Watch live: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister Simeon Brown hold a post-Cabinet press conference

However, after about a 30-minute meeting in Parliament, Whānau said Brown had not raised the prospect of government intervention in the council’s work.

She noted Brown is still awaiting advice from officials on potential options.

Whānau described the meeting as “good” and “productive” in which she gave Brown a “full outline” of the status of the council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), which is now in contention following the council’s decision not to sell its stake in Wellington Airport.

Another of Brown’s portfolios is transportation. In September, Brown unveiled his $32.9 billion National Surface Transportation Program, which includes $5.5 billion for pothole prevention and $7 billion to improve state roads.

It also included four new national roads in Auckland. The government this term also resumed the National Roads program, which was launched under the previous national government in 2009.

The government’s draft policy statement confirmed that 17 national roads and 11 regional roads were included in the list – four new in Auckland.

At the beginning of this year, the “Roads of Regional Importance” program was released. As with National Roads, this scheme focuses on regionally important roads.

Late last week, Luxon revealed a complaint against one of his ministers, Andrew Bailey, following his business visit this month.

Bailey apologized following a complaint that he allegedly swore at, mocked and ridiculed the man, leaving him feeling “humiliated, embarrassed and deeply disrespected.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined Herald in 2020 and has recently focused on data journalism.