Why does the Royal Commission into Auckland Governance leave me with a feeling of unreality? Perhaps it is true that if Joe and Joan Bloggs ask for a real say in the decisions that effect them, then the three wise commissioners will wave a magic wand and it will happen. But perhaps not.

Local Government Minister Mark Burton announced the Commission by saying, “The three Commissioners have a range of expertise and experience, including with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, making them ideally suited to carry out the work of the Royal Commission”.

In the Commission’s own ‘Outline of Issues’ they say that Auckland should become a “world-class city” which is “… one that is attractive to people and capital from overseas.” The real agenda aims to make it easier to sell parts of us off to overseas buyers, by lessening local control and weakening planning laws. That is the last thing we want.

Attack is the best form of defence and one strategy is to take the Commission’s key idea and subvert it to make it say what we want. So what is a “world-class city”? It can appear as a sinister plot to make the rich richer, but give it a twist and it can look very different. The Hauraki Gulf and its islands are already world-class. Its purity is being endangered precisely because of the current links with Auckland City who treat Waiheke as just another suburb, a destination for partygoers and speculative developers.

If the Royal Commission want “world-class” then let’s give it to them. A clear distinction can be drawn between the Hauraki Gulf and the mainland. Central to this is the vision of the Gulf and its islands as a potential World Heritage site requiring a form of management that protects it for posterity. That implies two very different structures: one for the mainland (about which very little needs to be said) and one for the Gulf.

The management of the Gulf and its islands (including Waiheke) requires a commitment by central government, backed up by Unesco recognition, that the natural environment of the Gulf is of international standing and requires special protection. It will require local management, but clearly constrained within this objective. And it will also require regional co-operation with all those other authorities who border on the Gulf.

It would not be achieved overnight, but there should be immediate action to place a moratorium on developments above a certain size, and to determine how the Resource Management and the Marine Park Acts can be enhanced to provide the legal framework for this protection.

This argument is too long to include in full here, but I am happy to provide a copy of my submission to anyone (email me at cbeardon@ihug.co.nz) and I can also send the necessary documents for you to make your own submission.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, but I think it important that submissions from Waiheke build upon the pride we all feel in our Island and the Gulf, and our belief that it is one of the most wonderful places in the world. Come on, it truly is “world-class”!

Colin Beardon, Palm Beach : april 10 2008

Media Release – 25 February 2008

City trees at risk from imminent Council decision to diminish delegated powers to community Boards:

A meeting of the Auckland City Council seems quite likely to take away the role of Community Boards in planning decisions affecting generally protected trees. The Tree Council understands that the next meeting of the full Council, this Thursday 28 February, may vote for change to current policy.

A deputation from The Tree Council has been given approval to present a case against the move and will express its concerns over Council’s plans.

An item on the Council agenda relates to a report from a review of Committee and Community Board delegations. This report recommends that Community Board delegations focus only on the limited number of scheduled trees, rather than on all generally protected trees, as the practice has been prior to election of the new Council.

The Community Boards have already been instructed not to appoint tree spokespeople until the review has taken place.

The report also puts forward, as an option, that there be only one Community Board spokesperson for all planning issues, including trees, rather than separate spokespeople for trees, as at present.

A suggested time frame also allows only two days for feedback from the Community Boards.

The Tree Council is very concerned that there has been very little publicity about all this, and that the matter is being brought to full Council in great haste and without wider consultation, including with Community Boards themselves.

The Tree Council thinks that Community Boards should retain their present role considering generally protected trees, which provides a vital link for local input into local community concerns.

See Item 7.2 here

First create a vision of how we would like to see the future of the Island unfolding, listing the main issues which are essential to achieving this vision, then, identify existing local specific needs, anxieties, proposals, or programmes of work needed to achieve the vision over a reasonable time frame ( this would include an acceptable District Plan).

Having done this look at the practicalities of finding a form of local government that would be able to provide what is necessary to work towards these goals.

Maybe we would find that there is an existing system somewhere, or one that could be tailored to fit. ( My addition.)

FIRST STEPS
I would like to suggest that pre-publicity for the first step, the “vision” meeting that would channel people thoughts and save time, could include a poster with a mock-up broad vision “tree” with comments under such as Not your ideal? What would you add / knock off?
Come and join a workshop and help to build a vision of the Waiheke you want. Is there a vision that we could all live with? Help us try to find one.

I didn’t take up time talking at the meeting, ’cause I didn’t have anything new to add, but maybe you’ll find some of this helpful now.

Best wishes Eileen Boghurst, Waiheke