Anger at the Government’s handling of the super city continues to bubble away in the Auckland burbs.
The Labour-Green public meetings across the city are pulling 50-60 people. And while the meetings are designed to inform and encourage people to make submissions to the select committee (deadline 12 February) it is clear from the debate people are mad as hell with the Government and wanting to take action.
People are angry about the lack of clarity over the powers of local boards, and concerned that the plan to structure three-quarters of Council activities into arms-length commercial entities will make them unaccountable.
Two new meetings have been scheduled, in addition to the earlier roster:
The first is in the heart of the Prime Minister’s electorate: West Rodney Kumeu Community Hall, Access Road, Kumeu, 8pm Tuesday 9 February. Chaired by David Savery who is chair the Kumeu Residents and Ratepayers Association, David Clendon of the Greens and I will be speaking.
Su’a William Sio MP and Ross Robertson MP are hosting a meeting in Mangere: 5.30 – 7 pm Monday 8 February at the Nga Tapuwae Hall, 253 Buckland Rd, Mangere.
Others coming up are:
North Shore- 7.00 – 9.00pm, Wednesday 3rd February, Rawene Centre, 33 Rawene Road Birkenhead, hosted by Darien Fenton and Keith Locke
Waitakere- 7.00 – 9.00pm, Wednesday 3rd February, New Lynn Community Centre – Recreation Room, Totara Avenue, New Lynn, hosted by Phil Twyford, David Clendon, David Cunliffe, Chris Carter, Lynne Pillay, and Carmel Sepuloni
Auckland Central- 6.30 – 8.30pm, Thursday 4th February, Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, hosted by Phil Twyford, David Clendon and Jacinda Ardern
Mt Albert/Mt Roskill- 7.00 – 8.30pm, Monday 8th February, Owairaka Primary School, 113-115 Richardson Road, Mt Albert, hosted by Phil Twyford, David Clendon, David Shearer and Carmel Sepuloni
Meetings have been held in Waiheke, Warkworth, and Onehunga in the last few days. I spoke to about 60 members of Probus in the blue heart of Milford on Monday. Best guess 80% would normally be National voters. Feeling about National-ACT’s handling of the super city: hopping mad. Spoke to another 50 at a workshop hosted by North Shore City yesterday: also not happy. National’s Auckland MPs should be feeling the vibe.
Get along to our meetings if you can. You can download the Labour submission guide. Don’t forget to get your submission in by February 12.
Good on Keith for giving Darien a hand! Very good submission guide Phil!
Phil, I missed the meeting but had good feedback. There is another issue I’d like to hear being talked about – the exit option. I’d like to see a clause in the bill that defines how a community like Franklin, Rodney or Waiheke can secede from the City if it is not serving their needs. I can understand having one or two term moratorium on changes but after that there should be a way for a community that has a majority desire to do so to leave the city.
Excellent work, Phil. You guys now need to ‘up the ante’ on this naked power grab by Hide and is fat cat cronies. Go all out. Rodney and his overpaid ATA henchmen are turning our largest city into a classic rotten borough, and he must be stopped.
fascism… governmental system with strong centralised power… controlling all affairs of the region (industrial and commercial etc.)… permitting little or no criticism.
Ring a bell?
Jennifer, how you gonna “stop him”?
I’d be interested to know.
120 people turned out in West Auckland tonight. It was a ripper of a meeting. The westies are not impressed with Key’s super city: an assault on democracy and our assets on the block.
@ Andrew Watkins – I looked for you at the Waiheke meeting. Interesting idea re the exit option. It would be very attractive to the people of northern and western Rodney who are fighting a rearguard secession battle. Not to mention the people of Franklin who are mightily pissed off. Interestingly both areas are traditionally strong National voting districts.
I don’t agree that the moratorium on changes is OK (boundaries and First Past the Post cannot be changed until after the 2013 election). Hide’s prescription gives the Local Government Commission an impossible job and we end up with unfair boundaries that amount to a right wing gerrymander…and then cannot change them until two electoral cycles have passed. Likewise the Government chooses the demonstrably unfair First Past the Post voting system and then mandates it not for one but two elections.
And I have to say it is great working with the Greens. We need to be able to work together if we are going to see off NACT in 2011. This campaign is a good stepping stone to that.
I might try to make it tomorrow. There’s some dodgy stuff about Auckland Transport that needs fixing.
North Shore City Council’s submission on the super-city bill makes for interesting reading:
http://www.northshorecity.govt.nz/YourCouncil/Meetings/AgendasAndMinutes/Documents/2010%20Agendas%20Minutes/February/Council%203%20February%202010%20Order%20Paper.pdf
A nice summary on ARC Councillor Joel Cayford’s blog: http://joelcayford.blogspot.com/2010/02/north-shore-citys-useful-bill-3.html
@ Jarbury – try and get along if you can. There was a lot of talk about transport at tonight’s meeting out west. Much concern about the CCO (Council Controlling Organisation? Corporate Controlled Organisation?) model for the transport agency. Local transport issues are bread and butter to community boards and councils where they get thrashed out in a democratic forum. Kiss goodbye to that under the CCO model.
Sad fella!! You haven’t bothered to mention other Auckland meetings – doesn’t the southside count in your little universe?
Otahuhu – Otahuhu Town Hall – 10 High Street – Tuesday 09/02/10 6.00 – 7.30pm
and another one over at
Glenn Innes – GI Community Hall – Line Road – Monday 08/02/10 6.00 – 7.30pm
@ Tahu – Well I did mention the Mangere meeting. Thanks for the info on those other two. Who is organising them?
I kind of sit on the fence about “Auckland Transport”. On the one hand, I think it is a big step in the right direction to bring together ARTA and the transport departments of the various councils. Hopefully we will actually see stuff happen now, like ARTA being able to roll out its “Quality Transit Network”. It hasn’t bee able to do this yet because councils won’t improve their bus lanes.
On the plus side for “Auckland Transport” is that ARTA, as a CCO, do seem to have made a big difference to transport in the Auckland Region – with public transport patronage booming in the last few years and ARTA’s lobbying being key to important projects like rail electrification and integrated ticketing actually finally happening.
On the other hand though, there are of course a number of concerns about Auckland Transport. Number one is political accountability. While it might be great to have Auckland Transport free from the petty politics of council if it does a good job, if Auckland Transport ends up being dominated by Steven Joyce appointed roads fetishists then there’s absolutely bugger all we can do about it under the proposed model. Auckland Transport is exempt from most of the LGA 2002 requirements for it to act in the way that the Auckland Council wants. If Auckland Transport gets out of hand, then they can do some serious damage without political recourse.
The next problem is that it will be Rodney Hide and Steven Joyce appointing the initial board. Expect a defacto “Road Transport Forum” if that remains the case.
The next problem is that Auckland Transport won’t actually even achieve what we need – and that is ONE integrated transport agency for Auckland. NZTA won’t have to listen to what Auckland Transport says, and will instead keep on building their millions of motorways. KiwiRail won’t be accountable to Auckland Transport and will keep on leaving out important bits of infrastructure (like the missing link of the Newmarket junction) as well as not planning for the future in any shape or form. Sure, we will go from having about 12 different transport agencies in Auckland to having three, but really – what’s the bloody point when what we really need is ONE.
The next (perhaps last) problem is that by splitting Auckland Transport away from the Auckland Council we will be cutting off transport planning from land-use planning. If anything we need to align transport and urban development more closely, not less closely. I see this as a recipe for disaster (ie. more Flat Bush’s with no access to decent public transport or motorways yet still apparently a good place to house an extra 40,000 people). This bill also repeals the entire Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Act 2004 – which is an essential bill for requiring transport and land-use planning to be integrated.
I think that’s it. On balance I probably come down on the side of rolling transport into the job of the Auckland Council, although having ‘Auckland Transport’ as a CCO could work if we can sort out some of the horrific flaws in this bill.
@ Phil
Tamaki Community Board
@ Tahu – “your little universe”. Hehe.
Hey Phil, you realise that the ACDC concert is happening just around the corner from this. Might be a mission to get anywhere close.
What, ACDC are playing Grey Lynn park?
Western Springs stadium.
@Tahu, Thanks for letting everyone know about the Tamaki Community Board meetings but I wouldnt blame Phil for not knowing about them as we have organised them for our local community groups. We had a great meeting last night in Panmure and the people their had similar concerns to what is being said at the Labour meetings that Phil is reporting about.
People are welcome to come along to the Community Board meetings as we are particularily interested in what our community think about the super city proposals to inform our submission.
I would also encourage people to go to the Labour/Greens meetings. I was lucky enough to be asked to speak as Tamaki Community Board chair at the meeting in Onehunga. The Maungakiekie Community Board Chair Bridget Graham was invited to speak too. It was great to be able to speak at local govt representatives to give that perspective to the meeting and it was fantastic to see Labour and Greens working together on this. It was a great turn out. Cheers to Carol Beaumont – local list MP for asking the Community Boards to take part – Kate Sutton, Chair Tamaki Community Board.
Gooner, I’ll leave that up to the good folks of Epsom. Although Roger and Heather had a crack at it, and Roger is like rust, he never sleeps. I predict Rortney’s days are numbered.
Thanks for listening to the people and holding South Auckland meetings… now we just need something in Franklin please as our issues are so VERY different to those of the residents of Mangere, we are rural folk!
Send someone out this way as people will definately come as they are SO sick of our local National MP who appears to have done nothing to help us…
@ Jarbury, Sacha – You will be pleased to know that the Grey Lynn meeting drew about 50 people last night…a little fewer than the ACDC concert but hey. Parking was hellish but another great meeting.
@ Aimee – We wanted to have one in Franklin and approached the SavePapakura group who have led the charge out there with a view to doing one together with them. They already had a meeting planned and went head with it. Apparently very well attended. Needless to say I and colleagues would be happy to do another meeting some time if people wanted it.
Glad to hear it, Phil. Could hear the lyrics from Mt Albert, whether we wanted to or not.
@ Aimee – Partly due to your suggestion we are doing a public meeting in Franklin: 7-9pm, Monday 22 Feb, Pukekohe Town Hall. Meeting chaired and hosted by Franklin Mayor Mark Ball. MPs: Phil Twyford, David Clendon, and Hon Nanaia Mahuta. MPs will give an overview of the third super city bill and welcome discussion about the impact of the super city on local democracy. All welcome. Please come. And please tell your friends.