Auckland Council’s first year

On November 1st last year Auckland Council came into being and we saw the seven former councils plus the Regional Council disbanded. It is interesting to note what I said on October 31st last year, looking ahead towards what this new era for Auckland would bring: Overall, thanks in large part to the results of the election a few weeks back, I now feel confident and hopeful that the local government amalgamation will turn out to be a good thing for Auckland.…
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Weird Herald article trying to rewrite history

There’s a fairly long and quite rambling opinion piece in today’s NZ Herald, about transport in Auckland and particularly about the relatively poor quality of the city’s public transport system. There’s nothing particularly surprising about this, and the article’s look back at Auckland’s transport history – in particular the tale of Mayor Dove-Myer Robinson’s rapid rail proposal – is a useful reminder about how efforts to improve Auckland’s rail system have generally found huge public support.…
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Has 2010 been a good year for public transport?

As the year draws to a close I have been having a few discussions with friends about whether 2010 has been a good year for public transport or not. There are probably arguments either way. On the bright side first Perhaps the biggest boost was the results of the Auckland Council local government election, and in particular the election of Mayor Len Brown on a very strong public transport platform.  …
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Auckland: a fresh start?

And so, a year and a half after the Royal Commission into Auckland’s local government reported back its findings, the Super City begins. It’s goodbye to Auckland City, Manukau City, North Shore City, Waitakere City, Rodney District, Papakura District, Franklin Districts and (perhaps the only one I’ll be sad to see go) the Auckland Regional Council – and hello to the new Auckland Council.…
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Council structure announced

The make up of the new Auckland Council was announced today by Mayor Len Brown. The structure of the council, and the chair of each of the committees, sub-committees and other forums are outlined below: Structure and appointments: Committees of the Whole Strategy & Finance Committee – Penny Webster Accountability & Performance Committee – Richard Northey – CCO Strategy and Appointments Sub-Committee – His Worship the Mayor – CEO Review Sub-Committee – His Worship the Mayor – Tenders & Procurement Panel – Jami-Lee Ross Regional Development & Operations Committee – Ann Hartley – Social & Community Forum – Cathy Casey – Culture, Arts & Events Forum – Alf Filipaina – Economic Forum – Arthur Anae – Community Safety Forum – George Wood – Environment & Sustainability Forum – Wayne Walker – Parks & Heritage Forum – Sandra Coney – District Plan & Urban Design Forum – Cameron Brewer Auckland Future Vision Committee – His Worship the Mayor / Deputy Mayor – Transport Committee – Mike Lee Standing Committees – Hearings Committee – Noelene Rafills – Regulatory & Bylaws Committee – Des Morrison – Audit & Risk Committee – Sharon Stewart – Civil Defence & Emergency Management Group – Michael Goudie Advisory Panels – Maori Statutory Board – Alf Filipaina – Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel – Arthur Anae – Ethnic Advisory Panel – Mike Lee – Business Advisory Panel – Cameron Brewer – Rural Advisory Panel – Des Morrison – Youth Advisory Panel – Michael Goudie – Social Policy Forum – Calum Penrose No real surprise to see that Mike Lee has been appointed chair of the Transport Committee.…
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How Auckland gets a raw deal

One of my biggest hopes from the changes to Auckland’s local government currently underway is that we will have a stronger voice at the “bargaining table” with central government. I think there’s a reason why central governments have – over the past 150 years or so – avoided creating a strong and unified local government for Auckland, that reason being the risk that Auckland would become too powerful.…
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Time to humanise the CBD?

One of the most exciting results in the Super City election was the makeup of the Waitemata Local Board. Those elected were Shale Chambers, Pippa Coom, Jesse Chalmers, Tricia Read, Christopher Dempsey, Rob Thomas and Greg Moyle. To summarise, there are five City Vision board members, one independent (Mr Thomas) and one Citizens & Ratepayers (Mr Moyle).…
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A Bright Future for PT in Auckland?

As I noted in yesterday’s blog post, there are some significant differences between the transport policies and priorities of central government and those of the new Super City – particularly those of new Super City mayor Len Brown. Some of these differences are so fundamental – in terms of whether the bulk of transport spending goes on motorways or railway lines – that I simply don’t think there’s a particularly easy “middle ground” to be found between the two positions.…
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Super City: where to now?

As I noted yesterday, the Super City election results are pretty good for public transport advocates like myself. We have a new Mayor who talks great vision when it comes to improving the rail network and seems highly determined to turn that vision into a reality.…
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