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Residents and ratepayers in Auckland will be asked for feedback on a new targeted rate to address climate change later this month.
The rate is a Mayoral proposal and would cost a homeowner with a property worth around Auckland’s median value an extra $1.10 per week.
The rate would help fund low emission public transport and increase safe walking and cycling options to help reduce Auckland’s transport emissions.
Tree planting would also be funded through the rate to reduce Auckland’s vulnerability to extreme heat.
The Extraordinary Finance and Performance Committee voted for three budget proposals to go out for public feedback as part of the annual budget consultation, which starts at the end of this month.
Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers voted against the consultation and said he was uncomfortable with the trajectory this council was heading in.
Sayers believes that the proposed action from the climate change rate was the domain of central government, not local government.
Mayor Phil Goff disagreed, saying that projects proposed through the climate action rate should not be central government’s responsibility.
“Nobody is going to do it for us – we have to do it ourselves,” the Mayor said.
“Every one of us voted for the climate emergency. It’s not good enough just to recognise it, we have to do something about it.”
Sayers was not alone in his criticism of the new rate. Albany Ward Councillor Wayne Walker called the proposal “fluffy stuff”, as there were no tangible markers for how much reduction could be expected from the proposal.
Without this information, Cr Walker said it was “almost impossible for anyone to gauge whether they’re getting a good bang for their buck”.
Cr Walker was told by the committee that the answer to his question was in a memo provided earlier in the week.
The memo Cr Walker received said: “emission modelling is complex, and more work will need to be done. At this point we can’t quantify the exact emission measurement as a result of this climate package.”
Cr Linda Cooper rebuffed the idea that the public needed such precise measures.
“While it’s not quantifiable down to the cubic metre, if you get people out of cars and into buses you will have an emissions reduction,” Cr Cooper said.
“This is about public transport really. We all know that reduces emissions. Any reasonable person understands that.”
Auckland Forecasting Centre’s modelling estimates the transport components of the package could reduce emissions by 47 thousand tonnes of CO2 over 10 years.
Public consultation on the budget opens on February 28 and will run for a month.
