There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS).
Closing dates and times:
LTP closes Thursday 28 March, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight!
GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s Easter Tuesday.
Both of these plans will steer investment priorities over the next ten years, with huge implications for things we care about – like great transport, safer streets, more homes, quality of life, and climate action. So it’s worth speaking up.
We’ve pulled together some handy submission guides that help you navigate the feedback process. Let us know if we’ve missed any good ones!
A great tip from Climate Club: throw a feedback party, get your friends in the room with some snacks and laptops and go for it!
Feedback on Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan 2024-3034
Submissions close Thursday 28 March at 11.59pm, so get it in before midnight!
Here’s the official feedback page. Note: you’ll need to sign up and log in to have your say.
You can also email your feedback to akhaveyoursay@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Here’s the full consultation document, a whopping 150 pages.
A quick read to get you started: an overview of the LTP, by Tommy de Silva at The Spinoff.
Breaking: Generation Zero are hosting a feedback-writing party at the University of Auckland Conference Centre (22 Symonds Street) on the evening of Tuesday 26 March, 6-7.30pm!
Feedback guides:
- Bike Auckland’s feedback guide homes in on how to speak up for cycling: “This is a key time to show support for more funding towards safer streets, and a completed network for walking, cycling, and wheeling.”
- Surface Light Rail’s feedback guide suggests ways to ask Council to bring back surface light rail for Auckland.
- City Vision’s feedback guide looks at the proposed three funding options, and how to keep Council services running while also being ready for emergencies: “The Do More option is essentially the ‘status quo’ plus emergency planning, and the only option without cuts and asset sales. Do More allows us to deliver the services and facilities our growing city needs.”
- Forest and Bird’s feedback guide puts the focus on climate and environment to ensure the ten-year plan delivers on the Climate Plan, Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri. They also have a petition you can sign.
- Aktive’s feedback guide advises how to express your support sport and physical activity, with fit-for-purpose facilities and spaces.
- This feedback guide from regional arts trust Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi and Regional Arts Network Aotearoa helps you speak up for arts and culture, which are vital to a diverse and dynamic city!
- It’s Our Auckland has a feedback guide focusing on questions around the port lease and the “future fund”.
- And 350.org’s submission guide also takes the long view for climate and children. “We are living in a critical window of time that could hugely influence the future. Let’s do all we can to support Auckland being liveable for our children, their children, and their children after them.”
Feedback on the draft GPS-Transport
Submissions close at on Tuesday 2 April at 12pm noon (Easter Tuesday).
Here’s the official feedback form.
And here’s the draft GPS in all its More RoNS glory.
NOTE: you can also email your thoughts to GPS@transport.govt.nz. If you do, consider copying in your elected representatives. Why? Because this GPS significantly impacts local say, and impacts how towns and cities are able to deliver local priorities, like safe streets and speed management.
Our take: we covered the GPS in this post, calling it “a disaster for local government.”
- Transport 4 All’s submission guide calls for a climate-smart and more equitable transport policy for all modes. It has handy options if you only have a few minutes, or if you want to write more.Transport for All is a coalition of organisations with expertise in transport, climate and urbanism: All Aboard, Climate Club, Free Fares, Generation Zero, Public Transport Forum New Zealand, The Future Is Rail / Save Our Trains, and Women in Urbanism. There’s also a petition you can sign.)
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Thanks for sharing these links. There is an aspect that seems to be lacking from most commentary and that is the $300m asset sales that come with the central and do less proposals. This would particularly impact the central city and suburbs that have a number of subregional community facilities like the Central Library, pools, heritage and leased out buildings like the Basement Theatre.
What is on the chopping block we won’t know till next year by which point the envelope will be fixed. It would be great to highlight this sooner rather than later. “Do more” means no asset sales target but local boards will be able to sell off some assets to fund new ones to meet evolving needs. For example, we could sell off part of a park, to install lighting above Victoria Street skateboard park.
The central proposal would make it very difficult to deliver anything new at all and some very painful closures. If you want to pay more to get more in this and/or other areas (perhaps climate change, perhaps transport choice) please let us know. If you don’t mind losing community assets which ones you value and which ones you don’t. When you submit, remember you don’t have to answer every question and you can freeform as much as you like at the end. It will be read! Please do submit.
Feels like pissing in the wind, but i’ll do it. Thank you for the reminder.
28 February???????????
Ola folks. A brace of great experts from highly relevant fields have made a joint experts’ submission here and it’s got amazing references: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/86xsdwxvubggf0qfcs0gk/GPS_feedback_v6_2.4.24_submission.docx?rlkey=o5o2oqe56potj03a8zi4qn0gk&dl=0
So what is the biggest difference between LTP and GPS?