less than many previous CEOs.
"I'll tell you, in all honesty, I had a really good discussion with Mayor Wayne. Both of us are of the same view that now is not the moment to go for salary increases. $600,000 is plenty by any measure and certainly money is not my personal motivator," he told AM.
"So we're really clear, that's fine and it's lower than the CEO before that and the CEO before that and that's fine with me."
Auckland Council's previous chief executive, Jim Stabback, was paid $630,000 per year, according to the Auckland Council press release.
He told AM he's working with the council to fix the city's problems.
Wilson said he's already trying to tackle the stray dog issue by appointing more staff to the animal management unit.
"I've just approved some new staff for the animal management area. [There has been an] explosion of dogs in the city post-COVID," he said.
"The numbers are a bit worrying actually in terms of roaming dogs and suchlike. So there's a safety issue there, you can't muck around with that stuff and we've put more staff into there."
The Auckland Mayor has been very vocal about wanting to implement "city deals" and pointed to how state and federal governments work together successfully in Australia on projects that are transformational.
"I want to do a city deal about transport. I want a proper integrated transport plan. I don't want people putting their hand up and saying, 'This is a good idea. We're going to do a tunnel under the harbour'. We don't actually need a tunnel under the harbour and we can't afford a tunnel under the harbour. We don't need a tunnel under Mt Roskill and we can't afford that either," Brown told AM in October.
Wilson told AM he hasn't had any assurances from the incoming National government but said the council has had initial discussions about it.
"We need a different deal, we need different funding tools. We need an understanding with government about how growth will be supported and resourced," Wilson said.
"I'm confident there is a willingness and an openness to talk about these things and try and get something over the line."
Watch the full interview with Phil Wilson in the video above.
