Well, it has been another hectic few weeks with a mix of business as usual, big council decisions being made and random issues cropping up. Since I last wrote to you we have had a number of issues including a major gas leak in the city centre, we have had Fashion Week, the council sold a portion of their airport shares, the council in principle agreed to a $2 billion cost sharing agreement in relation to funding Auckland’s storm recovery and resilience (more on that below) and there was a joint announcement with central government about community safety hubs in the city centre
On top of all this, the mayor was away for two weeks so I was Acting Mayor. I recently spoke at an event for the Parnell Probus Club titled “Life around the Town Hall Table” and it gave me time to reflect on the pace, intensity, and magnitude of decisions that I am involved in on a daily basis. Never a dull moment! 😊
There are two really important council consultations that are currently open that I wanted to bring to your attention and give you the opportunity to have your say. Both these consultations close on 24 September so if you haven’t already, please click the links below, read the documentation and have your say.
1. Funding Auckland's Storm Recovery and Resilience
2. Deciding whether to introduce Māori seats for 2025
First, let’s talk about storm recovery. As you are aware at the beginning of the year Auckland had several devastating weather events including Cyclone Gabrielle. The sheer scale of the disruption and damage the weather caused has led us to where we are now. The recovery phase. The council and central government have been negotiating for the past few months about how recovery of Auckland should be funded. On 24 August, the council in principle agreed to a $2 billion cost sharing package to aid Auckland’s recovery as well as invest in resilience projects to prevent this level of destruction happening again.
The deal includes: $820 million to fund projects that will help build resilience against future flood events (we call this Making Space for Water). These initiatives include increased maintenance, stream rehabilitation, culvert and bridge upgrades, overland flow path management, and the roll out of “blue-green” networks in critical flood-risk areas (which are stormwater solutions that enhance parkland and open space).
$390 million towards the recovery costs of the transport network directly impacted by the storms.
Category 3 buyouts: $774 million to purchase an estimated 700 residential properties where there is an intolerable risk to life, and it is not feasible to mitigate this risk.
The cost share agreement secures $1.076 billion of Government funding for these projects. This includes 62% of the estimated capital cost of the Making Space for Water projects ($380 million), 79% of the transport recovery costs ($110 million Crown funding and an expected $199 million from the National Land Transport Fund via Waka Kotahi), and 50% of the cost of Category 3 buy-outs ($387 million).
As this is such a big decision, we wanted Aucklanders to have their say before any final decisions were made. There are several reasons for this. One, this is a cost sharing agreement and as part of that the council will have to find sum $900 million and that’s a considerable sum. Two, whilst the government has agreed to provide considerable funding, the details about, for example how we define a category 3 home and how we value properties all still needs to be ironed out. Your views are crucial in trying to get this balance right. And, finally, this cost sharing agreement is broader than just buying out the approximate 700 category 3 homes. It involves not only repairing roads/ bridges that were damaged in the January/February floods but thinking about our cities long term resilience against weather events and what preventative measures need to be prioritised. Ultimately, we want to know what you think about the proposed package.
The second important consultation is asking you whether or not Auckland Council should have elected Māori seats.
As many of you will know, Parliament granted all councils the ability to establish Māori seats or wards similar to what central government have. This would mean people could join a Māori Roll and vote for a Māori elected representative or representatives at the local government elections just like they can vote for a councillor. Rather than decide that ourselves, Auckland Council decided to ask Aucklanders through public consultation what they thought before making a decision.
The slightly complicating factor is that unlike other councils in New Zealand, Auckland council has by legislation an Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB). Their role is to advance the interests of Māori in Auckland by helping Auckland council make decisions, perform functions, and exercise powers that improve outcomes for Māori and to promote cultural, economic, environmental, and social issues of significance to Māori. IMSB representatives sit around the Town Hall table with up to two members with full voting rights on all council committees except the one the mayor chairs.
If we were to vote for Māori seats, they would be in addition to the appointed IMSB seats Māori have on our committees.
Remember consultation closes on both these topics on 24 September so please have your say.
Lastly, two local pieces of positive news:
1. Our much-loved Parnell Baths are on schedule to be reopened at the beginning of November this year. After the floods in January the whole cliff face by the Baths was classified as unstable requiring major works to make it safe. Stability works are currently being carried out and whilst I can’t give you a definitive date yet, I have had it confirmed the pools will open in early November.
2. Users of the Auckland Netball Centre will be pleased to know that last week at the Planning, Environment and Parks Committee on 7 September, we agreed to $250,000 of funding for new indoor/outdoor replacement lights.
As always, I’m happy to assist in any way. Please contact me desley.simpson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or 021971786