Category: News

A News Post on something that has happened

School Safety on the Cards

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NZTA and Auckland Transport Streamline Funding Processes

 

From NZTA (and Auckland Transport)

School safety benefits from streamlined funding process

9 Oct 2014 08:38am | NZ Transport Agency: Auckland and Northland

Projects to improve safety around several schools in Auckland are being fast-tracked through a new streamlined funding process developed between the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Auckland Transport (AT).

The projects are part of AT’s Safety Around Schools initiative, which is primarily focused on 20 high risk schools located in Otahuhu, Mangere, Otara, and the eastern suburbs of Manukau from Howick to Botany Downs.   They include the installation of pedestrian crossings and refugee islands, 40kph school zone speed limit signage, and cycle lanes.

Total cost of the projects is $4.5m.  The Transport Agency is covering $2.4 million of the cost (53%), and AT the remainder.

In the past, both AT and the Transport Agency would review and approve funding applications.  Under the streamlined process introduced earlier this year, AT can review and approve funding applications for projects under $5m using the Transport Agency’s funding criteria.

“It means that funding can be delivered more quickly than in the past,” says the Transport Agency Planning and Investment Manager Coralie O’Brien. “Helping improve safety for children around schools is a very positive example of how the simplified process works.”

AT’s Community and Road Safety Manager, Karen Hay, says the Safety Around Schools initiative also aims to reduce morning congestion by encouraging people to walk and cycle and use public transport as an alternative to the car.

“This is having a significant impact on congestion and pollution. Initiatives have reduced the number of cars delivering students to school by 12,000 during each morning rush hour.  That equates to 2.4 million trips saved every year without even counting the trips saved in the afternoons.”

AT is also investigating further safety initiatives for schools in central Auckland, and in the west and north of the city.
One of the Transport Agency’s roles is to provide funds from its National Land Transport Programme to help councils and their organisations deliver a range of public transport, roading and cycling and walking projects for their communities.

Transport Agency funds are gathered from excise duties on fuel, road user charges and vehicle registration fees and re-invested in transport-related projects like AT’s Safety Around Schools initiative.

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Source: NZTA website

 

Good to see this happening. That said I have not forgotten about the Southern Motorway upgrades including the Takanini Interchange upgrade which caused some concerns around lack of bus lanes in the given area. I am waiting for the next phase of the development to be complete to see what comes up before firing any relevant questions off again – to Auckland Transport.

 

NZPI In Denial?

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Yeah… But English also cheap shot-ting as well

 

I saw this presser from the New Zealand Planning Institute:

Urban planning not to blame for inequality

Regardless of whether the government accepts or rejects a growing gap in equality within New Zealand, it has agreed that there are a variety of national and international issues that cause inequality, including finance and tax policy, under and un-employment, the pressure of foreign investment etc.

NZPI is therefore surprised and disappointed at Minister Bill English’s recent comment that the single biggest contributor to the gap between the haves and have nots is ‘urban planning processes’.  This view is unsupported in any publicly available government report on inequality within New Zealand. On the contrary, the evidence available suggests that urban planning processes play a negligible part in housing affordability which is now being inextricably linked with inequality.
The regions of New Zealand face quite different pressures.

Land availability and housing affordability are not typically problems that face provincial New Zealand and yet poverty is very evident in our provinces. Local planning policy is one contributor to housing affordability but certainly not the main one. The relative inability to build at scale, relative high cost of building materials, land banking, tax structure, interest rates, profiteering and sentiment towards residential property as an asset class in general have a huge role in housing affordability.

NZPI waits with interest to hear of the Government’s proposed changes to the RMA, the legislation that sets the context for all planning policies in NZ.

Ends.

……..

A fellow Tweeter did say the NZPI is in a bit of self denial and that Bill English did certainly fire a cheap shot after sitting on his hands for the last six years when he could have been a tad more productive then and now.

The inability to build at scale, and land banking are both direct consequences of actual planning policy and regulation. Thus I would also argue those two issues are two of the three biggest issues around the housing situation (the other being the NIMBY – Consenting (so development controls)).

Not rather pleased with NZPI in light of that presser…

 

Key to Look at the RMA Reforms

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Reaching Out

 

From Scoop Business Desk

Key confirms review of most contentious RMA reforms

Monday, 6 October 2014, 1:58 pm
Article: BusinessDesk

Key confirms review of most contentious RMA reforms

By Pattrick Smellie Oct. 6 (BusinessDesk) – Prime Minister John Key has made his most explicit comments since the election that contentious reforms to the Resource Management Act will be reviewed and may not proceed.

Key appointed Nick Smith to the environment portfolio in his new ministry announcement today, returning him to a role previously held by Amy Adams.

Speaking to BusinessDesk after the Cabinet announcement today, Key said he expected Smith to “go away and have a very good look at” proposals to reform the RMA, which would have led to the merging of two crucial clauses, Sections 6 and 7. These clauses define the “sustainable management” principle in Section 5 of the RMA. Adams had led proposals to collapse the two interpretive clauses into one and to add economic development elements that would balance up environmental considerations.

Environmental groups and opposition parties were alarmed by the proposals, which stalled in the last Parliament after the United Future and Maori parties refused to back them. While the National party could count on the one vote available from the Act party to pass the proposals in the new Parliament, Key is signalling a willingness to hear alternative approaches, making good on commitments he made to environmental lobby leaders before the Sept. 20 election.

“The concern that the environmental agencies and lobby groups have made is a real concern about that merger of 6 and 7,” said Key. “The question is: do you need to merge 6 and 7 to deliver the outcomes that you want? There’s quite a mixture of views. Some people think it’s actually quite possible for us to not merge 6 and 7, allay some of the concerns of the environmental groups, and still deliver.”

Greater use of National Policy Statements and National Environmental Standards, which are already provided for in the existing RMA, is being proposed as a simpler alternative. It would also avoid the potential for years of litigation to establish new case law around substantially changed RMA purposes clauses.

Key also outlined two further issues requiring Smith’s attention, saying a sunset clause in existing Special Housing Area legislation needed to be “embedded in the RMA”, and that there was an as yet unpublicised issue relating to industrial land that needed resolving.

“I’d expect Nick to go and have a look at his whole building and construction portfolio and see how that ties in ultimately with the RMA reform,” Key said. “He’ll obviously go and talk to the other interested groups on both sides, from business right through to the environment, and see how that looks.”

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Source and full article: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1410/S00187/key-confirms-review-of-most-contentious-rma-reforms.htm

 

I was talking to Green MP Julie Ann-Genter around the Section 6 reforms of the Resource Management Act to which Ms Genter stated that the Government could look around the National Policy Statements, and National Environment Standards rather than gutting Section 6 (and 7).

Well it seems the Government might just be doing that in embarking on the NPS and NES fronts with the RMA reforms.

It will be interesting to see how Key plans to go down this road. It will be a legacy for him but whether a good or bad legacy depends how Key pulls the RMA reforms off. Also it will be interesting to see if the RMA reforms affect the Unitary Plan Hearings and results in any way as well.

 

Power Crisis Over? Teeth Gnashing Begins

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However, will the result  be the same as 1998?

 

And so the Isthmus is no longer powerless with power restored to all but a few hundred homes as of this morning.

For full details (and saving me repeating a lot of it) you can read the Herald article here (as well as see the damage): http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11338075

 

And so with the Crisis over and the response teams doing a very fine job (and so I send thanks), the job of teeth gnashing (the inquiry) will begin.

However, I do wonder if the inquiry will be somewhat pointless as unless it was truly an Act of God that set the cables alight we I am suspicious again of: Failure in planning, governance and investment.

From what I can see from the Herald this morning in the above linked article it seems already it might be just that.

 

Let me put it this way. Go watch the second Matrix Movie where they attempt to enter the building where Neo will find the Architect. They need to shut the power down to the building or the self destruct triggers. So they blow up a power station which initially causes the black out until the smart grid reroutes power very quickly. The back up was shut down manually after that but that was caused by man-made (well Niobe) interference.

Point?

Large advanced cities have smart grids that reroute power in the event such as what Auckland just went through. Granted that Otahuhu Power Station and substation got reinforced and that the new cabling rerouted power back to the City Centre however, Penrose is still a choke point and it again (last was 2012) blacked out a large portion of the Isthmus. After the 1998 and especially after 2006 sagas this should not happen of we truly invested in a true smart grid system. AND we should not be paying a cent more on our power bills to get such a system. No Prime Minister, your advice should have been to tell the AECT (read the Herald article on who they are) to forego the $300m dividend paid out to consumers for five years and have that dividend money invested back into the grid until we have a true smart grid.

 

However, knowing New Zealand we will do the teeth gnashing and within three years maybe another blackout on the Isthmus…

Consider ourselves lucky we don’t operation commercial nuclear power stations…..

 

Civil Defence Update In Light of Power Failure

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Rolling updates as it happens

 

From Auckland Civil Defence and Auckland Council

Civil Defence activated to assist with effects of substation power cut

Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management’s emergency coordination centre was activated early this morning to assist with managing the effects of the Penrose substation fire.

A number of Auckland suburbs are without power. Vector estimates it will take 24 to 48 hours to restore power to St Johns, Remuera, Sylvia Park and Mt Wellington.

Vector estimates the following areas could be restored this afternoon: Newmarket, Glen Innes, Onehunga and parts of Epsom.

Clive Manley, Civil Defence Controller says his priority is to provide assistance to those who are in most need and ensure that critical infrastructure continues to operate.

“We are in close contact with Vector, Transpower, Police and the Fire Service.”

“People who are medically dependent should have implemented their alternative arrangements. If they need additional help they should contact Vector 0508 VECTOR (0508 832 867) or if life-threatening, call 111.”

Civil Defence will provide updates through the day.

Follow Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management on Facebook and Twitter @AucklandCDEM. 

If you have a smartphone, you can receive instant updates from the Auckland Civil Defence app, available in your app store.

Go to aucklandcivildefence.org.nz/Alerting/Get-the-Applications

……

More as the updates come through

 

Comms Failure 101 over New Big Brother Surveillance System [Updated]

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Auckland Transport Teach Us Comms Failure over New Big Brother Surveillance System

 

Someone in Auckland Transport will be banging their heads on the desk after this rather large comms failure in regards to the new surveillance system due to be rolled out for an unknown sum of money.

From Stuff:

Sophisticated surveillance coming to Auckland

MICHAEL FIELD Last updated 15:52 01/10/2014

Surveillance technology that uses high definition cameras and software that puts names to faces and owners to cars is coming to Auckland.

Surveillance will also include scanning social media and news websites.

Auckland Transport, the regional transport provider, has yet to announce the multi-million dollar deal, but California’s Hewlett-Packard Development Company said today it has the contract.

No dollar sum is given.

They call it a “visionary Big Data” project and in a statement said Auckland has selected HP “to drive groundbreaking future cities initiative”.

With over 2000 cameras deployed across Auckland, the system will use a “HP Intelligent Scene Analysis System” and licence plate recognition for accurate identification.

They will screen for dangerous activities and analyse safety threats across the city.

All the data gathered by the cameras will be processed by HP cloud servers based in Palo Alto, California.

Auckland Transport’s PR department has not confirmed the announcement, but Auckland Transport’s Chief Information Officer Roger Jones is quoted by HP.

“The safety and well-being of our citizens is always our top priority and the Future Cities initiative is a big step in the right direction,” he is quoted saying.

“Only HP could comprehensively deliver the custom solution, expertise and ecosystem at this scale to transform our vision into reality.”

The vast amount of data including text, images, audio and real-time video will be analysed by HP’s system.

….

Full article, video, and source here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/10567293/Sophisticated-surveillance-coming-to-Auckland

Okay the part in bold either illustrates comms incompetence or someone not telling the full story.

 

However, check these line of Tweets out over the procurement of the system:

Credits to Transport Blog for pointing this out

 

I believe an investigation by Council, and the Auditor General might be very well needed into the procurement of this Big Brother system. As for Auckland Transport? Blessed and Special come to mind over this…

[Update] Auckland Transport Replies

Auckland Transport replied on Twitter last night pointing us to the Herald article about scheme that was published in late July.

However, Transport Blog continues on the case this morning with this post: AT’s surveillance system 

The questions are no longer about the scheme itself per-se but the procurement around it….