Manukau Mayor cuts up his council credit card

Manukau City Mayor Len Brown has publicly cut up his council credit card, a few days after admitting he used it for some personal expenses.

Mr Brown, who last month led polls ahead of October's elections for the mayor of the new Auckland super city, at the weekend said he had reimbursed the council for personal expenditure totalling $579.27, which included a hotel booking and a mini hi-fi system.

He ran up a total bill of $10,864.98 on the credit card for the year to May.

Mr Brown said he used the council credit card for the personal purchases only because he did not have his family's card with them.

"We only have one credit card in our family and on that occasion Shan must have had it because I certainly did not," he told Campbell Live before cutting up his credit card during the interview.

He said that if mistakes were made, "they were inadvertent and they're for no personal gain and the funds were repaid and were always intended to be. I'm completely comfortable with that".

Mr Brown last month led Auckland City Mayor John Banks by 12 percentage points in a poll asking voters who they wanted to be mayor of the Auckland super city.

Mr Banks has said he does not have a mayoral credit card, and Mr Brown today said he would go the same way.

Manukau City councillors Dick Quax and Jami-Lee Ross, who have been confirmed as candidates for the right of centre Citizens and Ratepayers for the super city council, yesterday called for a review of mayoral credit card use.

"Mr Brown may have since paid some money back, but purchasing personal items in the first place is highly questionable and undoubtedly against council policy."