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Local Boards Now Have Power to Oppose Liquor Licence Applications

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Contentious debate but the amendment passed

 

And so after a contentious debate today at the Governing Body, Councillor Cathy Casey’s amendment with even support of Councillor Cameron Brewer passed which allows Local Boards to directly object to Liquor Licence applications.

From Stuff

Boards get say in liquor outlets

JAMES IRELAND Last updated 15:38 25/09/2014

Auckland’s local boards now have the power to oppose liquor licence applications.

At this morning’s Governing Body meeting, councillor Cathy Casey put forward the amendment which passed after an hour long debate.

Councillors Bill Cashmore, Penny Webster, George Wood and Penny Hulse voted against the amendment.

Council’s relationship manager Rex Hewitt said giving local boards the voice to oppose licences has the potential to cause problems.

“DLCs are committees of the council. Allocating or delegating local boards the power to object with subsequent appeal rights, creates a situation where two governance arms of Auckland Council could be opposing each other.”

His recommendation was for local boards to not be given this power.

Local board members can be appointed to the licencing committee but they cannot make decisions that affect their own area.

Casey’s amendment wiped out the original vote which would have allowed local boards to provide reports to District Licencing Committees on license applications.

Councillor Cameron Brewer said it is not necessarily a bad thing if two arms of council disagree.

“If the DLCs and the local board are going hammer and tongs over an application that’s highly contentious then I think that’s healthy. If the local boards think it’s so important that they’re going to go through an appeal process then I think that’s important.”

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Full article and source here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10544571/Boards-get-say-in-liquor-outlets

This post will be updates when the resolutions and vote numbers come out so stand by for the update on that one.

 

So that is how the votes fell and Liquor Licence application “control” just went down to the Local Board away from a more regional auspices.

More soon

 

Auckland Wants Decent Public Transport AND Affordable Housing

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Auckland gets surveyed and responds

 

From Auckland Council

Public transport tops Aucklanders’ priorities

The majority of Aucklanders say better public transport, less traffic congestion, and more affordable and quality housing are the top priorities for the region.

The results are part of an annual survey measuring what Aucklanders want from their council and how they feel Auckland Council is performing.

The annual survey is a valuable tool to help the council gauge the concerns and priorities of its residents, and to identify where the council needs to improve its services, activities and communication.

The latest council-Colmar Brunton survey was concluded in September 2013 and measures a range of factors, including perception and attitudes towards council’s performance, and what Aucklanders want from their council.

When asked what Auckland needed to focus on to become the world’s most liveable city, 61 per cent of respondents said improved public transport, 54 per cent said reduced traffic congestion, and 44 per cent said more affordable and quality housing.

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The report from the survey can be found below

Note: The survey looks at the full efforts and branding of Auckland Council