Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Hulse chosen as Auckland's deputy mayor

Updated at 6:48 pm on 13 October 2010

Penny Hulse has been chosen as deputy mayor of Auckland's super council.

Mayor Len Brown on Wednesday announced that Mrs Hulse, a councillor in the Waitakere ward and deputy mayor of the former Waitakere City Council, would be his deputy.

The amalgamated council comes into being on 1 November.

Mr Brown says he has given Mrs Hulse as wide a role as possible so she can attend all council meetings and work across the political spectrum.

He says Mrs Hulse shares the same values and vision for Auckland as he does, and was chosen because of her strong leadership, particularly during the super city debate, and for her work in west Auckland.

Mrs Hulse ran as an independent and was on the Waitakere council for 15 years.

She says she wants to work to "humanise" the super city and intends to work with all councillors, regardless of their political background, in order to make Auckland work.

Mrs Hulse says councillors will need to work to connect the council with the community.

The challenge is that the council has only three years to achieve what it needs to, she says.

Mrs Hulse says she could not carry out her job if she did not support Mr Brown's leadership and vision.

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