Viewpoint – Rodney issues identified

It is quite liberating to have announced that I will be retiring from the Local Board at the end of this term.

Trying to find a way to navigate the disparate interests and concerns of the present groups of elected representatives has been a real challenge. Especially so when members are off on personal campaigns that focus on matters outside the sphere of Local Board decision-making. That, and the ongoing harassment and social media bullying by unelected groups, which appears to be the norm these days.

So, with the clarity that my impending retirement provides, what are the big issues that the Local Board will face in coming terms?

Managed retreat

Following the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, council has updated flooding and coastal inundation models.

These updated models have been applied to hazard mapping and are now viewable on council GeoMaps and will appear on property files. Research of this information will become a part of any property purchase and likely be a consideration for property insurance.

Following the flooding and slips associated with the recent extreme weather, central government and council (taxpayers and ratepayers) implemented a voluntary property buyout programme where intolerable risk to life exists. However, this buyout applies solely to residential properties and there are no plans to extend this programme to commercial properties.

Stormwater management projects to reduce risks to townships, commercial property and infrastructure are being modelled and costed, but no funding has been earmarked for implementing any of these options and, in fact, the business case for these potential interventions appears embryonic. Given the potential benefit from any intervention will accrue to a small number of properties, there will be resistance by general ratepayers to undertaking many of these potential mitigation projects.
Nationally, the recommended response to these sorts of hazards has been managed retreat. This will be especially true where the most significant hazard is coastal inundation, as sea level rise is predicted to impact vast areas of the coastline over the next century.

Productivity

The impact of decades of underinvestment in transport infrastructure and mass transit provision has impacted productivity and this has been particularly so in north-west Auckland. We urgently need a rapid transit network that supports a mode shift to public transport. This is the most cost-effective way to increase network capacity and improve productivity. For too long this has been an ideological debate between single interest groups, but we need investment in the network itself and in a mode shift to public transport.

Quality of life

Rodney has always offered an enviable lifestyle with our regional and local parks, beaches and range of small communities distributed over a vast and interesting geography. Urban sprawl has and continues to erode this as development encroaches on our communities. Typically, these developments have exacerbated the infrastructure and community facilities deficits in Kumeu, Dairy Flat and Warkworth. A firm line needs to be taken, and feedback provided to central government and Auckland planners, ensuring that where we face these assaults on our quality of life, we are supported with appropriate investment in infrastructure, transport and community facilities.

If these are things you care about, then please consider running for the Local Board in the next election. Talk with existing board members if you want to learn more.

The next Local Government elections will be held in October next year.