Phil Goff’s last climate budget as Auckland mayor has been passed by the council.
Last week Casper discussed this budget with Auckland city councillor Pippa Coom and this week, for his fortnightly interview with councillor Shane Henderson he asked for an update on the budget and its importance.
Casper also asked Shane for his perspective on the Ports of Auckland recently scraping its automation project after sinking $65 million dollars into the effort, and what this says about the ports’ direction.
The Auckland city council’s Value for Money Committee recently reported that the council exceeded its savings goals for the 2021/22 financial year.
However, there has been some controversy around overspending on cycleway infrastructure projects with some Aucklanders claiming that the council’s money is being managed loosely.
For Casper's fortnightly chat with Auckland city councillor Pippa Coom they discussed the council’s financial situation as well as the alleged overspending on some cycleway projects and what might be going on.
The native Kauri Trees in the Waitakere Ranges have been under threat from the Kauri Dieback disease for years.
While this is naturally occuring, humans disturbing the area have led to the rate spreading quicker than normal and the trees being put at major risk.
However, a recent report from the council has revealed new details on the spread, showing that the issue, while still prevalent, might not be moving as quickly as previously thought.
To learn more, I spoke to Richard Hills for our regular City Counselling segment about what they’ve recently discovered.
Eight local boards from central Auckland voted on the issue of special character areas in Auckland, contributing to a longstanding debate around housing intensification and preserving Auckland’s inner-city suburbs.
For the our regular city counselling segment Casper spoke to Auckland city counsellor Shane Henderson to get a sense of what happened in this debate, what the vote means and how it might affect the future of housing in Auckland.
The High Court has ruled in favour of Auckland Transport in a case brought against the council managed organisation by All Aboard Aotearoa.
The case was over Auckland Transport’s Regional Land Transport Plan or RLTP which would lead to a 6% increase in transport emissions in Auckland.
For our fortnightly chat with Auckland City counsellor Pippa Coom, as part of our regular city counselling segment Casper and Pippa discussed the RLTP case as well as an update on the local election process.
Auckland's mayoral elections and getting closer and closer, and the beliefs of some candidates have been called into question by commentators.
Many have pointed out candidates who have links to conspiracy groups, and others have criticised the policy of larger candidates such as Viv Beck.
Liam had a chat with city councillor Pippa Coom about her take on the candidates, as well as her thoughts on the Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway.
As we are in the midst of local election voting, councillors are beginning to wrap up their terms with Final Reports.
Pippa Coom, the councillor for Waitematā and Gulf, has recently released her own report on the achievements she’s made and issues she’s encountered over the past three years.
As a part of their fortnightly chats on City Counselling, Liam and Pippa had a kōrero about the report and what she’s looking to do if re-elected.
They also spoke more broadly about the local elections, as well as ongoing climate strikes happening around the country today.
Local elections are in their final stretch, with a little under 24 hours to go before voting officially closes.
Postal ballots were closed last Tuesday, however you can still vote by putting your envelope into a ballot box available near Countdown supermarkets, libraries, and various other places.
The voter turnout this year has been grim, with lower levels of voter turnout across Auckland especially amongst younger people.
Many have criticised the way the local government elections have been rolled out, with issues of voting papers not turning up or too many barriers to voting.
Liam spoke to city councillor Pippa Coom about the local elections, why they’re important, and why there's been such a low turnout.
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