Viewpoint – Cheating on Wellsford

Ten years into the Supercity and not a hell of a lot to show for it. The Wellsford subdivision is the largest rural subdivision in the Rodney district. It extends laterally from Pakiri to Tauhoa and encompasses the Okahukura peninsula. The Wellsford subdivision is considered to have a small population base in comparison to other subdivisions in Rodney, including Warkworth, Kumeu and Coatesville. This is in stark contrast to our individual rates bills, which are proportionally higher than urban rates bills.

Auckland has successfully divided our communities into rating classifications as follows:

• Urban (high priority)
• Urban/Rural (medium priority)
• Rural (non-existent priority

We will always struggle under the Auckland Council framework to put a business case together to develop the infrastructure that is so urgently needed in our community. That’s because the main question Council asks when it comes to Wellsford is this: “What cost/benefit does the Auckland ratepayer gain from expenditure of money in Wellsford?”

Our community doesn’t have the population to attract expenditure in the current Council framework. It will never be able to attract funding (for basic infrastructure and maintenance) in this community if the question is about benefit to Auckland as a whole. We are too small to pay for infrastructure requirements in this community, and yet we are being asked to support all the other projects in urban Auckland. This support is guaranteed through being charged general rates, targeted rates and extra fuel taxes. The rural community of Wellsford watches as millions of dollars are poured into many projects such as the city rail links, sewerage connections, new bus lanes, park and rides, aquatic parks, urban forests, new daily rail services to Hamilton and a new satellite city to be built at Drury. The above-mentioned projects are paid out of general rates while the Wellsford bus service is paid for by a targeted rate.

The drought has put pressure on the Wellsford water supply which supports the outer rural area. There has been a systematic lack of investment over at least 50 years, and it has been left to collapse. This has left our district in a very dangerous predicament with regard to basic health and safety requirements. The waterpipes are old and failing, and we are relying on a water source that has been inadequate for years. Sewerage pipes are breaking down on a regular basis. Quarries, which are used to support roading projects and maintenance in the area, are closing down because of the consenting process. The proposed motorway to connect Auckland to Northland is at least 10 to 15 years away from completion. Wellsford and Te Hana are the only towns in the Supercity that have a large percentage of New Zealand’s traffic travelling through them.

We are now faced with the construction of the largest rubbish dump in New Zealand as the main attraction. As a result, a Sword of Damocles is resting over our natural aquifers and potential main water supply for Wellsford and Warkworth in the future. The dump is also an eternal threat to the largest harbour (Kaipara) and fish breeding ground for New Zealand.

It has to be recognised, however, that Auckland Council has given us a skate park, a pending new public toilet and a library over 10 years. Is this the gateway to Auckland or is this the last toilet stop before Auckland?