Month: April 2015

Two Mayoral Candidates Announced for 2016 Election

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And we can take this as the race has started

It seems people are lining themselves up for the mayoral race already with an announcement coming out last night.

From Voxy:

Berry to stand for Auckland mayoralty in 2016

 Saturday, 11 April, 2015 – 21:54

Following speculation over the last couple of weeks, Affordable Auckland Leader Stephen Berry has confirmed he will be contesting the Auckland Mayoralty as well as standing for Council in the ward of Albany. “In the absence of a Mayoral candidate advocating lower rates, focusing on core Council services and deregulating the housing market, I am assuming the responsibility of representing the interests of the ratepayers and residents of Auckland.”

Mr. Berry previously stood for the Mayoralty in 2013, finishing in third place with 13650 votes or 4.1%. He accepts that at this stage he is an outside chance to win but believes Affordable Auckland will be able to have a strong impact on the result of the election. “In 2013 we started campaigning only six months out from the election, our limited resources were spread across five cities and we were ignored by the media. This time around we are starting to campaign today, we will have more resources focused only on the Auckland election and our voice cannot be ignored.

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Rest of the spiel can be seen here: http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/berry-stand-auckland-mayoralty-2016/5/218526

What caught my attention in the statement though was this:

Mr. Berry considers that based on past performance and the opportunities this ticket has going for it, it would not be unreasonable at this stage to forecast his candidacy may attract 30,000 votes. “I will continue to be a candidate for Mayor as long as there is not another candidate who supports Affordable Auckland’s policies and may attract more votes. Should someone like Cameron Brewer put their name forward in a potential scenario which may indicate a close result, I will be only too happy to consider withdrawing to consolidate support for advocates of smaller council.

I am going to consider that statement until there is an out right denial as Cameron Brewer also running for Mayor next year on a Right Wing ticket.

So in effect two Right Wingers have announced or implied running in what is going to be an interesting contest next year for Local Government elections.

Unacceptable By All Grounds – Open Full Public Inquiry Needed

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This story should not be occurring if Auckland Transport and Transdev Got Their Acts Together

I was shown this earlier today:

Train services leave Pukekohe commuter in tears

Posted On 10 Apr 2015 By :

A Pukekohe commuter has been left alone at night and in tears over delays involving Auckland Transport.

Kristie Weeks travels the Southern Line from Pukekohe to Britomart fives days a week. On Friday March 13th, Kristie caught her usual 5.18pm service home to Pukekohe.

After further delays the train reached Takanini and passengers were told the train would be terminating at Papakura and taxi vans would be arranged to take them rest of the way to Pukekohe.

Only two taxi vans had been arranged and Kristie was left in tears, alone in an unfamiliar place at night. With no seats left she was told she would need to make her own way home.

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The same incident happened the following Monday, fortunately, Kristie was able to get a seat on the taxi van that night.  More train delays and terminations continued throughout the week, leaving Kristie and other passengers sitting at a standstill for more than two hours due to broken trains ahead.

……..

Media Relations Manager for Auckland Transport, Mark Hannan, told We Love Pukekohe that this is unacceptable.

“There should have been replacement transport available for all passengers, and we apologise if this wasn’t the case. Transdev (Auckland) is investigating and are now contacting staff who worked those shifts.”

There has been no response since from Transdev to We Love Pukekohe’s request for comment.

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Source and full post: http://welovepukekohe.com/pukekohe-tears-fro-train-commuter/

That just strengthens my call for Auckland Council to conduct a full and open public inquiry into our metro rail network. Do the inquiry of confidence and faith grounds especially as patronage grows but that growth is at risk from confidence issues.

The last four weeks with rail failures are unacceptable and both Transdev insofar as their management and control room, and Auckland Transport need to lift their game. We do not need “accidents” owing to their respective failures like Pukekohe.

Chief Strategy Officer to Auckland Council Appointed

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Jim Quinn Takes Over from Dr Roger Blakely

From Auckland Council:

Auckland Council Chief of Strategy appointment

Today Auckland Council CEO, Stephen Town, announced the appointment of Jim Quinn as the new Chief of Strategy.

Mr Quinn is an experienced CEO and executive manager. As the inaugural CEO of KiwiRail he led the integration of New Zealand’s rail assets and created the plan to turn the business around.

Stephen Town says “This is a pivotal role in the refreshed executive leadership team and will take the lead in translating Auckland’s big plans into action and building a unified region.”

“Jim is joining us at a time when Auckland is growing and changing rapidly. His knowledge of infrastructure, transport and the technology industry will be a great asset to Auckland Council and Aucklanders.”

Jim has previous experience in General Management roles with New Zealand Post, Advantage Group, WEL Energy, QED Software and New Zealand Couriers. He was Chair of MCom for nine years and is currently a director at Lyttleton Port, Payments New Zealand, Halls Group and Go Bus.

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 Further Information

Mr Quinn replaces Roger Blakely who completed his fixed term as Chief Planning Officer.

The Chief Planning Office (CPO) is the policy and planning division of Auckland Council which was established in November 2010.

The Chief Planning Office has been responsible for the preparation of several of the plans and strategies developed in the first term of the Auckland Council, including:

  • The Auckland Plan
  • Economic Development Strategy
  • City Centre Master Plan
  • Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan
  • Area Plans

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