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.
Last week the Tāmaki Makaurau local elections concluded, seeing an overall shift to the centre right exemplified by the landslide win of Wayne Brown.
This was largely due to an overrepresentation of older, upper-class people in the vote, a symptom of incredibly low voter turnouts across the board.
Many people criticised the accessibility of local election voting, with minister for local democracy Nania Mahuta being one of many who didn’t receive their papers in the mail.
In our regular City Counselling segment, we’ve had a chat with Shane Henderson, who has recently been re-elected to the Waitakere ward seat about the elections and his upcoming goals.
Auckland's current council term has now properly begun, with councillors being sworn in and beginning to set the groundwork for the next three years.
This includes the swearing in of new Deputy Mayor Delsey Simpson, who has made clear that she and mayor Wayne Brown have some differences in council approaches they’ll need to work through.
Waitakere Ward Councillor Shane Henderson has previously worked with Simpson, so for today's City Counselling segment Liam and Shane had a chat about what she could bring to Tamaki Makaurau.
They also spoke about the mass delays affecting Auckland's Western Train Line, and internet coverage in the outer western ranges.
Billy Joel is playing at Eden Park this Saturday. However, concertgoers will not be able to take the train to the venue as KiwiRail is closing the network for repairs.
Auckland’s rail is undergoing an almost 300 million dollar upgrade and rebuild in time for the opening of the City Rail Link.
This means large swathes of Auckland’s rail network will be out of use for the next three years.
David spoke to Councillor Mike Lee about the issue and how it will affect Aucklanders.
Te Paparahi Toi Māori, Walks in the City, are eight walks from Art Now NZ, showcasing sixty locations where you can view private and public art, urban and architectural design, and sites of significance. Art Walks also features four Gallery Walks, each mapping out the locations of the galleries in different parts of the city so you can gallery-hop in the city centre.
Art Walks are new to Art Now, so to hear about them, Frances caught up with Art Now director Stephanie Post.
Weekly Palestine protests have taken place in Britomart since last October, and an action in support of Palestine with several hundred students took place at the University of Auckland last night.
For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden asked Councillor Shane Henderson for his stance on the Palestine protests, as well as Council’s view more generally.
They also ask about the community impacts of half priced public transport for under 25s, which ended on May 1st.
A lot has been happening in local government recently from Auckland Council discussing Congestion Charges to Wellington Council selling their Airport shares. National’s controversial Fast Track legislation may also impact local government’s control and capacity.
For City Counselling Wire Host Caeden talk about these topics with Councillor Shane Henderson.
Auckland Council's Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway lays out a series of targets for reducing Auckland's transport emissions by almost 65% within the next 6 years.
Some of the goals include cutting car trips from making up 94% of distance travelled around the city to 47%, pump cycle trips up from 1% to 5% and increase bus trips from 3 % to 12%.
Additionally, next week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
The week is a wider government sponsored initiative intended to promote the use of te reo Māori as well as awareness, education, and public engagement.
For our weekly catch up with Auckland Council, Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Earlier this week, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown released his draft mayoral proposal for Auckland Council’s annual plan for the year 2025-26.
Within this, a major part of the proposal is a council controlled organisation reform which could see Auckland Transport stripped of its planning, strategy and policy roles, council’s urban regeneration agency Eke Panuku Development abolished, and the roles of the council’s economic development and regional facilities agency Tātaki Development Auckland reduced.
Additionally, a new space for homeless support in Auckland’s city centre, Manaaki Tangata, has opened up as a collaboration between Māori wardens, Auckland Council and Eke Panuku Development Auckland.
Producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Karyn's back on b! If you’re coming into the city during February, find out what’s on at the Summer in the City series in Aotea Square – everything from A History of Hip Hop to the city’s top brass bands. Vera Ellen calls in from a road trip to tell us about V-Ellentines Day and her fundraiser for a Yumi Zouma tour support she’s doing of Europe and the UK in March, and the usual array of eclectic new music!
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