Can you believe we are already halfway through this political term?
As both the Deputy Mayor and the Councillor for Orakei I believe it’s important to communicate achievements for both Auckland and the Orakei Ward that I have been part of and/or lead. The first 18 months of this term have definitely had their challenges, storm events and cost of living challenges to name just two. However, even with all we have faced, there have also been successes.
Auckland wide
The storm events of 2023 will go down in history as being the worst in our region’s history. Over and above leading much of the communication with Aucklanders during the events, I have where possible and logical, pushed for Council to look after those Aucklanders affected by the storms as generously as possible. This has included successfully advocating for rates relief, engaging with local affected groups across the city, meeting with the Insurance Council and Bankers Association, visiting property owners across Auckland, listening to the concerns raised and feeding back to council colleagues. This work remains ongoing.
Arts and Culture: I have been given a specific role to lead the political working group to reform governance of Auckland’s major cultural institutions. These include the likes of the Auckland War Memorial Museum (AWMM), Stardome and MOTAT. Did you know our very old legislation dictates that Auckland Council could have to contribute up to $200 million per year to AWMM, yet has no governance role or input into their strategic direction? After six months of negotiation, Auckland War Memorial Museum and Auckland Council signed a three-year funding agreement giving greater financial certainty for both parties through to financial year 26/27 and Council a greater say in their strategic direction (Also, significantly less funding than the law dictates). I am working closely with Minister Goldsmith on further work in this space.
I was appointed as the Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) lead councillor (Sept 2023). This means I’m the key liaison point between governing body and Tātaki, particularly in supporting the Chair as she improves TAU’s performance and results. This has already seen a savings target of $35m and a staff reduction of 200 achieved while continuing to deliver high quality cultural, entertainment and venue services to Auckland. For every dollar Tātaki invested in a major cultural or sporting event on behalf of Auckland Council, Auckland received almost $10 dollars in return. Tātaki invested $1,237,500 in major events between December 2023 and March 2024, which in turn have generated $12.2m and 85,000 visitor nights for the regional economy. Just for clarity the role of TAU is to deliver a coordinated region wide programme to maximise cultural, social and economic benefits for our residents and visitors.
Finances: as I’ve reported previously the mayor’s first budget changed significantly from what was consulted on based on feedback from Aucklanders. As we work through the current Long-term plan (ten year budget) I have visited all 21 Local Boards (from Ōrākei to Great Barrier Island, from Rodney to Franklin) as part of Long-term Plan engagement (March 2024). I’ve been told this hasn’t ever happened before. Too early to say what this budget will look like, but I’ll update on that in a few weeks. Savings wise, as Council we set staff a tough target in the 2023/24 Annual Budget - $32.8m on top of the existing $17.2m which hadn’t quite been achieved out of the $90m target for 2022/23. Of this $50m target, by December 2023 Council had achieved 87 per cent of this ($43.7m). This was through detailed budget reviews, staff vacancies, and improved commercial terms through contracts – plus agreed initiatives (stopping activities). Our next update is on 2 May 2024, and I look forward to more good news on the savings front.
I’m always asked what LOCAL investment or return do we get for our money?
The Ōrākei ward has had many projects delivered in the past 18 months, a number of which have been requested strongly by our community for many years.
I am fortunate to have the Auckland Domain in my ward. As chair of the Domain Committee, I have overseen:
· Futureproofing the Domain Wintergarden glasshouses. Structural strengthening and restoration of these two heritages listed buildings has ensured this important part of the city’s architectural heritage will be around for many decades to come. They were even awarded an Enduring Architecture award by by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. Finished in March 2023, they were delivered on time and on budget
· The repainting in original heritage colours of the Auckland Domain's iconic band rotunda, a grand 111-year-old landmark which hosts many music events
· The heritage grandstand building at the Auckland Domain - works on the roof and high gable end areas, timber repairs, plumbing improvements and painting plus repairing the stone wall and asphalt in front of the building. This was completed in April 2023.
Watercare has had a ‘busy’ time in the Ōrākei Ward in the last 18 months and I’ve stayed close to them to emphasise the need for ongoing investment, swift action to remedy faults, and ensuring the community is kept well-informed of what’s going on. We have seen the following investment from Watercare in the ward.
· Prompt reaction to the St Georges Bay road sinkhole which saw one of New Zealand’s largest pump stations built in a record 20 days. This temporary pump station (as big as some of our permanent pump stations) consists of around 400 metres of pipe and six large pumps being put underground to direct sewage away from the broken section in Parnell. It can handle flows of up to 600 litres per second!
· St Heliers watermain renewals began on 20 February 2024 on Rarangi Road. These works are part of Watercare’s renewals programme to upgrade aging watermains that are susceptible to breaks and to ensure the security of the water supply in St Heliers
· Rehabilitation work undertaken by Watercare in the areas bordering Ayr Street and Cathedral Place in Parnell – included rehabilitation of 87 manholes and relining of 1,396 metres of wastewater pipes
· Watercare’s Board approved $26.1 million to cover the cost of repairing the damage to the old sewer pipe ( St Georges Bay road) and relining an additional 600 metres of the century-old Ōrākei Main Sewer. The $26m bill includes $5.8m in operational costs to stabilise the sinkhole, construct the bypass, pumping, environmental, monitoring, and other costs related to responding to the incident
· $86.74million investment to upgrade the Ōrākei Main sewer post Parnell sinkhole. Watercare are planning to reline about 1.6 kilometres of the sewer – from close to the Parnell Train Station to the end of Logan Terrace – in the next few years. This investment will significantly reduce the risk of future sewer collapses in Parnell.
Transport is a key area which Council makes investment decisions about. Some larger local projects include:
· Delivering the often requested pedestrian walkway upgrade along Tamaki Drive (raising the footpath, adding seating, artworks and a new railing) between Ports and Ngāpipi intersection
· Ngāpipi Bridge - new pedestrian bridge leaving the old one for cyclists - both this and the one above have been strongly advocated for by our community for many years
· Kepa Road – new footpath / and retaining wall to prevent future slips. Part of the road, beside Ōrākei Basin, is in a slip zone. The site is located along Kepa Road and is situated approximately 200m west of Brenton Place on the westbound side of the road
· Parnell station pedestrian underpass from the station to Lower Domain Drive officially opened.
· Last year I advocated for getting school buses sorted on the Panmure to Selwyn College route once it was brought to my attention re. buses not turning up/ overcrowded. AT did action some changes
· This year alerting Auckland Transport that the school buses were still overcrowded/ leaving children behind along some routes. AT are also making changes to prevent this from happening.
Some of the other highlights relate to community assets and infrastructure. These include:
· Reopening of the Parnell Baths - After the floods in January 2023 the whole cliff face by the Baths was classified as unstable requiring major works to make it safe. The water in the baths was deemed unsafe to swim in after the weather events as well, and it took a major amount of work by our stormwater teams to get it to a state where it was reopened in December 2023
· The James Turkington mural at Parnell baths is currently being restored after it was damaged by graffiti and should be back by the end of this year
· St Heliers Library heritage/ seismic works completed and the library reopened in August 2023 after a year of the library operating from temporary site across the road
· The Portland Road environmental works in Remuera––an incredible local walk of native plants and walkways. Over 6000m3 of silt from the stream removed to improve water flow. This allows water to flow unobstructed when tidal gates are open and created a land feature out of the silt. By repurposing the silt, we prevented it filling up our landfills, it has kept trucks off our road network and saved over $800k in tipping and transport fees.
· Alongside Ōrākei Local Board members and volunteers we planted 1500 new trees at Waiatarua reserve in Remuera
· The Planning, Environment and Parks Committee on 7 September 2023 agreed to $250,000 of funding for new indoor/outdoor replacement lights for the Auckland Netball Centre.
As you can see a lot has happened. This is by no means an exhaustive list but highlights some of the positive changes we have witnessed in just 18 months, halfway through this term.
In my role as deputy mayor, I have supported the mayor with a large amount of media interviews, opening of events, speaking engagements and international delegations. There is never a dull moment and some ‘fun’ examples include opening of the first Padel Court in NZ, welcoming esteemed guests at the official opening event at Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Marae for the New Zealand Fashion week- Kahuria, attending the Auckland Property Council Award ceremony where several council buildings won awards, welcoming international delegations, promoting and representing Auckland Council at the incredible Women’s FIFA World Cup matches and welcoming guests from across the world at the Pan Pacific Barber shop competition. I have also walked deep underground in the City Rail Link Tunnel and the Central Interceptor tunnel to see the progress. I have climbed up to the roof tops of some of the tallest new buildings in the city to be there at the topping out ceremonies, highlighting the changing landscape. I have walked across the sand flats at Whau River undertaking marine ecology monitoring. I have even visited the council’s library automated sorter out in Otahuhu, which is an amazing piece of technology! Arts, culture, community, transport, infrastructure, the environment: all these components are vital for a city.
Of course, not everything is positive. Sometimes my role has been focused on responding to problems, such as the two broken sewers (Judges Bay Road and St George’s Bay Road), several major water leaks in Remuera, congestion on St Johns Road, and the Eastern Line being down for nine months! However, I do believe in highlighting the positives. The projects mentioned have been delivered by a wide range of different parts of Council, so I’d like to thank the hard work of the various teams and their committed staff along with my colleagues who I’ve worked with to get projects ‘over the line’. There is no “I” in Local Government. We always need other elected members to support what we want to achieve.
And now we are in the second half of our term, and my commitment is to keep you posted on Council progress. As always, I am available should you wish you contact me, desley.simpson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Desley