auckland supercity

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What’s the play?

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, October 16th, 2013 - 108 comments

No-one’s happy with the revelations about Len Brown’s private life, apart from Slater (himself also an adulterer) who is wallowing in all the details that Chuang seems only too happy to provide. But what’s interesting is that this is clearly a political play. Who’s behind it and what do they have to gain? The players: Slater, Slater snr, Chuang, and Palino.

The attack on Auckland’s Democracy

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, October 16th, 2013 - 172 comments

With Tea Party type zeal Cameron Slater is trying to bring down Len Brown’s mayoralty.  What has happened is a tragedy for Len’s family and himself.  But as Mayor of the super city we need him to move on from this.

(Un)affordable rents in Berm City

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, October 3rd, 2013 - 43 comments

Central Auckland, gated city candidates get cosy about their grass verges. The west has a crisis in affordable rents & homelessness. Labour & Nats housing policies bow to the middle class home ownership agenda.  Greens & Mana look to state & council housing.

Unions Auckland’s list of supported Council candidates

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, September 22nd, 2013 - 25 comments

Unions Auckland has released a how to vote card based on candidates who will support a living wage, no privatisation of Council assets and sorting out a fair deal for the POAL workers.

Auckland Council Elections out west

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, August 18th, 2013 - 5 comments

Westie Ewen GilmourSome thoughts on the battles out west for seats on the Auckland Council.

Auckland Council Elections

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 pm, August 16th, 2013 - 28 comments

Super City Rodney HideNominations are closed and Auckland Super City’s candidate lists have been published.  Following are some comments on the Mayoral candidates.  I also hope to post on the Councillor contests, where interest will be greatest.

Submit to prevent SkyCity corruption

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, August 14th, 2013 - 5 comments

The SkyCity deal still needs some urgent attention from members of the public interested in getting a submission to the select committee. They close on Thursday 22 August next week. The politically corrupting influence of the gaming industry means that members of the public will have to push the politicians to stop them giving SkyCity these extraordinarily lucrative and destructive concessions for a economic pittance.

“The Big Issue”: councils & transport

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, August 5th, 2013 - 16 comments

Campbell Live last Wednesday focused on transport: funding & Auckland versus the regions; public transport & roads; the revolutionary Congestion Free Network plan.  City Vision (supported by Labour & the Green Party – with a major focus on transport) & 2 Future West candidates launch their Auckland council campaigns.

Len is standing again

Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, July 16th, 2013 - 40 comments

len-brownLen Brown has announced that he will again seek Auckland Super City’s mayoralty.  I know this will provoke a mixture of views but style wise I think he is great and substance wise he has had successes but should have done more with MUNZ, the living wage project and Sky City.

Outlawing Begging

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, July 5th, 2013 - 37 comments

Ironically during the week of Auckland’s big sleep out there has been a proposal to change Auckland Council’s by laws to provide for the fining of beggars.  The proposal has been described as overdue by some.  But everyone seems to have overlooked the fact that begging is already banned in Auckland City. The proposal reminds […]

Key, Brownlee: Not Auckland’s friends

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, July 1st, 2013 - 41 comments

John Key’s u-turn on Auckland City Rail is all smoke, mirrors and sleight of hand stealth of the common good. Phil Twyford and the Auckland Transport Blog are skeptical. Funding?  Roads over public transport? Asset sales?

Slums for Auckland?

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, June 6th, 2013 - 28 comments

Housing Minister Nick Smith had ominous words for Auckland. Hands up all you Aucklanders who are keen to sacrifice quality housing?

Last day to submit on Auckland plan

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, May 31st, 2013 - 13 comments

Today – by 5pm – is the last day to submit on the draft of Auckland’s Unitary Plan. Generation Zero have made it easy for you with a quick submission form.

The Battle of Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 pm, May 29th, 2013 - 8 comments

“The Auckland that never was” in my view is the most interesting chapter in Chris Trotter’s “NO LEFT TURN”. It details the Ministry of Works’ post-war plan  outlined in a document The Shape of Things to Come that was scrapped by the Sid Holland National party. Now we see history repeating itself. In what Labour accurately describes as a “War on Auckland” Key, Joyce and Brownlie are following in the footsteps of the much unloved Sid Holland.

Submit on the Unitary Plan now!

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, May 29th, 2013 - 11 comments

The draft unitary plan, while not perfect, is a key part of making Auckland the most livable city. The plan is a progressive document: we know urban sprawl hurts the poor and creates worse health, social and economic outcomes. Generation Zero have put together an easy quick feedback tool so that you can submit on […]

The shameless Nick Smith

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, May 24th, 2013 - 31 comments

Nick Smith has a long history of slippery dealings.  He apologises but accepts no blame, then is resurrected: contempt of court, a defamation case, the Pullar-ACC “conflict of interest”, bad faith negotiations with Auckland Council, the Denniston Plateau deal. Yesterday on RNZ, Smith exposed the government’s agenda on mining conservation land.

When an “accord” is not

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, May 17th, 2013 - 130 comments

Yesterday’s budget is a sop to affordable housing & aims to privatise state housing. Penny Hulse says the government’s related “housing accord” Bill is at odds with the agreement her council has not yet ratified.  It overrides local democracy & endangers the AKL “agreement”. [Update] Waitakere News analysis

Nats sign up for KiwiBuild?

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, May 10th, 2013 - 26 comments

KiwiBuild has already been a success, scaring the Nats in to producing, in conjunction with Len Brown’s Auckland, a more significant housing policy. The “Unitary Plan” is woefully short on detail, but it concedes that KiwiBuild’s target of 10,000 new homes a year is easily achievable (I guess it’s only impossible when Labour propose it).

Political vision?

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 3rd, 2013 - 61 comments

Today’s NZ Herald editorial on Auckland’s up-coming mayoral election campaign, says Brown has vision, but Minto and Williamson lack it. What sort of vision should the left provide in the up-coming local authority elections around NZ, and in NZ’s parliamentary elections in 2014?

The NZ Herald – advancing Auckland backwards

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, May 1st, 2013 - 32 comments

To the Herald the Fourth Estate must be a greenfield development on the outer margins of Auckland: a Dickensian space, hiding the poor from the upper middle-classes. The Herald lacks critical balance & equal weighting for diverse views: it scaremongers about the Akl Unitary Plan & undermines public transport.

Space and density: Auckland Unitary Plan

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, April 22nd, 2013 - 8 comments

The draft Auckland Unitary Plan is massive and complex.  The Auckland Transport Blog helps in untangling issues around intensification vs sprawl. The government & some right wing councillors want sprawl & to delay implementation.  The Akl Council website has some cool videos visualising the planned developments. And social housing?

Akl Unitary Plan: the good, the bad & the debatable

Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, March 17th, 2013 - 39 comments

The Draft Auckland Unitary Plan has much to commend it.  It focuses on resource management, responds to the reality of climate change & aims for a more dense but ‘liveable’ city.  It has weaknesses, embraces destructive “growth” and raises questions: e.g. about affordable housing & environmental management.

National’s war on Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, March 14th, 2013 - 49 comments

motorway madness

Phil Twyford is the Labour MP for Te Atatu, and Labour’s spokesperson on Housing and Auckland Issues. He is also asking the same questions that many Aucklanders keep asking as they watch a succession of government ministers trying to valiantly advance backwards into Auckland’s past with no obvious purpose.

Auckland housing: Brown vs Smith

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, March 7th, 2013 - 53 comments

Nick Smith, of the forked tongue, is challenging Auckland council’s plan for affordable compact housing. It will do nothing for housing affordability, transport, the environment. It is undemocratic, over-rides the council, and will enrich developers.

What’s the Right’s plan for Auckland 2013?

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, January 10th, 2013 - 55 comments

It’s 9 months until polls close in the 2013 local body elections. Len Brown has just been rated the 7th best mayor in the world. So, who’s going to stand up from the Right? 9 months is no time to get the brand recognition needed to take the most powerful political job in the country outside Cabinet’s top 5. Does no rightie want to run because they’re sure to lose?

Auckland housing market bubbling

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, November 15th, 2012 - 34 comments

housing apartment

Like many other well-paid people in their 30’s.  Lyn is getting depressed watching a toehold Auckland property disappear out of her grasp. Of course the well rounded gits in Wellington will get ‘worried’ about this and want to make property available 50kms away. But spending an hour or two of your life driving each day is hardly useful to anyone apart from the land bankers, property developers and used car sales who seem to be of such importance to the National party.

Labour hits the motherlode

Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, September 13th, 2012 - 82 comments

The Police Report into the Banks.com affair, which Labour has distributed to the media, is a gold mine. Banks is shown to be a liar and completely unethical. He insisted that Dotcom’s donation be anonymised. He used the donations, which he had told media he didn’t remember, as an excuse not to help Dotcom while a minister. Banks is lying low now. Key has to sack him.

The bill arrives for the “supercity”

Written By: - Date published: 1:52 pm, August 1st, 2012 - 37 comments

The bill for the Nats’ Auckland “supercity” is arriving in ratepayers’ letterboxes. Some are in for a nasty shock…

Resignationwatch: too many questions

Written By: - Date published: 6:38 am, May 4th, 2012 - 156 comments

Why did Banks lie about a discount hotel room where Dotcom was staying, then say he bargained it himself? Who made $15K of radio ad donations to his campaign? What did Nats on Banks’ ‘mentor group’ and ACT leaders know about the anonymised donations? How much info did Banks get from Williamson on Dotcom’s OIO application? Why has Key still not spoken to Banks to ask any of these question?

Woka Woka Wharfie Fundraiser – Akl tonight

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, April 3rd, 2012 - 10 comments

Something to do in Auckland tonight: What:  Special screening of The Muppets Where:  Hoyts Sylvia Park, Mt Wellington When:  Tonight, April 3rd, 6.10pm to 8.30pm Don’t let those muppets at the Ports of Auckland get you down, come laugh at the real Muppets instead! Some door sales will be available, or you can email julie.fairey@gmail.com […]

POAL falling apart

Written By: - Date published: 2:29 pm, March 30th, 2012 - 47 comments

Things are not going so well for Ports of Auckland. “Ports of Auckland lifts lock-out amid board rift” sums it up…