Tag Archives: Len

Perverting Our Course of Redress and Opinion?

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Isolating the Environment Court – Unacceptable

 

While on my tea break this morning I noticed this piece of commentary from Whale Oil – Cameron Slater:

 

What is Sneaky Len up to?. -

WHAT IS SNEAKY LEN UP TO?

by Whaleoil on September 3, 2012

It appears that Len Brown is up to his sneaky and furtive tricks again and is trying to avoid the full weight of transparency of the Environment Court.

What Auckland Council has proposed is an improved consultation designed to front-end public input in relation to one of the most significant planning documents, the unitary plan.  That plan will set the rules and conditions for growth applicable for the next decade at least.  The unitary plan is the big daddy of planning documents because it sets up the process that allows for new communities to be built to cater for future growth.

During the Auckland Plan debate the council’s proposal for a 75:25 intensification vs greenfields ratio was widely attacked as being completely unrealistic.  Unless Aucklanders scale down their housing expectations a 75:25 ratio would lead to a new house being built on every current house to cater for growth over the next 30 years.

What Aucklanders have been waiting for is the draft unitary plan, which all things being equal could be debated and then (if necessary) challenged in the Environment Court.

However it is now apparent that the Auckland Council are trying to exempt the draft unitary plan from merit-based appeal to the Environment Court “… to ensure that the Auckland Plan can become effective as soon as possible, with the associated benefits for delivery of the quality compact city, supply of business land and economic growth, supply and affordability of housing, environmental and heritage protection“.

Firstly, the only so-called benefit of Len Brown’s Auckland Plan is high-rise apartments in neighbourhoods like New Lynn and Papatoetoe, and insufficient greenfield land for new homes and businesses.  As a result the price of land will increase further, and Auckland will suffer a wealth drain as capital and workers respond to anti-market planning by taking their money and skills to places like Tauranga, Hamilton, and Australia.  Secondly, Auckland Council’s balance sheet continues to deteriorate with spiralling levels of borrowing and debt in order to pay for infrastructure that is demanded by a very small group of people.

The tragedy is no one has yet told Len that his attempt to avoid accountability through an independent Environment Court might be common place in some jurisdictions (e.g. Sudan or Equatorial Guinea), but it is completely unacceptable in New Zealand.  Len’s mayoral powers do not (at this point) extend to include immunity from appeals led by Aucklanders who care about preserving the form and heritage of their neighbourhood.

Len Brown knows his command and control economics and dopey compact city “vision” won’t stand the scrutiny of the Environment Court, so he has asked the government to screw the scrum in his favour.

No other council has the benefit of a free pass when it comes to the court. Len shouldn’t think he is so special.

I am reliably informed that Cabinet is supposed to be considering Len’s wet dream tomorrow.

We have been advised by Ministry for the Environment officials that Cabinet will be considering on Monday a proposed letter to Mayor Len Brown setting out its proposals for the process for hearing and resolution of the Unitary Plan.  If agreed by Cabinet, this letter will be sent to the Mayor on Monday afternoon.

The Auckland Development Community is concerned that this government actually has the strategic stupidity to submit to Len’s desires.

Amy Adams has some career defining decisions to make tomorrow. If she submits to Len she will be alienating every developer in Auckland. She will be placing a permanent roadblock in her path to the 9th floor. She will have lost credibility and access to future donors in doing so.

While it might be tempting for the MP for a rural south island seat like Selwyn to be the point of least resistance for Labour’s man at the Auckland Town Hall, that does not mean the National government should relegate Aucklanders to second class citizen status.  The promise of a front-end consultation is no substitute for an independent and objective appeals process.

David Carter got sucked in by Len and gave him a free pass on rates. Amy Adams needs to man up in Cabinet, tell Len to HTFU and expect all his socialist plans to be scrutinised by the Environment Court just like any other council in New Zealand.

 

Okay so it has a right-wing bent to it but that is irrelevant.

What is relevant to both those of the Centre-Left and Right is the fact our resident Prude – The Mayor is trying to pervert our natural and right of access to the Environment Court if we wish to seek a judgement or course of redress for or against a planning/development decision.

That is extremely UNACCEPTABLE by all counts to pervert our right of access to the Environment Court. Yes I know the Environment Court can be costly and damn well long-winded when hearing cases but it is there for both sides of the coin to seek a judgment which we are entitled to in a Western Liberal Democracy such as ours.

 

Although I love to know how Cam got a hold of this information about Len and the Environment Court. More to the point why our Centre-Right Councillors are rather quiet on this at the moment. Might be a case of me having to go prod them  a bit with this post.

In any case I shall keep an eye on this development as we progress with the Unitary Plan.

 

BEN ROSS

Shining The Light –
To a Better Auckland

Auckland 2013: YOUR CITY – YOUR CALL

National MIGHT Support the City Rail Link

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Minister Steven Joyce Will NOT Rule out the CRL

 

Part of The City Rail Link Series

Debate on the City Rail Link continues with figures and all sorts coming out from both sides coin.

VOAKL will cut right down the middle and tell you a surprise piece of a Minister’s Speech at the recent Northern Region Conference.

It is time for a discussion and VOAKL will provide one – for everyone with a VIEW

 

Now you must be thinking I am pulling your leg or cracking the biggest joke possible – truth is I am NOT!

The National Party Northern Region Conference has been and gone (last weekend) to which I attended with all the highlights and lowlights as expected from the last seven conferences I have attended. And for some of you it might of just come as a shock that I am member of the said party. However attend I did, and yes I listened to the Honourable Steven Joyce give his speech on Infrastructure Development. It was the usual stuff trotted out mixed in with the usual jibes at Labour and Winston (Greens got scant mention) but one particular piece caught mine and everyone else around me attention – to the point I asked if what Joyce said was true and after consensus it was.

Minister Joyce had said (paraphrased – so if anyone got an audio transcript please contact VOAKL) along the lines:

Currently the Budget in regards to capital expenditure will include projects like the Roads of National Significance. It might not be Len’s Rail Loop but we are… [rest goes on to the Broadband and other things in the Budget]

Now I asked a few people at conference and even asked people outside of the Party in “Lets test our English language” on what Joyce was hinting at.

We all came to the conclusion that there is a key difference between:

“It might not be Len’s Rail Loop”  AND “It will not be Len’s Rail Loop” if we take the English Language in its form it was meant to be taken.

So myself and a few others at Conference (and elsewhere) concluded that Joyce is NOT ruling out the City Rail Link – otherwise he would of flatly done so as he has done with other projects.

Now I know this is politics – but Steven Joyce did say for everyone to hear “It might not be Len’s Rail Loop” and is not ruling it out. Now VOAKL does invite the Minister to comment on that part of his speech if he wishes to do so. And while I take the word of a politician with some suspicion – I am mentioning this here at VOAKL as a record of what was said as a reference point for the CRL debate.

But for the moment it is my belief that the Minister has a strategy here – what it is I could only speculate. But in speculating I believe he might throw his support behind it and write the cheque (if they are in power – if not then cross party support) around 2017. Ironically 2017 is the earliest of the period (2018-2022) that I have advocated in turning the first sod for the CRL. If Joyce did decide to do this as I am speculating – then I’ll take the win (in my books). I also speculate that ruling out the CRL entirely is actual political suicide for National for the 2014, 2017 and 2020 elections.

So there we are: Steven Joyce is not (as of Sunday 27 May) ruling out the CRL. It might not be just now as some want in building the CRL – but as the Mainland Cheese ad says; “Good things take time.” And with the CRL – I rather go for the delayed start around 2017/8-2022 and get it right rather than rushing it now, now, now. Call it a gut instinct in pushing for the six year delay – but I think Auckland will be better for it – and The Rail Fallacy disproved with this mega-project.

So Joyce won’t rule it out – it is now Auckland Council‘s move next. And I suggest Council does not STUFF IT UP.

The Left willing to Nuke itself – good and propper.

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Council fratricide on Thursday – pass it on | Whale Oil Beef Hooked | A blog by Cameron Slater.

The agenda is also here where this senseless motion will be tabled and called for on the 16th.

Although Cam beat to the punch with a post on this particular issue, I will add-on some of my own thoughts about this.

This is my Facebook comment I made when I saw this whole thing start to pop up:

The “Left” must have really left their brains back at the POAL Picket Line. That recommendation if endorsed would commit the Council to something near illegal IF NOT ILLEGAL. This screams Conflict of Interest all over the place – it really does. If the resolution does pass and the Mayor had voted against it, it would not humiliate Brown at all. If anything it will show Aucklanders who have more of clue than some Len’s resolve while destroying the Left next elections. I think its time advice was taken from the Ministers of Labour and Local Government on this.
Look my comment says it all – apart from the fact that the Left are effectively going to walk in, set a nuke and detonate it causing the best case of self infliction I have ever seen in local politics. While the fallout will basically consume Council making the next 18 months (until the next local elections) look like a lame-duck. Oh yay for poor Auckland with a hostile city, a Draft Auckland Plan and a Draft Long Term Plan all about to be set and finalised.
Councillor George Wood of CnR (the opposition in Council (Citizens and Ratepayers)) did post this comment though:
I believe that the Auckland Council Accountability and Performance committee will merely receive the documents from Councillor Northey and not make any decisions on the merits of the points that Cr Northey raises. Councillors that I have talked with since this came out certainly don’t believe that it would be helpful, in all the circumstances, to do otherwise.
Lets hope so for everyone’s sake.
As for Mayor Brown – he will survive this is he goes against the motion – those of the Centre, Centre-Right and who are fed up with MUNZ (have a clue in other words) would realise Len is in a tough spot and is doing okay though all this – plus a man with greater integrity than if he did side with the motion.
However:
If I were a shrewd person I would start considering some options here if the Motion does pass. Might it be time for some new blood unaffected by the POAL disaster to enter Council and repair a damaged ship before setting sail on new directions for the sake of Auckland? Time for some phone calls and a few litres of tea, beer, wine and a few kilos of scones?