What happened in our Local Board business meetings this month
We had two business meetings this month - the first one being an additional meeting in order to officially receive the submissions and feedback on our Local Board Plan 2023. A summary is also available online. We will now consider the feedback and make any changes before adopting a final version in October.
At the 26 September meeting, I put together the Local Board's brief feedback on:
Emergency Management Bill
Funding Auckland's Storm Recovery and Resilience; and
Biodiversity Credit System – central government discussion document.
Here are three substantial items that were on the agendas of these meetings that I wrote feedback on:
Local board feedback on Māori seats for Auckland Council
I spent a long time thinking about and talking with different people about Auckland Council's consultation that asks for people's feedback on whether Māori seats should be established and if so, what model.
This was challenging as the Local Board usually gives formal feedback to the Governing Body once consultation ends and we can see what the people in our Local Board said. Unfortunately because of the tight timing (it's being consulted on in time to make any changes for 2025 local elections), we weren't able to see our residents' feedback. I noted this carefully in the resolutions below that I wrote.
When speaking to people about the matter, a lot of the feedback I was getting was a preference for elected Māori members of Auckland Council, as opposed to the appointed and selected 9 Māori members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) who have two members and voting rights on every Council Committee bar the Governing Body as a whole. My view is that the initial reasons and environment for establishing the IMSB have now changed dramatically and therefore a review is needed to establish what need exists for advisory support to Council, which might lead to the disestablishment of the IMSB and something more like a small advisory panel instead that is able to produce strategic documents as required- or perhaps this is all taken in-house.
Read the resolutions
MOVED by Member A Poppelbaum, seconded by Member V Short (carried unanimously) That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board: a) whakarite / provide the following feedback to the Governing Body on whether Māori seats should be established for Auckland Council for the 2025 local elections: i. tuhi ā-taipitopito / note that the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board has been asked to provide feedback to the Governing Body before public consultation ends (24 September 2023) making it difficult for the local board to accurately represent and reflect the views of our community ii. tautoko / support the establishment of Māori seats for the Auckland Council 2025 local elections iii. kohuki / consider that some initial feedback received from our community to local board members on this matter, demonstrates a preference for Māori representation to be elected democratically, as opposed to the current situation where Independent Māori Statutory Board membership is by selection and/or appointment iv. kohuki / consider that if the Governing Body (on support from local boards, councillors and the public) decide to establish Māori seats, that the Parliamentary model be used. Implications for the Independent Māori Statutory Board v. tono / request that if Māori seats are established in 2025, that a review takes place on the future function and role of the Independent Māori Statutory Board vi. tuhi ā-taipitopito / note that when the Independent Māori Statutory Board was established in 2010 under the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, it was required to perform important responsibilities and powers to ensure the newly established Auckland Council acted in accordance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to help the council improve outcomes for, and be more responsive, to Māori vii. kohuki / consider that Auckland Council has evolved significantly since 2010 and operationalised a lot of the necessary elements to advance and reflect the interests of Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau and therefore the Independent Māori Statutory Board’s function and responsibilities are now required to be reviewed to better reflect what the current needs are to support Auckland Council in upholding its responsibilities to Māori viii. kohuki / consider that the future function of Independent Māori Statutory Board, following a review and consultation, would be significantly different to its current roles and responsibilities and may, on the outcome of the review, require legislative change to remove voting rights on Auckland Council committees following the establishment of elected Māori seats ix. kohuki / consider that the advisory support element of the Independent Māori Statutory Board is important to our local board (and in our draft local board plan 2023) and we would be concerned that if in any situation we had Māori seats but no Independent Māori Statutory Board, that our local board would have a reduced ability to seek advice and support on matters of improving our responsiveness to Māori.
Local Board feedback into the council submission on Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill to the Environment Select Committee
Again, I spent a long time researching this and speaking to stakeholders on this important consultation step for the Bill. Below are the resolutions I wrote and moved.
Read the resolutions
MOVED by Member A Poppelbaum, seconded by Member V Short (carried unanimously):
That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:
a) whakarite / provide the following feedback on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill to be incorporated into the council’s submission to the Environment Select Committee
i. tautoko / support efforts and actions to protect and enhance the Hauraki Gulf
A) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note that the local board support for increased protections outlined in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill is in line with the draft Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Plan 2023, one of the key initiatives being to ‘support the work and leadership of environmental restoration networks and organisations who show us the way to be guardians and caretakers for our blue (waterways and coastal) and green (parks and reserves) spaces, and the indigenous plants and animals that live there’ B) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note the draft Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Plan 2023 outlines one of our priorities to ‘advocate to Central Government to ensure that Tīkapa Moana o Hauraki / Hauraki Gulf is protected from overfishing and degradation, and restoration projects are supported and funded’.
C) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note the interest that the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board has in the Hauraki Gulf, due to the area being home to the 980- hectare Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve, Auckland’s only urban marine reserve, that was established following a community driven Hibiscus and Bays Local Board 26 September 2023 Minutes Page 9 effort in 1995 to end the noticeable decline in marine life present in inshore coastal waters and to preserve a typical slice of Hauraki Gulf
D) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note that Long Bay Okura Marie Reserve in the Hauraki Gulf is one of only two unique Sentinel sites that the Department of Conservation have research programmes in to identify early warning threats to our oceans and how to learn how to keep our seas healthy
ii. whakaae / agree to the proposed 19 new protected areas, as outlined within the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, which will raise the protected areas from 6.7 per cent to just over 18 per cent
iii. kohuki / consider that the proposed increase of protected areas is a positive step, as the research and science is very clear that no-take and restricted areas are required to rejuvenate the Hauraki Gulf iv. kohuki / consider that much bolder action and increase in the percentage of protected areas is required to see biodiversity improvements and to stop irreversible degradation in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, beyond just the protected areas identified in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill
v. wakaae / approve of the proposed Ōtata / Noises Island High Protection Area, the boundaries of which were proposed to Government by The Noises Marine Project Team alongside several key expert organisations
vi. kohuki / consider that further work needs to be done to distinguish references to the definition of ‘prohibited’ activities as there is a pathway to seek a permit for some activities that might be classed as prohibited, but this is a different interpretation to what prohibited means in a Resource Management Act 1991 context
vii. tono / request that ongoing habitat and marine survey research is supported by central government to assist in determining the merits of wider protection and reserve boundaries for marine reserves and HighProtected Areas so sufficient sized zones are provided to gain ecosystem benefits
viii. tono / request that the level of infringement fees in S65(1) of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill be reconsidered with stakeholder input to ensure that the proposed fines and fees are significant enough to be a strong deterrent for offending
ix. kohuki / consider that the proposed monitoring and enforcement powers of the rangers outlined in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, part 3 (Subpart 2), go hand-in-hand with increased funding so relevant agencies are resourced sufficiently with the increase in protected areas
x. tono / request that a simplified process be instituted to assist the general public on who to call given the confusing and numerous agencies who have some form of jurisdiction in compliance, or otherwise, in the Hauraki Gulf and that greater integrated response is required of these agencies to prepare for unusual situations and eliminating lengthy response times
xi. tautoko / support the proposal to appoint Honorary Rangers as they will be an important tool for empowering stakeholders and mana whenua who have active interests in protecting the Hauraki Gulf but may require resourcing, such as a competitive outcomes-based fund, to support their efforts Hibiscus and Bays Local Board 26 September 2023 Minutes Page 10
xii. kohuki / consider that should this Bill be granted Royal assent, that it should coincide with a review of the multiple agencies involved in compliance and monitoring of the Hauraki Gulf, with the aim of improving coordination, enhancing collaboration and accountability, whether agencies are adequately resources, as well as a reflection looking at comparable, effective, international examples xiii. whakaae / approve that should this Bill be granted Royal assent, that it coincides with funding for scientific research to monitor the effectiveness of the increased protections put in place in order to better inform ongoing management decisions.
Bottom Fishing Access Zones in the Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Park – Fisheries New Zealand discussion paper
Another important piece of feedback our Local Board needed to provide that I wrote and moved.
Read the resolutions
MOVED by Member A Poppelbaum, seconded by Member G Walden (carried unanimously):
That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:
a) whiwhi / receive the Natural Environment Strategy staff overview of central government’s discussion paper ‘Bottom fishing access zones in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park’
b) whakarite / provide the following feedback to input into an Auckland Council submission to Fisheries New Zealand on their discussion paper ‘Bottom fishing Access Zones in the Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Park’ to help inform the proposed council submission that will be presented to the Planning, Environment and Parks Committee on 2 November 2023
i. tautoko / support option four, the most restrictive option, presented in the discussion paper ‘Bottom Fishing Access Zones in the Tīkapa Moana Te Moananui a Toi / Hauraki Gulf Marine Park’ ii. tono / request that central government use a stepped change over time that would see a total ban on bottom trawling, scallop dredging, and Danish seining within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park iii. tono / request that the concern of the local board be noted around the impact of bottom trawling and Danish seining on the spread of exotic Caulerpa within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park iv. tautoko / support efforts and actions to protect and enhance the Hauraki Gulf is consistent with the Hibiscus and Bays adopted plans, and
A) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note that the local board support for increased protections outlined in Bottom Fishing Access Zones in the Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Park – Fisheries New Zealand discussion paper is in line with the draft Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Plan 2023, one of the key initiatives being to ‘support the work and leadership of environmental restoration networks and organisations who show us the way to be guardians and caretakers for our blue Hibiscus and Bays Local Board 26 September 2023 Minutes Page 8 (waterways and coastal) and green (parks and reserves) spaces, and the indigenous plants and animals that live there’
B) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note the draft Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Plan 2023 outlines one of our priorities to ‘advocate to Central Government to ensure that Tīkapa Moana o Hauraki / Hauraki Gulf is protected from overfishing and degradation, and restoration projects are supported and funded’
C) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note the interest that the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board has in the Hauraki Gulf, due to the area being home to the 980- hectare Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve, Auckland’s only urban marine reserve, that was established following a community driven effort in 1995 to end the noticeable decline in marine life present in inshore coastal waters and to preserve a typical slice of Hauraki Gulf
D) tuhi ā-taipitopito / note that Long Bay Okura Marie Reserve in the Hauraki Gulf is one of only two unique Sentinel sites that the Department of Conservation have research programmes in to identify early warning threats to our oceans and how to learn how to keep our seas healthy.
Wairau Zero Waste Hub: Second-Hand Saturdays
Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Wairau Zero Waste Hub which is now Auckland Council's 12th Community Recycling Centre (CRC). Council are working on a strategy to have 9 further CRCs which will be essential for the region to achieve its zero-waste by 2040 goal. Julia and I had previously done a lot of advocacy in this space to get a CRC in our area and we are so pleased that funding has been earmarked for a CRC in Rosedale to service the Bays and Silverdale for the Coast (alongside the already established Whangaparaoa site).
Wairau Zero Waste Hub is operated by social enterprise Localised and processes 60 tonnes of items every month from Council's on-property inorganic collections service.
Around 106 community organisations are registered to sort and collect reusable and recyclable items from the inorganic collections. These community groups include opportunity shops, art groups, schools, social enterprises and nonprofits such as Menzshed, Lake House Arts and The Collective.
It will now open its doors to the public as a reuse shop, initially on the second Saturday of the month. The shop will have both items for sale in good working order and items that need some repair or mending. Everything will be very affordable as they really want to see things go. Their primary aim is to give these items a new lease of life and make a difference in our local community.
During the rest of the month, the site will be closed to the public, except for workshops run by community groups. Workshops will focus on helping people live a zero-waste lifestyle through practical and artistic means.
Localised will have its own collection service for reusable and recyclable items from businesses and households, which can be booked with the centre directly.
When: From October, the shop will open on the second Saturday of every month, between 10am and 2pm.
Where: Wairau Community Recycling Centre, 9 Porana Road, Wairau Valley, Auckland.
To find out more information visit https://www.localised.nz/wairauzerowastehub
Update on plans for busway extension along SH1 from Albany - Silverdale
Summary
The proposed bus lanes along SH 1 from Silverdale to Albany - Between Albany and Silverdale there is an Auckland Network Optimisation project that is providing a bus shoulder running lane between the Wilks Road overbridge and the Silverdale interchange (in the northbound direction). This project is currently in the procurement phase with the aim that it will be in the investigation and design phase before the end of 2023.
Background
In the 2021-2031 Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) the Northern Corridor Improvement Project extended the existing Northern Busway from Constellation Drive to Albany. Between Albany and Silverdale there is an Auckland Network Optimisation project that is providing a bus shoulder running lane between the Wilks Road overbridge and the Silverdale interchange (in the northbound direction). This project is currently in the procurement phase with the aim that it will be in the investigation and design phase before the end of 2023.
Longer term, there are no projects in the next 10 years (2024-2034) as part of the Waka Kotahi State Highway Improvement Plan (SHIP). The Supporting Growth Alliance do have some SH1 bus measures in their project list that is going to the Board for permission to move to route protection. However, as the Auckland Council Future Development Strategy is still confirming when the urban land in the North will be released these projects did not make the prioritised list of new improvements regionally for the SHIP.
Parnell Festival of Roses
Parnell Festival of Roses is a fun-filled, free community event celebrating the Parnell Rose Garden in full bloom. Festival-goers will experience an array of cultural performances, food trucks, craft stalls and activities for the whole family. Some new features this year include a cutting swap for the public to trade their seedlings with other plant enthusiasts (don’t forget to bring yours!). There will also be a dedicated chill zone for children on the spectrum to take time out from the excitement of the rest of the event, run by Spectroom.
WHERE: Parnell Rose Gardens, Dove-Myer Robinson Park, 85-87 Gladstone Road, Parnell, Auckland WHEN: Sunday 5 November 2023, 11am-4pm
COST: Free
September in photos
Helping out North Harbour Community Patrol at Browns Bay's 'Boys Toys'; Opening Artrageous Secondary Schools Art Exhibition at Mairangi Arts Centre; Hibiscus Coast Mens Shed opening; Patron of Sir Peter Blake MERC, David Gray, speaking at the AGM; attending the Long Bay Chinese Association AGM and moon festival; and opening The Winners Mairangi Arts Centre exhibition of the three winners from the Hibiscus and Bays Art Awards 2022.
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