Funding Announced NZTA have recently released a presser on funding to assist design work on both the Manukau and Otahuhu Transport Interchanges. From NZTA Funding support for Auckland bus/rail … Continue reading NZTA Funding Designs for South Auckland Transport Interchanges
Auckland Council is looking for new Commissioners to take up the reigns from mid-year. Note these are not Commissioners for the Unitary as they have already been appointed.
From Auckland Council
Applications are invited from qualified people to join Auckland Council’s pool of independent hearing commissioners.
A current “Making Good Decisions” accreditation by the Ministry for the Environment is preferred, and will be essential from 12 September 2014, along with skills in general planning or resource management law.
Applications close on 14 March 2014 for positions starting 1 June 2014 for a three year term, reviewable annually.
The council currently has contracts with about 60 independent commissioners and these contracts are due to expire on 31 May 2014. Under this review, the council is seeking to appoint about 40-50 independent commissioners.
Independent commissioners will sit as panel members, some as chairpersons.
They will sit on hearings for such purposes as resource consents, Section 357 objections, bylaw dispensations, reserve management plans, plan changes, special consultative procedures and notices of requirement.
Expertise in one or more of the following is required:
Hearings Committee chair Councillor Linda Cooper said the council had been well served by independent commissioners in the first term. The opportunity now arose to review and refresh the pool as the council moved forward under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan and Resource Management Act changes.
“We are entering a new planning era providing great prospects for skilled professionals and I’m sure that will be reflected in the quality of the applicants,” she added.
Two selection panels, each comprising senior managers from the council’s Democracy Services and Regional and Local Planning departments and a member of the Independent Maori Statutory Board, or person nominated by the IMSB, will present a list of preferred candidates to the Hearings Committee in May 2014.
Applicants should apply via www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/careers including Curriculum Vitae, a copy of their accreditation from the Ministry for the Environment, and, if they wish to be considered for a chairperson role, an example of a recent decision they have written.
Further information is available from Elizabeth McKenzie on 09 307 7557
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So send your applications now and be at the leading edge of helping shape Auckland’s future
An Opinion Risk is OK, if it is managed risk. Unmanaged risk is a disaster waiting to happen. Certainty is also OK, if it is managed certainty. Unmanaged certainty … Continue reading Unitary Plan: Managed Risk or Unmitigated Disaster?
Last Chance to get your say in on this significant planning document Tomorrow at 5pm the deadline will pass on submitting on the Proposed Unitary Plan. Yes you can … Continue reading Unitary Plan Submissions Close Friday
Auckland 2040 Rehashes Old Propaganda I notice the Herald ran an opinion piece from Richard Burton of the Auckland 2040 lobby group against the Unitary Plan. The Herald even … Continue reading Herald Passing Lobbying Material Again?
Cruising through the media outlets this morning I saw this pop up over the East-West Link verse the “Holiday Highway.”
From the NZ Herald
City business lobby prefers freight route
By Mathew Dearnaley 5:30 AM Wednesday Feb 26, 2014
Group says Onehunga-East Tamaki truck corridor more urgent than Govt’s pet road.
Auckland’s main business lobby says a freight corridor through the industrial belt from Onehunga to East Tamaki is far more urgent than the Government’s $760 million “road of national significance” to Warkworth.
But the Auckland Business Forum has admitted erring in a submission on the extension of the Northern Motorway from Puhoi, for which it says predicted economic benefits are far below what a freight road beside the Manukau Harbour would deliver.
The submission claims incorrectly that there are estimated benefits of $4 to $6 for every $1 which the freight link may cost to build – even though a route has yet to be determined, and a likely price is unknown.
That compares with just 60c to $1.10 which the Transport Agency expects to gain from the motorway extension from the Johnstones Hill toll road tunnels to the northern side of Warkworth.
When questioned by the Herald about the southern freight road estimate, business forum project co-ordinator Tony Garnier said it appeared to be incorrect and would need amending in evidence to a board of inquiry hearing in April into the agency’s planning applications for the northern project.
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You can read the full article over at the Herald site.
I am wondering though if there is simmering tension with the allocation of limited funds and resources to large road projects.
That said we could make the limited funds stretch further with some more sane projects such as these two here:
In other news the combined Governing Body and Local Boards are meeting in the Aotea Centre today to ‘set the scene’ for the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan – the master Council budget document
Two releases from Auckland Transport, one on customer service and the other on public transport patronage:
From AT on the Customer Service Group:
‘Customers the focus’ at Auckland Transport
Tuesday, 25 February, 2014 – 16:53
The Board of Auckland Transport today established a Customer Focus Committee (CFC), which will drive continuous customer service and customer experience improvements throughout the business.
Mark Gilbert (pictured), who has a background in senior management that incorporated marketing and customer service roles, will Chair the committee.
He says it will provide oversight and advice on a range of initiatives from project planning and market research to implementation. A major priority is an increase in public transport patronage. “Our overarching vision is to put an excellent customer experience at the heart of everything we do” he says.
“We aim to provide outstanding customer service, every time and be a trusted and positive contributor to the lives of all Aucklanders.“That means a greater emphasis on customer needs and wants no matter what part of the organisation or its services they are engaging with.” The CFC is a full committee of the Board, with all AT Directors invited to attend. It will meet monthly, beginning in March.
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And on the Public Transport Patronage (AT’s report is below the presser):
Jump in Auckland public transport patronage
Tuesday, 25 February, 2014 – 16:40
January saw a jump of three point three per cent in the number of people using public transport in Auckland. The number of trips on rail was up seven point six per cent in January compared to the same month last year.
Auckland Transport’s Group Manager, Public Transport, Mark Lambert says the increase for rail is pleasing considering the disruption to services in January because of on-going work to electrify the rail network.The Northern Express bus service saw a rise in patronage of seven per cent, while the number using all other bus services was up just under five per cent compared to January 2013. Auckland Transport has been running promotions to encourage more people on the North Shore to use the Northern Express. Ferry patronage was down in January. One of the reasons for the drop in the numbers using ferries was the poor weather over the holiday period.
On an average weekday some 236,000 trips are taken on public transport in the region and Aucklanders are now travelling on more than 200,000 AT HOP cards.
As I made a brief note in the Main Council to Review CCOs this morning as well as in Unitary Plan Update last week, Auckland Council is preparing its submission to the Unitary Plan.
From Auckland Council:
Auckland Council’s submission on the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan will be finalised in open council meetings this week.
A draft of the submission will be discussed at the Unitary Plan Committee tomorrow. Committee chair Alf Filipaina says the scale and size of the proposed plan, and the new legislation that guides the submission and hearings process, meant a council submission was appropriate.
“Following notification, the next step was to go back and review everything in the proposed plan. Our submission covers the corrections and refinements found in this review, but not policy changes, as it is up to Aucklanders to have their say on the proposed plan and make their own suggestions for changes.”
All submissions on the plan need to be in by 5pm on Friday 28 February. These will then be coded and published online by the end of May, along with summary reports of the decisions requested in them.
There will then be a round of further submissions in mid-2014, where people will have an opportunity to address any of the points raised – including those raised in the council submission – to say whether or not they agree.
Councillor Filipaina says, “The further submissions phase is all about people having a chance to look at what others have said and respond. It’s especially useful if someone has said something that affects your property – it’s then your opportunity to get what you think across to the hearings panel.”
The Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel, led by Judge David Kirkpatrick, will set out the process for the hearings once it has assessed the volume and extent of submissions, as well as the topics they cover.
Issues covered in the council submission include:
The council website – www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/unitaryplan – has a range of material Aucklanders can use to find out more about the plan and help them to have their say:
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As Mayor Len Brown said in the elections last year, the Council Controlled Organisations (the CCO’s) were to be reviewed by the main Council. The CCO’s include (but not limited to):
From Auckland Council on the review:
Auckland councillors will be asked to approve the draft terms of reference and timeline for a wide-ranging review of Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs) at the next Governing Body meeting on 27 February, says Mayor Len Brown. The draft terms of reference can be found here (item 12, page 9).
Len Brown said: “Our CCOs deliver a huge range of services for Aucklanders, from water management, to major events, through to the big improvements we’re making in public transport. We need to ensure that as ratepayer owned and funded organisations, they are as lean and efficient as possible, with no waste and no duplication of effort.”
A key election pledge from Len Brown, the CCO review will aim to ensure Aucklanders are getting value for money from the seven council controlled organisations set up during amalgamation, and that they are fully accountable to ratepayers and elected representatives.
Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, Chair of the CCO Governance and Monitoring Committee said:
“Having had three years to work with the CCOs, we are at an ideal point to assess how well CCOs are performing on behalf of our communities, and to look at potential changes where they are needed across council. The review will assess what worked well in the first term and what we could do better going forward.
“It is very important that while the review is going on we continue to work with our CCOs to deliver for Auckland.”
Councillors, local board members, CCOs and the Independent Maori Statutory Board have all been given an opportunity to provide feedback on the review’s draft terms of reference. These groups have also contributed to the development of two CCO current state assessment reports that councillors will receive ahead of the Governing Body meeting.
The seven CCOs are Auckland Tourism Events Economic Development (ATEED), Auckland Transport (AT), Watercare, Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL), Auckland Council Property Limited (ACPL), Waterfront Auckland, and Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA).
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Another post will be drawn up on the Council’s Unitary Plan Submission
$3.2m towards Cycle-way Parallel to Dominion Road New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) released a presser this morning on their $3.2m contribution to the $6.1m cycle-way that will … Continue reading NZTA Stumping Up for More Cycle Ways
Talking Southern Auckland 