2014 to be a very busy year

 

 

I had noted that Local Board member and Labour Party member Greg Presland wrote a piece “challenging” Auckland Council to basically get its act together within the next 100 days. You can see the particular post here: “Auckland Council’s next 100 days.” I took a read of it, left a Facebook post behind, and left it that dismissing it as trivial and for me somewhat offensive.

However, when the Deputy Mayor and a senior Councillor (George Wood) comment on the Facebook post you left behind pointing out the Council is unified and not amused with what was written in The Standard, then a second look is warranted.

 

What Presland wrote was a nuclear MAD situation if it all blew up and went to literal hell in Auckland Council and to be honest we were looking at that situation – although briefly. However, based on my own observations, interactions with Council, and conversations with many people from all sides of the spectrum I can again concur with Penny Hulse and George Wood in the fact the Council is more strongly unified and is indeed advancing forward.

In saying that when I mean unified I do not mean that all 20 Councillors will sit there and go yes, yes, yes. By unified I mean that we will have: disagreements, robust debate, votes failing and passing, Councillors Brewer and Casey giving each other big hugs in the Council Chamber (yeah that was one of the more odd things I saw last year), presentations given, alternatives floated, members of the citizenry chastising the Council or the Council Control Organisations for some cock up along the way, and plenty of that wonderful filter coffee at the back of the room along with the biscuits. Most of all though stuff is getting done and the City is feeling confident.

We have “fresh leadership” ready to go as natural leaders came into their own in the low moments of the Len Brown saga. We saw Penny Hulse and Christine Fletcher who are known to have some robust debates against each other for the sake of Auckland steer the City through some of those testing times last year. Penny and Chris ,the City did notice and are watching the pair of you now. Len might come back and lead the City to a very prosperous three years but he might not as well – only time will tell that story so no point trying to forward-predict that one. None-the-less the City was impressed by both of your leadership late last year and in my observations and opinion is one of the core reasons why both Council is unified and the City is confident in herself.

 

Thus we bring ourselves to 2014 – the beginning of the City Building Era.

We have the Unitary Plan heading towards the hearing processes before the Commissioners. Area and Local Board Plans are due to start late next month and affect our local communities. The next edition of the Long Term Plan (the master budget document) and the Integrated Transport Program (master transport document) come out mid year. And the Council Comm’s team inform me there is plenty more to come out to keep the City busy and “occupied.”

On the back of all this we are seeing business and consumer confidence in Auckland hitting highs not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis that began about seven years ago. Increased business confidence means investment in things like plant (Sleepyhead investing in Manukau), more staff etc, etc, etc. Increased consumer confidence means we are willing to part with our credit cards more willingly and spend spend spend. To add further fuel to business and consumer confidence levels is the population growth cycle is tracking up again which means literally even more city building and investment occurs. Thus a confident and growing city is (usually) a happy and unified city.

 

Lets start this year being confident and positive shall we – none of this negativity. We have a unified Council and a unified and increasingly confident Auckland.

As our Deputy Mayor said: ” Budget done, panel set up, councillors cohesive and working well……CEO already at work and we are set for a good year.”

I  concur