Month: December 2013

Coming up on Talking Auckland

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Next batch of Special Housing Areas

and

More on the Len Brown Saga

 

Coming up over the next few days on Talking Auckland:

 

Special Housing Areas

There is a briefing on the Housing Accord and next batch of Special Housing Areas at Auckland Council later this morning. Transport Blog have released a post showing the maps of the next SHA’s base on an Order in Council from Government last week. A further post from Talking Auckland on the Housing Accord and SHA’s will be posted up in tomorrow morning.

 

The Len Brown Saga

This mess keeps trucking along and will spill over into the New Year – sadly. While the original affair was never going to prompt attention from Talking Auckland, failing to declare gifts and so will. As a result Talking Auckland owing to large public interest in the Len Brown Saga (as this now affects decision-making amongst the Council and the Committees) will be keeping a watching eye and run commentary as needed.

Some interesting commentary from Morning Report can be heard here including a rare comment from the Deputy Mayor:

Councillors to quiz Brown about report

My media statement in the Len Brown Saga can be seen here:  Media Statement on the Len Brown Saga

 

Other Stuff

As we head into the Christmas-New Year break Talking Auckland will be switching into holiday mode until around Wellington Anniversary Weekend in mid-January. The Summer Series will fill in on the interim with lots of photos from around Auckland in its Summer glory (including violent thunderstorms).

If anything of significance comes up in the Holiday period Talking Auckland will run commentary on it

 

But for now I better head to the City for the Housing Accord Briefing…

 

 

Reaction to the EY Report

· 1 Comment ·

Government needs to tighten up the “rules”

 

This is a rare piece of commentary from me personally into the entire “Len Brown affair.” Since the story broke I have been more or less silent on the “affair” aspect while constantly keeping an eye on the “conduct” side of the matter. From Day One when the story broke (while returning from a Council briefing on I believe it was on the Unitary Plan heading for notification) I have always said for me to no longer give “support” to the Mayor, he would have to conduct a criminal act (and be convicted) or conduct serious misconduct (an affair is not misconduct) through misuse of resources or power, and/or other serious nature.

I have the EY report that was commissioned by Council CEO Doug McKay after it landed (with an accompanying release) in my email box this afternoon. You can read the report over at this post here: The EY Report Commissioned by Auckland Council CEO. That said I was NOT at the Press Conference in Town Hall this afternoon over the release of the report.

 

After receiving and reading the report I have come to three conclusions:

  1. The “rules” set by the Council Code of Conduct,  that by the Remuneration Authority, and the Local Government (Auckland Amendment) Act 2009 are too loose with little measures provided if something does go wrong/breached
  2. Government must tighten up the regulations set about by the Remuneration Authority for issuing rules around use of ratepayers resources – e.g the mayoral car and when it can be used or not. In the same regard the Local Government Act needs tightening up so the Governing Body have available a wide range of measures to deal with errant elected members. This can range from a Censure motion to something more punitive (whatever one decides that might be short of sacking a mayor)
  3. Owing to this error in regards to several matters pointed out in the EY report (cell phone, mayoral car, and not declaring the hotels on the register)(and rather than the actual affair) my confidence in the mayor is shaken with support moving from positive to negative. That said I still have confidence and positive support in the wider main Council (although a particular CCO is an exception at the moment) and the rest of the elected members (regardless of whether I agree with them or not (Dick Quax and Cameron Brewer)). In being honest it has weighed on my mind on what else has the mayor not declared outside of the “affair” and could have this affected any other mayoral decision-making

 

I stress again to make it crystal clear that yes confidence in the mayor is shaken with support switching from positive to negative. HOWEVER, confidence and support remains with the Deputy Mayor and the rest of the Councillors despite disagreements from time to time. 

 

One thing I do ask of the Governing Body after the elected members have had time to review the EY report is that an extraordinary meeting be called of the GB ASAP! In that extraordinary meeting a motion of censure is called and voted for against the mayor immediately. Whether the vote passes or fails is beside the point in my opinion. The point being is that the Governing Body has now been damaged and in the eyes of the City the censure motion needs to occur to help restore confidence towards the Council. Failure to move the censure motion quickly could paralyse worthwhile projects before the Council – and that would be a true detriment to Auckland. It is risky

 

For the rest of it Parliament is going to need to haul backside and tighten up rules around Local Government to prevent this kind of mess from happening again. And to me that is going to be the main point coming out of this entire mess! 

 

The EY report

 

The EY Report Commissioned by Auckland Council CEO

·

The Release and Report as Is

[No Commentary]

 

Below is the Release and subsequent EY report that was commissioned by Council CEO Doug McKay. I will not be running any commentary in this post on the report and all comments will be disabled.

 

From Auckland Council:

Chief Executive statement: EY Independent Review

 

Doug McKay

Chief Executive, Auckland Council

13 December 2013 

 

The EY report released today summarises the findings of their review into the use of council resources and any improper preferential employment treatment, as it relates to the Mayor’s relationship with Ms Bevan Chuang. I commissioned EY to undertake the review to address concerns that had been raised.

This has been an exhaustive and comprehensive review. It addresses the issues that had been raised and I am satisfied that EY has delivered a robust and thorough report.

EY was asked to examine:

 

  • any use of council resources within the Office of the Mayor, in respect of the Mayor’s relationship with Ms Chuang, that contravenes council policies;
  • any improper preferential treatment in relation to Ms Chuang’s engagement as an employee, contractor or an advisor within the Auckland Council Group; and
  • any other issues that the reviewers or Chief Executive considers relate to, or arise out of, the above matters.

 

The review covered the period from the council’s amalgamation on 1 November 2010 to the commissioning of the review on 21 October 2013. EY’s findings are based on a factual and evidence-based review of the Mayor’s use of council resources as it relates to council policies and processes and, where appropriate, external obligations. EY has conclusively addressed the terms of reference of the review.

 

EY found that the Mayor did not inappropriately use council resources to support the relationship with Ms Chuang. EY examined the use of council phones, credit cards, expense claims, gifts, mayoral car use and travel. Any use, where it existed, was generally within the permitted guidelines and policies. EY did not find any expense claims funded by council to purchase gifts, accommodation, meals or entertainment as they relate to Ms Chuang.

Arising out of the review, EY found that there were some instances where the relevant council policies were not fully met, or the use of resources raised questions. These include, the amount the Mayor reimbursed to council for costs incurred for personal mobile usage, the Mayoral driver used for private family transportation when the Mayor was overseas, and the payment by council of a portion of a modest overseas dinner that was arguably private.

EY found the Mayor received nine complimentary hotel rooms that have not been registered as gifts or disclosed in his completed annual Declaration of Interests. EY reports the value of the complimentary rooms based on rates provided by the hotels is $6,130. They also found the Mayor received hotel upgrades which have not been registered as gifts or disclosed in the Declaration of Interests. There were 64 instances valued by the hotels at $32,888.50.

EY did not identify any improper preferential treatment in relation to Ms Chuang’s employment, contracting or advisory roles within the council group.

During the course of EY’s review, I was asked about the Mayor’s trip to Hong Kong undertaken in January 2013. The Mayor was a guest of the Hong Kong Government and all costs for flights, accommodation and hotel meal expenses were funded by the Hong Kong Government. The Mayor did not claim any expenses. No staff or support services, such as a translator, accompanied the Mayor.

 

I am now satisfied that the EY’s report has addressed the concerns raised with me. I would like to thank EY for completing this review and all the parties that assisted them.

—ends—

 

The EY Report in Full

 

 

Information from Auckland Council

·

For Your Reading Pleasure

 

 

Some releases from the Council on matters happening around the City, starting with alcohol…

 

All Things Booze

Alcohol law changes begin next week

 

Major changes to New Zealand’s drinking laws come into force next week in an aim to reduce alcohol harm.  The reforms, introduced under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act (SSAA) 2012, focus on changing our drinking culture through the responsible sale and supply of alcohol.

 

Passed by Parliament in 2012, aspects of the new law have been phased in throughout the year with the final changes taking effect 18 December 2013.  For the alcohol industry this now means:

 

  • Stricter controls on alcohol advertising and promotion, including making it an offence to promote alcohol in a way that appeals to minors
  • A clear definition of “intoxication” will  mean licensees can meet their obligations to not serve intoxicated people, or let them enter the premises
  • New alcohol licensing criteria – licences will be harder to obtain and easier to lose
  • Supermarkets and grocery stores are required to display alcohol in a single area
  • Harsher penalties and fines in place for serving minors or illegal promotion of alcohol
  • Maximum trading hours for on-licences 8am – 4am (bars/clubs/restaurants) and off-licences 7am -11pm (all supermarkets/liquor outlets/wine shops). However, all licensed premises with shorter hours remain bound by their current licence and cannot extend to these maximum hours.

 

For the public, the alcohol law reforms not only affect when they can purchase alcohol from bars or the local wine shop but how alcohol is served to minors in the home.  As of 18 December, it will be illegal to supply alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 unless you are their parent or guardian or have express consent from them.  The penalty for breaching the law is a fine of up to $2,000.

 

Auckland Council, Hospitality NZ, Auckland Transport and Police have worked closely together in preparing for the changes that will occur next week including a campaign on the new restriction requiring on-licences to close at 4am which will affect up to 300 operators in central Auckland.  Being the busy Christmas season, extra transport has been provided for Aucklanders to get home safely.

In future, maximum trading hours for Auckland will be determined by the region’s local alcohol policy (LAP).  The SSAA now gives all districts the ability to develop LAP to govern the sale, supply, or consumption of alcohol within its area.   Auckland Council is currently developing its policy with a draft being released for full public consultation in early 2014.

—-ends—

 

Further Information

The new hours, as prescribed by central government effective from 18 December 2013, are:

  • 8am – 4am On-licences (bars, clubs, restaurants)
  • 7am – 11pm Off-licences (all supermarkets, liquor outlets, wine shops)

 

Auckland Transport has the following transport options available to late night patrons in the city:

  • Buses are currently available until 3.40am from Britomart.
  • The weekend of 21/22 December extra transport is being provided:
    • The Northern Busway will provide services throughout the two nights
    • Trains will run from 5.00am with hourly services for the western, eastern & southern to Manukau and southern to Papakura lines.
  • For specific times and more information visit www.at.co.nz

For more on Alcohol Licensing Changes visit www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/liquor

For a full copy of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and additional fact sheets visit

www.justice.govt.nz/policy/sale-and-supply-of-alcohol

 

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Council Christmas/New Years Hours

 

Everyone likes a nice Christmas-New Years break

Auckland Council Christmas Hours

 

Auckland Council wishes all Aucklanders a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Services that will continue over the Christmas break include:

Pools and recreation centres http://www.aucklandleisure.co.nz/

Rubbish and recycling collections with the exception of collections on 25th, 26th December and 1st and 2nd January which will be collected the following day.

Animal management services will run normal business hours.

The Auckland Council 24-hour call centre and the written communication response team will remain.

 

Other Auckland Council departments including service centres and local board offices will be closed over the holiday period from midday Friday 20 December until Monday 6 January.

 

For more information visit www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or call 09 3010101.

 

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Consents on time

And there are extra staff to process those consents – which is good if anyone is planning to kick start a major project this summer

Consent teams gear up for development bonanza

Auckland Council’s building and resource consents teams are gearing up to meet an increase in consenting volumes in tune with the improving Auckland economy.

Teams are achieving 95 per cent approvals of non-notified consents and 98 per cent for building consents within the statutory timeframes.

Both departments are preparing to meet the increased demand through additional resources.  The two teams have a total staff of 1100 across council service centres with additional external consultants to provide overflow capacity when required.

Both building and resource consent teams have fast track processes to streamline low-risk applications, delivering services within five and 10 working days.  Currently 11 per cent of resource consents are processed within 10 working days.

Resource consents currently in progress or issued in the last five months will permit over 20,000 new residential dwellings or lots to be built over the next five or so years. A further 10,000 units/lots are in discussion at pre-application stage.

Finance and Performance Committee chair, Councillor Penny Webster, said even higher demand will result from the Auckland Housing Accord’s ambitious targets for new residential lots and dwellings.

“It’s a sign that Auckland is on the move on the housing front with construction likely to flow through across Auckland including the new Special Housing Areas,” she said.

Consent applications show a shift away from property alterations and additions to   large scale applications for apartments, greenfield developments and infrastructure projects.

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Speaking of Special Housing Areas there is a further update of that coming through on Monday. Tuesday morning I should have the latest on the SHA’s and what does it mean for Auckland.