Auckland Council a 'lazy' port owner, time to stop hiding behind port law: councillor 6 Apr, 2021 05:23 AM 6 minutes to read There have been three deaths at the port in recent years. Photo / Michael Craig A special stopwork meeting over worker safety at the Ports of Auckland is likely this week as a senior Auckland councillor says the council has been a "lazy hands-off owner" of the country's main imports gateway. Councillor Chris Darby said the council has been "hiding behind" the Port Companies Act and failing to show leadership. "Our hands-off approach has contributed to the well documented challenges the port faces and subsequent erosion in value. Time's up," he said.