I have had the privilege of being deputy mayor of Auckland for over a year now. The past 365 days and counting have been a whirlwind to say the least. Rain, rain, more rain, floods, landslips, shootings, sinkholes, broken sewage pipes, budget shortfalls and everything in between.
However, throughout all the ‘chaos’, it is you - Aucklanders, that have kept me going. You have kept me on my toes, kept the council accountable and shared some of your most personal stories and experiences. Your contribution to public consultations has informed the decision-making process and influenced the final votes. As a city we have gone through a lot, and I thank you.
It is easy to only focus on the negatives, but I have seen many positives. Namely, how communities have come together and made their voices heard in relation to the storm recovery process. How resilient we have been with the unpredictable weather. How staff have worked above and beyond to keep the city ticking along, be it through incredible engineering solutions (Parnell sewage bypass), amazing unifying free events (Diwali), working to solve the bus driver shortage (Auckland Transport) and the spectacle of the first FIFA Women’s World Cup held in the Southern Hemisphere.
If you follow me on Facebook, you will have seen my almost 400 posts ranging from public notices, glimpses into my working week and the promotion of local and Auckland wide events. Checking my diary, I have had over 70 speaking engagements, attended a further 100 events and participated in 150 council workshops. Experiences have seen me climbing up and down water treatment plants, walking through tunnels under the city (City Rail Link) and clambering up ladders to roof top gardens (central library). I have hosted delegations from around the world to showcase Auckland, welcomed one of our sister city mayors and met with High Commissioners. The past year has been fulfilling in so many ways, but it is the people that have been at the heart of it.
Ensuring I have been able to give Orakei ward residents my attention through the good and the more challenging parts of the year has been a key focus too. I don’t think any area in New Zealand will come out of 2023 unscathed. But looking locally, I have loved watching the great talent at the Selwyn Community Arts Theatre productions, supporting the Eastern Bays Community Patrol, sharing your anger about the recurrent ramraids local businesses have faced and your frustration with Auckland Transport, which pushed them to reconsider the Gowing Drive connection to the Glen Innes to Tāmaki Drive shared path, presenting at resident group meetings, cutting ribbons for new community facilities, and participating in a wide range of events, school festivals, environmental plantings to name but a few examples has been humbling. SO many things have happened in the Ōrākei ward.
We all want Auckland to be a healthy, thriving, and vibrant city. Just last week I was on the radio talking about the vision for - Te Ara Tukutuku (you may know it as the old Wynyard Point). The aspirational vision for what will be the first city centre open space of scale in 100 years. Five of the ten hectares will become a thriving foreshore for the land to reconnect to the sea. Take a look at the consultation which is currently open until 26 November and share your thoughts: akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/te-ara-tukutuku
Talking about vison, leads me to share where we are at in the council diary. The next ten-year budget or as it’s known the long-term plan, is the priority for councillors and the mayor leading up to Christmas. Whilst our annual budget sets the activities, services and investments for the following year and details how we might pay for them, every three years, a 10-year budget (long term plan) is published.
Last term, Auckland Council’s Governing Body formally adopted the 10-year Budget 2021-2031 on 25 May 2021, locking in a record $31.8 billion investment package to support the city’s recovery from COVID-19 and deliver the infrastructure Aucklanders need. This term’s long term plan won’t be finalised until 2024.However we have started. We’ve been through the briefing phase, and the direction setting phase, which included advice on ‘where we’re at’ financially. We are now into discussions on trade-offs between different investment options – including what we might need to stop doing, given the financial situation. This phase includes initial local board input. The next big milestone is the mayor’s proposal being presented to Governing Body on 29 November. The shape of what we will consult on will be decided in December, and staff will spend the new year period preparing consultation materials to go to the public in late February. Public consultation will run until the end of March.
But in the middle of all that is a continuing priority of storm recovery. In the last newsletter I explained the agreed Category 3 buyout process . Since then, the council have made key Category 2P decisions. Category 2P properties are those where mitigations on the property can protect a home from future flooding or landslides. To understand the scale and complexity of the issue there are around 700 further properties that we are yet to categorise with the Recovery Office currently categorising 30-40 properties a week. You’ll be aware I have been advocating for all storm affected property owners across Auckland since the January floods. This includes working alongside flood and slip affected residents on Shore Road to ensure their concerns are being met by council.
As always, I like to end the newsletter with some local news.
Rehabilitation work to improve water quality in the areas bordering Ayr Street and Cathedral Place in Parnell is nearing completion and includes rehabilitation of 87 manholes and relining of 1,396 metres of wastewater pipes.
Auckland Transport are resealing Patterson Avenue, Colenso Place, and a section of Kepa Road starting 21 November.
After 7 months the Kepa road works to stabilise and prevent possible damage caused by landslides on the road by building a palisade retaining wall and reconstructing the footpath will be completed by the end of November (as I write, just waiting for the asphalt team to come free to complete that and the associated road markings)
Now the new Tamaki Drive footpath is finished the contractor has indicated that the temporary signalised crossing on the causeway section of Tamaki Drive is expected to be removed by mid-December.
Finally, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have lifted the Waitematā rāhui, confirming that the Parnell sewage bypass is working, and our water is free to swim and fish in again. We expect the saltwater Parnell Baths will now open for the summer season on December 4.
Desley