Civics 301

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

Keeping up to date with Council happenings

 

Change of posts. Civic 301 was to be on ‘Presenting to a Committee’ with Civics (and what was to be the final lesson) 401 on ‘Keeping up to date with Council happenings.’ However, I have swapped them round today with the ‘Presenting to a Committee post (thus final post) to be up tomorrow.

 

Civics 301 – Keeping up to date with Council happenings

The best way to be kept up to date with what Auckland Council and Auckland Transport are up to is sign up to their email lists, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter if you have those respective accounts. Fail that you can also trawl the respective websites from time to time.

Some quick links for you:

 

An example of an email you can get is like the one below for Stakeholders like myself (Stakeholder is usually defined in this case of people who display high interest and interaction with the Council):

 
Happy New Year

 

Make sure you have your say on Auckland’s future

Over the coming months, Aucklanders will be able to have their say on some of the key plans and documents that will shape the way Auckland grows and help it continue to develop into the world’s most liveable city. This includes the drafts of the Local Board Plans (your opportunity to influence what happens in your community), the Annual Plan (which sets out the spending priorities for next financial year), and the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (which sets out the rules for what people can do with their land).

 

Auckland Unitary Plan

The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan is open for formal submissions until Friday 28 February. To find out more about the plan, please read this overview – or the paper on how the plan can help to create a more business-friendly city. You can also look through the local area factsheets for details on what the plan means for local areas, as well as this page outlining which rules already apply and a range of factsheets detailing what the plan means for some of the key issues of interest.

 

Draft Annual Plan 2014/2015 consultation

From Thursday 23 January to Monday 24 February 2014, Aucklanders will have the opportunity to have their say on Auckland Council’s draft annual plan for 2014/2015.

Some of the key highlights in the draft plan include:

  • making the Auckland Arts Festival an annual event
  • making better use of Auckland’s four major stadiums
  • a range of proposed projects and budget changes for the 21 local boards.

Consultation closes at 4pm on Monday 24 February.

 

Draft Navigation Safety Bylaw

Next month Auckland Council will consult on proposed changes to its Navigation Safety Bylaw, which includes making it compulsory to wear life jackets on vessels six metres and under.

Other proposed changes include:

  • carrying a communication device would also be compulsory
  • prohibition of anyone being in charge of a vessel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  • improved management of moorings sites.

Submissions open Friday 14 February and close Monday 17 March 2014. More information will be available on the council’s ‘Have your say’ webpage when the consultation opens.

 

Local Board Plans 2014: building a better future for our communities 

Auckland’s 21 local boards are currently developing their local board plans which will set objectives for our local communities for the next three years and beyond. We would like your views on how the boards can work with your community to make our neighbourhoods an even better place to live, work and play. We want to know what’s important to you, what services you think we should provide and what projects we should focus on.

Further information will be available on our webpage early February including the opportunity to have your say.

 

Area Plans

The purpose of an area plan is to show how the Auckland Plan (its outcomes, proposed changes and strategic directions) will be put in place at a local level.  They will help shape the future of local areas and the way people live, work and play in the next 20 to 30 years.  They are based on the 21 local board areas.

The second round of area plans are underway in 2014 for the following areas:

  • Devonport-Takapuna
  • Ōtara-Papatoetoe.

Initial community engagement on these plans is taking place in February-March, with consultation on the draft area plans in June 2014. This is in combination with the local board plans for these areas.

 

How to stay informed and involved

Visit www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/haveyoursay for more information on opportunities to have your say.

There are a number of plans, policies and bylaws which will be released for consultation during 2014.  Please check and update your contact details and confirm your areas of interest  to ensure you are on specific stakeholder lists for the up and coming consultation projects.

In the meantime, if you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing us atconsultation@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

 

Kind regards

Auckland Council’s consultation and engagement team

 

Plenty of links to keep everyone busy with something that is bound to catch your interest when it comes to Auckland Governance. For me it is usually things like the Unitary Plan, Area Plans, and urban design projects that crop up from time to time. Periodically I will get involved with transport issues but those are usually when those issues concern Southern Auckland.

 

Keeping yourself abreast of what is going on will provide a solid foundation when you wish to give presentations to the Council, Local Boards or Auckland Transport (this also applies when writing submissions as well). They sell those well-informed are well armed when it comes to influencing policy and participating more actively in the democratic process than just casting a vote every three years or spamming the Letters to the Editor section of the Herald.

 

As I have said in the other Civic posts there are two things when interacting with just not only the Council but our State institutions as a whole:

  1. Patience is a virtue: good ideas can and do make it through and become “policy” – it like most things take time
  2. There is listening and listening. The public sector are obliged to listen but not listen. If you think about Council when presenting or at hearings as a Democratic Contest of Ideas (dictatorships don’t have this) then well life can be easier for you if the idea gets rejected

 

Tomorrow will be the last of Civic post series as well as an index to the Council official information on “having your say” where I derived my series from.

 

I hope this series has helped and maybe inspire you to participate in the Governance of Auckland some more. Yes it can be rewarding as well as down right frustrating but that is life all the way through.