Not on I have received pieces of information that the recently formed Public Transport Users Association might have so issues at its top level. Their strong wording against Auckland … Continue reading Public Transport Users Association Negativity Towards Auckland Transport
I am observing the Unitary Plan hearings currently under way in which the Panel is covering ‘Urban Growth.’
Currently the full panel is hammering Auckland Council over both the Rural Urban Boundary itself as well as Greenfield releases. Specifically around how the releases would be done and would the releases mitigate against land banking.
But the big revelation came from Council after Panel Member Shepard (http://www.aupihp.govt.nz/profiles/#panel) finally managed to get out them this:
Council to the Panel: “we’ve (Auckland Council) always been reactive and not having the budgets to service development”
Council was long warned on both those particular matters especially being reactive rather than proactive around infrastructure provisions. I distinctly remember early in the Unitary Plan debates in 2013 that we should be proactive rather than reactive with infrastructure provisions (amongst other things) but our Deputy Mayor, and Chief Planning Officer didn’t want a bar of it for being afraid of running into infrastructure surpluses rather than deficits as current.
In my opinion being proactive would not result in an infrastructure surplus. To get that you need a total economic collapse like the USA went through with the Global Financial Crisis which killed off many new Greenfield developments still sitting idle today and giving rise to that surplus. Auckland right now is not teetering on such collapses so we should be getting proactive rather than be reactive which proves to be more expensive as the Council is commenting now on not having the budgets.
Well this is interesting:
Fuller: Has there been a detailed economic study on house price on the compact urban form?
Fairgray No
No wonder why Council has at the moment buried the Cost of Growth Study until next year after it was meant to be released this month. It seems Council has NOT done any detailed economic studies on house prices via the compact city model….
Lessons for Sydney here as it embarks on its own Sydney Plan (A Plan For Growing Sydney)
From Auckland Council:
Come and celebrate the 175th anniversary of Auckland, from Saturday 24 to Monday 26 January.
Auckland Council and ASB are partnering to transform Shed 10 and Queens Wharf to give Aucklanders a glimpse into our past across the three days of Auckland Anniversary weekend 2015.
Mayor Len Brown says “Auckland is coming of age, and you can feel a renewed sense of pride in our place and ourselves. The 175th anniversary is an important milestone for us so we’re looking forward to celebrating with an event reflecting who we are and what makes Auckland proud.”
The centre-piece of the event is a large-scale, never-seen-before, immersive multimedia exhibition which is a tribute to Aucklanders who have played a significant part in the region’s history. The exhibition, produced by acclaimed Creative Director Mike Mizrahi, features stories told on screen about the people who have shaped Auckland; and stories of Tamaki Makaurau will unfold in a live story-telling zone.
Quay Street will be closed to traffic, and as people arrive on Queens Wharf they will walk through an historic archway designed to mark this significant moment in the city’s history. Then the wharf – including Shed 10 and The Cloud – will come alive with entertainment and historical displays that will take people back in time.
A highlight of the weekend will be Sunday evening’s free concert from the HMNZS Otago – berthed alongside Queens Wharf. Curated by Tama Waipara, a selection of bands will bring a local flavour to the celebration. The concert will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display from barges in the harbour and from the Sky Tower. All three days will feature buskers, a waka display in the harbour, photographic exhibition, vintage cars lining Quay St, markets, food vendors and more.
“Since Sir John Logan Campbell and James Dilworth opened New Zealand’s first savings bank in Auckland in 1847, the histories of ASB and Auckland have been inexorably linked,” explains Barbara Chapman, ASB’s Chief Executive.
“Given ASB has been a key part of Auckland for over 165 years, we are proud to be working with Auckland Council to celebrate with everyone Auckland’s amazing journey to becoming the world-class city it is today.”
Mayor Brown adds; “We want everyone to come join the celebrations as we look back at a rich history, celebrate our diverse cultures and acknowledge some of those who have made Auckland great.”
……….
o Saturday 24 January: 10am – 6pm
o Sunday 25 January: 10am – 10pm (approx.)
o Monday 26 January: 10am – 6pm
o Saturday 24 – Monday 26 January: 12pm – 6pm daily
o Exclusive ASB customer access: daily 10am – 12pm
————————————
Providing the weather holds that weekend it should be a ball celebrating Auckland’s 175 years – young!
By now you would have seen the reports doing the rounds of a brawl breaking out at Britomart Station on Saturday night after the Christmas in the Park, and Raggamuffin events were concluded.
You can see the Herald report here:
By Sam Boyer, Mathew Dearnaley 6:10 PM Sunday Dec 14, 2014
Dozens of marauding youths brought Auckland trains to a halt last night as hundreds of people converged on Britomart to get home after Christmas in the Park.
Police and security guards closed access to the Super City’s main railway station soon after 11pm after 30 to 40 youths climbed on top of turnstiles and began pushing and shoving each other on the platforms.
A video on Facebook captured some of their behaviour, showing them taunting and making aggressive gestures to the guards.
A heavy sign was thrown across the turnstiles at the guards before police arrived to restore order.
…..
Source and full article: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11374116
The gates at Britomart themselves were the device as well as the guards and Maori Wardens that kept that brawl from spreading out of control.
But questions of the police need to be asked especially after a video emerged on Facebook showing the brawl going for five long minutes and still no police on the platform level. So to the Commander of Waitemata Police:
The video is here: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=857078164313656&pnref=story
This not the first time the police have failed to respond to such incidents at a pubic transport stop or station.
Our public transport is meant to be safe so people especially families will use it but if the police can not do its job in deterrence and busting of such disturbances it does not give confidence to the rest of the City and tourists when we do hold large events. Furthermore the main platform level is a dangerous place if bad behaviour occurs on that level. Falling onto the tracks sober will hurt as is, falling onto the tracks drunk and no control is not going to be a pretty sight especially if head hits the iron. Also train movements is enough to put things at higher risks of an accident before control manages to bring all such movements to a halt.
I have noted this is not also the first time Christmas in the Park has resulted in drunken behaviour either. That situation faces a very easily solution: either we tell our peers to get themselves back in order or face Council dropping the ban hammer on the event. A pity a few spoil it for the rest so we might be wanting to better self police our peers before an authority does it for us with a blunt instrument…
As a comparison the NRL 9’s earlier this year was a very busy event but no reports of major issues as we saw on Saturday night. So Auckland can get its collective self together…
And so then who will be held to account for this ball dropping?
New South Wales Releases its own (Sydney) Plan After Sydney left Auckland for dead with a Transit Orientated Development that effectively paid for itself (https://voakl.net/2014/11/28/sydney-leaves-auckland-for-dead/) it seems New South … Continue reading A Plan For Growing Sydney
All I can say some things are best left now to the confines to the (and in this case) the bins of History
So the Internet Mana Party is no more. As 3Newsreports, a letter has been sent to the Electoral Commission to confirm that the relationship has been terminated.
It’s hardly surprising. Given Kim Dotcom’s post-election acceptance that he’d poisoned the public mood against Internet Mana, it was only a matter of time before the Mana Movement and the Internet Party parted ways.
Admittedly, just before I headed to Melbourne last weekend, disappearing off the social media grid and ignoring the existence of news from the homeland, there were strange reports of the Internet Mana Party intending to soldier on through in unity to 2017, of Dotcom intending to continue his role as Internet Party puppet master, and of Dotcom preparing to export his failed Internet Party experiment to the United States.
Nonetheless, Dotcom had previously been bewailing his supposed technical insolvency. Given that the lure of the Internet Party for…
View original post 229 more words
Apologies folks but no Sunday BBQ podcast today.
The final Sunday BBQ podcast for 2014 will be next Sunday and we will be taking a look at the year that was for our Mayor.
Tomorrow I will look at the new Sydney Plan (http://www.strategy.planning.nsw.gov.au/sydney/) which again Sydney has pretty much left Auckland for dead again after it did so with a transit orientated development recently.
Put it this way while Sydney’s plan is ambitious it can be delivered and it recognises a few realities that Auckland missed with her own.
More tomorrow
I saw in the Auckland Transport Board Meeting closed agenda for this month as well as the forward program sheet that three stations are up for discussion and possible decisions.
They are:
The Agenda and Forward Program papers that caught my attention
I note that the discussion around all three stations is behind closed doors under the justification of frank and free discussion to which a decision will be noted (rather than actioned by the looks of it). All three stations have stirred up the emotions with Manurewa Local Board roping in the Mayor to get Te Mahia to stay open while Papakura Local Board and Councillor Calum Penrose are fighting to get Glenora Road Station built and operation (rather than Auckland Transport’s favoured Tironui Station).
What could be indicative around Westfield and Te Mahia is that they are on the Auckland Plan Transport Network funding program for upgrades. Meaning if full funding is available the stations would be upgraded within the next 10 years otherwise not at all under the current Basic Transport Network scenario. However, that APTN and BTN could change depending how the Governing Body treats the final version of the Long Term Plan next year.
That said Glenora Road Station is not on either the APTN or BTN but if Auckland Transport give it the green light then somehow the Council will need to get funding for it.
The agenda paper notes that the decisions around those three stations will be released in due course. It will be VERY interesting to see which way AT fall over these stations.
A look back at our Governing Body In this podcast I look back to the year that was with Auckland Council’s Governing Body. While not a great year for … Continue reading The Weekend Analysis: The Year That Was At Auckland Council
For my last Weekend Analysis for 2014 I was going to look back at the City Rail Link debate that happened on Tuesday. Well Kane from All About Auckland who was there when the Governing Body failed in their one job (Council: You Had ONE Job! UPDATED) delivered this promotional piece for his show on Monday:
The End of the Line?
The Governing Body convened for an Extraordinary Meeting on Tuesday to debate the City Rail Link for the 7th time. Quite why they were required to perform yet again remains unclear.
Most likely reasons being that a letter arrived on the Auditor General’s desk from some Councillors which may have had an unsettling effect on her.
Another reason being that the last meeting to discuss the CRL, at the Budget debate, saw a spilt decision on allowing a road tolling option to be included in the Transport Funding consultation document.
Len could not afford the political risk inherent in a decision that saw the far left and far right join forces against the centrists so when the opportunity for another vote loomed up in the form of the Auditor General rejecting the Budget while it included Central Government funding for the CRL, rather than quietly negotiating through it, he used the chance to improve his mandate.
The debate, which was a good one, marks the sorry end to Len’s political career as the Mayor with the Mojo. The Mayor in waiting said it all when, part way through the debate, she took careful aim and explained to him exactly how he should do his job. And all the while those on the left and the right giving him the benefit of their advice
—-ends—-
Ouch!
Kane’s piece certainly delivers enough material to work on as does Bob Dey’s piece as well.
So tomorrow on The Weekend Analysis I look back at the CRL debate as well as my picks for Councillor(s) of 2014 – both good and bad!
Promo piece
On This Week’s Show:
Episode 47
SkyTV Channel 83 FACETV
Monday at 9pm – repeats Tuesday 12.30pm
………..
Talking Southern Auckland 