Viewpoint – Ōrewa a highlight

The Have Your Say event at the Orewa Community Centre was, for me, one of the highlights of Auckland Council’s 10-year budget consultation period.

That Saturday morning in late February encapsulated what we want to achieve with public feedback. It was a beautiful, late summer’s day and the market was humming outside. Several hundred people came to share their thoughts on our proposed budget, providing thoughtful and wide-ranging feedback about the issues facing the Hibiscus and Bays area and Auckland in general. Not everyone agreed with the council, but that’s the way it should be. As a community, we need to have frank and robust discussions about what we are doing, and how and when we plan to do it. We need to listen to each other’s perspectives, and the council needs to listen to what our communities agree – and disagree – with us on. I appreciated the spirit that people brought to the event – a sense of goodwill to genuinely exchange views.

Like so many other parts of Auckland, transport was top of mind. From an extended busway and more park and ride spaces, to more paths for cycling and walking and more ferry services. We discussed the transport infrastructure funding gap we face, and the options to help deal with it.

People asked us to consider how we support community-owned facilities versus council-owned facilities. That’s one area where I want to see Auckland Council change to a much more empowered community approach. Our community groups are delivering great things in their local areas, so instead of the council doing it, let’s help and fund those groups to deliver more.

There were also a number of astute observations on the fairness of the rating system. This is an issue Local Government NZ is considering at the moment, as councils around the country contemplate how they maintain and replace ageing or inadequate infrastructure without placing too great a burden on their ratepayers.

One answer is making more use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), a model we think is well-suited to Penlink.

Every chance I get, I ask NZTA and the government when we can link Penlink to a PPP to build the Puhoi to Wellsford highway, a pairing of projects which makes good sense.Aucklanders made more than 27,000 submissions on our 10-year budget, many of them through Have Your Say events like the one at Orewa. The council will consider these later this month.