Ilena caught up with Pippa Coom about Council's recommendations for the Auckland Light Rail team which Cabinet will consider later this year. They talked about what the options are on the table for light rail, how it differs from heavy rail (such as the city rail link being built in Auckland CBD), and the need for rapid transport options in Auckland.
They also briefly spoke about Auckland Libraries’ and Council’s response to a petition asking for a click and collect system to be put in place. Since the interview, it has indeed been announced that Auckland libraries will be operating a click and collect service from November 2nd.
Ilena had her regular catch up with Shane Henderson, who this week talked about how water restrictions in Auckland will ease from tomorrow. Auckland has been under varying forms of restriction since May last year after a long period of drought, but recent rainfall events have had a positive impact on Auckland’s water stores.
Shane also talked about the new bipartisan Labour and National announcement which aims to make it easier to build houses and intensify close to city centres.
This morning, Ilena had her regular catch up with Pippa Coom. They talked about the Super Saturday national vaccination drive that is happening tomorrow, and how those who are unvaccinated or need another dose can take advantage of the day with its greater accessibility and added incentives. They talked about how those who have had two shots can encourage whānau and friends to be a part of the day.
Pippa also touched on what Auckland’s targeted rates are and how successful they’ve been. Lastly, she spoke about the upcoming, little known, but greatly important Entrust elections and why they matter.
Ilena speaks to Auckland Councillor Pippa Coom about plans for the rejuvenation of Auckland's midtown. They also discussed Auckland Council's response to the Three Waters proposal.
This week, Ilena and Shane talk about what moving into level three means for Auckland, and in particular, how level 3 does not mean ‘level free’. They talk about varying levels of compliance and enforcement in different suburbs and how we can ‘support local’ safely during this time.
They also addressed the felling of hundreds of non-native trees at Ōtāhuhu, following up on Ilena’s previous conversation with Shirley Waru. Shane outlined the scope of Auckland Council’s influence on the matter, and gave insight into the consultation process.
Disclaimer:
After the interview with Shane, Shirley Waru, the organiser of Protect Mt Richmond/Ōtāhuhu, had some clarifications on some of Cr. Henderson's points:
Cr. Henderson implied that Auckland Council has no say in Tupuna Maunga Authority’s work. He did not mention that the Authority is a co-governance organisation. It has six iwi representatives and six Auckland Council representatives (who, under the Treaty settlement legislation are there to represent “all the people of Auckland”). The Authority is a ratepayer-funded entity. Every year, Auckland Council’s governing body considers the Authority’s annual operational plan and votes on the budget. In other words, Auckland Council does have some say on what the Authority does.
He said that the public were consulted about the tree removal in both the Authority’s 2016 integrated management plan consultations and operational plan consultations. The Authority never specifically consulted about its intentions to remove all the exotic trees from all of Auckland’s maunga. The Authority’s chairman admits this in a Māori TV interview earlier this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDrCMAhL4tk&list=PLvwPLhmfEWgk8wZyFXdCLKV871TFlO1FN&index=4. The Authority has consulted in recent years on its operational plan, but, on the whole, ignored public input.
Cr. Henderson said that only some of the exotic trees will be removed from Mt Richmond. Yes, not all exotic trees will be removed under this particular resource consent, but supporting documentation clearly shows they intend to remove all of them in time. Protect Mt Richmond/Ōtāhuhu believes they split the removal process in two so as to get a non-notified resource consent through.
Cr. Henderson also says that tens of thousands of native plants are being planted in exotic trees' places. However, this is misleading: these are mostly small plants like flaxes, grasses and shrubs and not tree species, meaning that places that previously had tree cover would look very bare, covered with small plants rather than trees.
Today, Pippa and Ilena talked about how Auckland Council will be helping local businesses move down through alert levels- in particular, how the Council can help the hospitality industry with licensing requirements so that they can do trading on the footpaths and allow more space between customers.
They also talked about Vision Zero, an ethics-based transport safety approach that was developed in Sweden and is now being implemented in Auckland. The vision states that there will be no deaths or serious injuries on our roads by 2050. Ilena asked Pippa about how realistic this goal is, what concrete steps have already been taken to make our roads safer and what future plans are in place.
This week, Ilena spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about what he calls the ‘week from hell’ for West Auckland. The week started with extensive flooding and ended with a terror attack at the LynnMall Countdown, all while the region was in level 4 lockdown. He gives some updates on where flooding emergency and support efforts are at now, and how West Aucklanders are coping.
On another note, Ilena and Shane also talked about bin tags and how a proposal to streamline Auckland’s rubbish service might look like.
Ilena spoke to Councillor Pippa Coom for an update on Auckland Council’s Covid-19 response as we look forward to another two weeks of lockdown. We also discussed the flooding that happened earlier this week in parts of Auckland due to a period of intense rain and storms, and how emergency services responded to those affected under level 4 restrictions. She also mentioned resources available on the Council website for those looking to stay healthy physically and mentally during lockdown, as well as getting rid of Auckland library overdue fines.
Ilena had a chat with Councillor Shane Henderson about the welfare options being offered by Council during this lockdown, and the effect of the lockdown on the public finances of Council.
Ilena talked to Pippa Coom about how Auckland Council is operating during lockdown. Pippa touched on businesses such as Bread and Butter and the work they’re doing with farmers markets. They also discussed the climate group All Aboard Aotearoa suing Auckland Transport and Auckland Council over their transport plan, and what still needs to be done to better address climate change.
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