Chris Bishop was forced to eat humble pie this week on his plan to make Auckland a more compact city. And the Government’s backflip on the number of new dwellings makes a mockery of Auckland Council’s recent consultation on Plan Change 120. How councillors are supposed to weigh the new proposal with open minds under that kind of pressure is anyone’s guess.
The provisional Local Government election results have shown appalling turnout especially in Auckland and a voter reaction against large rates increases, potentially caused by the shelving of the Three Waters Reform package.
National is rolling out comprehensive water corporatisation, across New Zealand. For those who don’t live in Auckland, Wellington, or other centres with commercialised […]
The Government announced reform of AT, effectively conceding that the behemouth National created in 2010 was the wrong structure.
I think the left should find a Mayoral candidate to advance progressive principles and policies. And with a muscular fight on the right there may be the opportunity for a candidate to come through the middle and win.
We have remarkably little democracy left in New Zealand.
It is a given that the right in power want to sell public assets off and the left want to retain those assets. And it appears that the right’s eyes are on Ports of Auckland.
In the absence of any political party stating clearly that public ownership of major infrastructure is a very good idea, here’s 10 good things public ownership of infrastructure does that private ownership doesn’t.
Fresh from his success at selling off part of Auckland Council’s Airport shares Wayne Brown has proposed another privatisation, that of Ports of Auckland Operations by way of the granting of an operating lease for the Port’s activities.
Dear journalists, please do not let Mayor Wayne Brown off the hook regarding his appalling dereliction of duty.
We have heard numerous claims from Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and his supporters that the proposed budget is about saving money and getting rid of a nearly $300 million hole. This is a huge disservice to Aucklanders and hugely misleading.
Two unprecedented summertime storms in Auckland suggest that the threats posed by climate change are not in our future but are here now.
The Mayor of Supercity this week has given a textbook example of how not to communicate in a crisis.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is providing National strategists with a rather large headache.
There will be no respite for any of us this year; it’s a politics and a society of endurance.
As Auckland slowly recovers but ready itself for further storms there is some attention being given to review Council’s response to the super storm. The initial impression, and this is held widely is that the response was sub optimal.
Wayne Brown is proposing the sale of Auckland Council’s Airport shares to plug a budget hole. He thinks it is a simple decision and a rational way to take care of the deficit. I beg to differ.
Wayne Brown (or is that Matthew Hooton) has over the past few days released a series of letters that are astonishing in their audacity. His latest on transport proposes business as usual at a time when dramatic change is required.
Wayne Brown has by Mayoral decree ordered Watercare to stop working on the Three Waters reform. But he should take legal advice because his decree has absolutely no legal force.
The left and the Ardern government need to start appreciating the new Auckland mayor.
The people have spoken and with appallingly low turnout levels grumpy campaigns have succeeded and Auckland and other areas have moved to the right.
This year’s Local Government election is reaching a critical stage. And it is vital to get the right people elected. Please make sure that your families and friends vote for progressive candidates. Your kids and your grandkids futures depend on it.
Wayne Brown’s mayoral campaign hit a really big pothole on the weekend when he was caught bad mouthing Herald reporter Simon Wilson. His comments received a lot of support from the right on social media who made comments about Wilson similar to the comments the left make about Mike Hosking. Are these examples of the same phenomenon, political bias against critical commentators?
Even though her name is on the ballot paper and people can vote for her National aligned Mayoral candidate Viv Beck has purported to withdraw from the Auckland Mayoral race.
Recent leaks and publicity have caused huge damage to Viv Beck’s campaign to become Auckland’s next mayor. They also highlight the stark difference between the left and the right in terms of campaigning.
Self described tough man Leo Molloy has found the going too tough and has pulled out of the Auckland mayoralty race.
Sometimes the egregious spin gets too much. And when developers who want a compact urban form are telling Auckland Council that its plans are not working you know Auckland Council has a problem.
An Auckland Ratepayers Alliance Curia poll that was trumpeted as claiming that Efeso Collins and Leo Molloy were neck and neck in terms of public support has attracted criticism after it was disclosed that the poll of 500 persons had 53% stating that they did not know who they would vote for.
What started out as an ego driven campaign is now developing into full blown Trumism as Leo Molloy thrashes around attempting to court attention in the belief, Trump like, that it will convert into political support.
The Auckland mayoralty campaign promises to be a fascinating contest between a right winger promising to spend $1.5 million on the campaign and wants to turn sprinklers on the homeless and Efeso Collins who promises to run an inclusive respectful campaign.
Opposition to Auckland Council’s Cycling and Micromobility Programme Business Case appears to be motivated by the belief that plans to have more of the population walk and cycle instead of using cars will be unpopular. Overseas experience suggests that not only can these types of projects contribute significantly to sustainability but they can also be very popular.
If you’re out there in ZB land and believe that water management should be democratically elected, you won’t find respite here. Local Government has done a terrible job dealing with water and change is urgently needed.
Efeso Collins has announced his first Mayoral campaign policy and it is a biggie, free public transport for Auckland.
Some thoughts on the contribution of Phil Goff to Auckland during his term as Mayor.
Phil Goff has announced that he will not seek re-election as Auckland’s Mayor.
The light rail route and mode decision this week shows something new. It’s in the nature of the state itself.
