Championing the Manukau Foreshore

The Manukau Foreshore is an ecological and recreational gem. We love the native bush, the picnic spots, the track network, the hidden beaches, and the wonderful bird life.

On the Puketapapa Local Board we have been champions for the Foreshore, Michael has overseeen

work in this area as the Board's Parks and Open Spaces Portfolio-holder. He has also been a keen rat and possum trapper along the foreshore over the past eight years. 

We've been able to achieve a lot over the past three years, including:

• Overseeing extensions to the track network at Waikowhai, Hillsborough Cemetery, and Cape Horn.
•  Leading the project to develop a new coastal walkway linking Onehunga to Taylors Bay.
•  Developing a community-led vision for the Foreshore to guide our priorities in the years to come.
•  Securing a ten year funding programme to control weeds along the coastal reserves, now in action.
•  Pushing for the development of the new walkway through Lynfield Reserve (under construction).
•  Taking action to protect and preserve the historic Waikowhai changing sheds.
•  Launching the campaign to Bury the Pylons that blight our Foreshore and neighbourhoods.

In the next term we want to build on this work, and in particular we are keen to help support the newly formed Waikowhai Forest Restoration Network, and to make further progress on completing the track network, including the provision of useful, integrated signage, and appropriate facilities.

With your support we can further enhance this very special place in our community.

Big King & surrounds - photo essay

This has been put together by our candidate Harry Doig, who lives in Three Kings and took his camera up the mountain one day recently.

The maunga that we love.

But it could be better!

Spot the weeds.

How about some interpretive signage?

And then we must grasp the opportunity when the quarry is decommissioned to not only ensure high quality housing but also to enhance the reserve.

They and us deserve better.

To find out more about our Vision For Three Kings, have a look here.

RCV Policy on Environment and Parks

We treasure our local environment. Our maunga, foreshore, streams, and network of parks give us space to roam, a sense of identity, and recreational opportunities. We will work to protect and enhance our environment and open space.

Specific local policy includes:

• A strong focus on environmental restoration including: 
• The Manukau foreshore 
• Our local streams particularly Oakley Creek and Wairaki Stream 
• Our maunga – Puketapapa/Pukewiwi/Mt Roskill and Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta/Big King. 
• Establishment of a dedicated Local Board budget line to undertake restoration initiatives on our maunga. We will work with iwi and community to ensure that the mana of our cones is restored. 
• Driving forward the vision for an Onehunga to Blockhouse Bay continuous walkway network and ongoing stewardship of foreshore, working with the newly formed ‘Friends of the Foreshore’ group. 
• Our campaign to Bury the Pylons. We will continue our advocacy to remove these unsightly lines that blight our neighbourhoods and harbour. 
• Development of a playground strategy that gives local communities the opportunity to help shape their local parks and provides a comprehensive approach to renewing our local playgrounds. 
• A strong focus on restoration of the Manukau Harbour including advocacy to keep Watercare honest, continuing to remove Pacific Oyster shells from our beaches, and resolving stormwater run-off issues. 
• Oppose further wasteful acquisitions around Monte Cecilia Park, and instead focus resources on quality development of the existing park. 
• Advancing stream naturalisation projects, and ensuring that naturalised areas have ongoing budgeted maintenance to ensure they are kept in good condition.

RCV Policy on Planning

Our community has been the victim of a lack of planning and vision for too long. We want to see thriving neighbourhoods, exciting town centres, quality urban environments, and appropriate affordable housing for our families. This will only happen through wide-ranging community involvement and strong local leadership.

Specific local policy on planning issues includes: 

Three Kings Issues The implementation of our comprehensive ‘Vision for Three Kings’ policy platform, including: 

• Creation of a dedicated 3 Kings planning spokesperson on the Board. 
• Removal of the reservoir on Big King to return our maunga to a more natural state. Prior to this, the restoration of an attractive mural on the reservoir such as ‘Grumpy Cat’ 
• Advocating for the quarry development to include: 
• Restoration of Maunga and better open space as priorities 
• Affordable housing and social housing 
• High quality housing integrated into open space and town centre 
• A reduction in the proposed 8 storey height limit. 
• Protection and promotion of Three Kings heritage. 

Unitary Plan Issues 

• Providing appropriate capacity for growth around our town centres and key transport routes, while ensuring quality development and protection of open space and heritage. 
• A stronger focus on affordable and social housing for our community. 
• Advocating for well-considered intensification in Wesley, and Roskill South, with more distribution along main transport routes. 
• Strongly advocating for community input and better notification of developments. 
• Dealing with flooding. Advocacy for improved stormwater infrastructure, and better planning rules to prevent inappropriate development. 
• Strong protections for our local environment, heritage, and volcanic cones (including viewshafts)

An index of our released policy can be found here, we are continuing to release policy through-out the campaign.

Submission on Volcanic cones Bill

Readers might be aware that Parliament is currently considering the 'Nga Mana Whenua o Tamkai Makaurau Collective Redress Bill'. The purpose of the Bill is to transfer the bulk of Auckland's volcanic cones to iwi and to set up a co-governance structure between iwi and Auckland Council. Full public access to the cones is retained.

We are basically supportive of the settlement. Our cones, particularly in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill have been terribly neglected under sole Council stewardship and we are hopeful that working together with iwi there will be impetus to undertake much needed restoration.

The main concern that we have is that local communities and Local Boards don't get much of a look in under the proposed structure and legislation. We have raised this repeatedly within Auckland Council, but have not received much of a hearing. To try and advance these points we have therefore submitted to the Parliamentary committee considering the Bill. Our main proposals are:

• Guarantee Local Board representation on the Maunga Authority that will govern the cones.
• Require the Maunga Authority to establish localised consultation structures
• Allow groups and people to submit views directly to the Maunga Authority

The full submission is below...

12 September 2013

Submission to the Maori Affairs Select Committee:

Nga Mana Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill

Submitter                           Michael Wood, Puketapapa Local Board Member

Organisation                      Roskill Community Voice

Contact Details                 80 Albrecht Ave, Mt Roskill South, Auckland 1041

                                                09 620 9257 or 022 659 6360

                                                mwood1935@gmail.com

Submission:

1.       I wish to appear before the committee to present my submission, assuming that the committee will conduct hearings in Tamaki Makaurau.

2.       Roskill Community Voice is a community based organisation and political grouping based in the Mt Roskill area. We are supported by Labour, Greens, and community-based independents. We are currently represented on the Puketapapa Local Board by Julie Fairey and Michael Wood.

3.       The Bill is of major interest to the Mt Roskill community. Two maunga from the Mt Roskill area are included in the Bill; Puketapapa/Pukewiwi (Mt Roskill), and Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta (Big King). Both are extremely important in terms of local community identity and recreation, but they have also both been terribly abused over the years.

4.       We broadly support the Bill in its current form. It is appropriate that iwi’s cultural and historic connection to the maunga is recognised through co-governance. We also believe that co-governance could provide the impetus to undertake much need restoration work on our badly degraded maunga. 

5.       Both as a matter of good governance, and to ensure that there is widespread community support for co-governance we believe that there should be provisions in the Bill to ensure that community engagement and transparency are embedded in the operation of the Maunga Authority. This could be achieved through some fairly minor changes to the Bill.

6.       In the first instance we believe that it is important to ensure that there is representation from local communities on the Maunga Authority. If the Authority is perceived to be distant from local communities vis-à-vis its membership this is likely to create community concern. It would also result in important local considerations not being clearly heard in the decision making process. The Auckland Council’s structure includes Local Boards, which are broadly empowered to represent local community interests. We believe that a simple way of ensuring a local voice on the Manuga Authority would be for the legislation to require that at least half of Auckland Council’s membership of the Maunga Authority be made up of Local Board members from Local Board areas that include maunga overseen by the Maunga Authority. Proposed wording follows:

106 Membership

·         (1) The Maunga Authority comprises—

·         (a) 2 members appointed by the Marutūāhu rōpū entity; and

·         (b) 2 members appointed by the Ngāti Whātua rōpū entity; and

·         (c) 2 members appointed by the Waiohua Tāmaki rōpū entity; and

·         (d) 6 members appointed by the Auckland Council, no less than three of whom must be members of Local Boards from Local Board areas that include maunga under the jurisdiction of the Maunga Authority; and

7.       We believe that the role of the Maunga Authority will be large and complex. It will be dealing with policy issues at a high level, and will find it difficult to engage directly around site-specific issues. We also believe that the credibility of the Manuga Authority will be enhanced by strong mechanisms that enable it to connect with local communities. At this stage however, the Bill provides no such direction or framework.

8.       In response to the issues raised in (7) we propose the insertion of a new section in Schedule 4, after the current section 9. Proposed text follows:

10) Local Engagement and Consultation

(1) The Maunga Authority will ensure that local communities are consulted with prior to the development of plans or initiatives relating to specific maunga.

(2) The Maunga Authority will establish a process to enable groups and individuals with an interest in the business of the Authority and maunga-related issues, to make direct representations to the Authority of their own volition.

(3) The Maunga Authority will establish localised structures that enable it to engage with local communities about issues relating to specific maunga. These structures will be on the basis of Local Board boundaries and must include Local Board representation.

9.       In conclusion, we are supportive of the main objectives and structures of the Bill. Its main area of deficiency relates to a lack of provisions that will ensure engagement with local communities. It is important to include such measures in order that the legitimate interests of local communities receive a hearing in relation to local maunga, and also to ensure wide-spread community acceptance of co-governance.

Specifically, we propose that Local Board representation on the Maunga Authority be enshrined, and that it be a statutory requirement that the Maunga Authority engage with local communities. Specific and simple measures are proposed to achieve this.

10.   We thank the committee for the opportunity to submit and for considering the issues we have raised.

Grumpy Cat. On her way back?

We've been pushing for the reinstatement of some attractive and interesting art on the Big King

reservoir since Grumpy Cat was removed back in May.

In a Board resolution at the August meeting, Michael successfully proposed that the Local Board run a public consultation process to ask local people what should happen next. Would they like Grumpy Cat back? Some other piece of art? Any other ideas? When we get a clear view back from the community we will take this to Watercare for action.

The main way to have your say is through this online survey. It only takes a minute or two and means that your views will get heard.

As for us, we are definitely Grumpy Cat fans, but we will defer to whatever the community feedback says!

Aircraft Noise - locals speak up

Roskill Community Voice candidate Harry Doig went to a very revealing public meeting on

Thursday night called to discuss the new aircraft flight paths over Auckland. 

Auckland Airport, Airways NZ and Air NZ are trialing new routes (SMART Approaches) into the Auckland airport with the aim of reducing the miles flown by aircraft, reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions, and (supposedly) better managing noise for residential communities!   

300 residents were present at the meeting - very impressive. Not so impressive was the attitude of officials from Auckland Airport and Airways NZ who were there. "Very arrogant" and "patronising" were the words used to describe their stance. People reporting increased noise levels were accused of "imagining things" and being "led on" by articles in the Central Leader. Comment of the evening came from Judy Nichol (Auckland Airport) "We didn't tell anyone about the trial because we wanted to see whether anyone noticed any difference in noise levels." What! "But we do want to consult with the community now." A bit late Judy. The trial finishes in October this year.

Intriguingly what developed during the meeting were questions about what other changes are being trialed alongside the SMART Approaches?   The officials were quick to put down many noise complaints because they weren't part of the new approach routes.  If this is the case then something else is going on because thousands of residents are being affected by increased aircraft noise from aircraft evidently on the old routes as well as the new routes .

What we want is meaningful consultation including information that hasn't been massaged to suit the proposed changes.  And a cost benefit analysis that includes the impact on our communities. We could do without the green-washing as well. 

  

Thank you The Plane Truth Action Group for organising the meeting and all the work that you are putting in to try and get some real information out about what is going on. Sign their petition!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/328/998/681/stop-the-auckland-airport-implementing-a-new-flight-path/

 

and visit their face book page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Auckland-The-Plane-Truth-Action-Group/579257782136756?ref=profile

The Living Wage - It's about fairness

The Roskill Community Voice campaign is all about winning a fair share for Roskill. Local people deserve the same access to Council services and facilities, we should have our voice heard on important issues, and everyone in our community should have the right to the basics - healthy housing, proper healthcare, and a good start in life.

If we don't aim for those things in our local community then what are we here for?

Pledging our support for the Living Wage last week

The Living Wage is central to all of this. Over 200,000 children in New Zealand live in poverty. A large proportion are actually living in households where parents are working. The problem is alive and well in Roskill - particularly in our Pacific and migrant communities.

The costs of ignoring the problem are huge. We know that poverty increases the incidence of costly diseases, of crime and imprisonment, and of dependence on the welfare system. It all costs real money to 'fix' these problems, and it's not where we should be as a community.

We think that it's time to start at the source of the problem - households simply not having enough money to get by on. It simply makes no sense to allow the problems of low wages to fester, ans then to subsidise it at the back end through public spending. This is where the Living Wage comes in. It's a simple concept that says that people should earn enough to get by on (modestly) and participate in society.

Auckland Council is considering its position, and on the Puketapapa Local Board we have given our support. In the Board's closest vote of the term, both Julie Fairey and Michael Wood supported the Living Wage, and it succeeded on 3-3 split vote with the Chair's casting vote deciding matters. 3/4 C&R members voted against.

The Living Wage is not just about feeling good. It also makes economic sense. People who get paid a fair wage are able to spend more locally, supporting local businesses. Organisations in the UK who pay the Living Wage report big savings as their turn-over rates drop. Here in New Zealand companies like the Warehouse are coming on board for this reason.

It's time for Auckland Council to come to the party. There is a financial cost, but it is relatively modest. It can be paid for out of efficiencies and reductions to increases in executive salaries.

Last week we formally pledged our support to the Living Wage campaign and will actively work to make it happen if re-elected. It's about fairness.

A Vision For Three Kings - policy package

Introduction

The Roskill Community Voice team is proud to announce our Vision for Three Kings, an integrated policy platform that we present to the community ahead of the local government elections this year.

We believe that it is important that the local community can have confidence that their representatives have comprehensive and well-thought out policies on key local issues, and we hope that this document helps you to understand the approach we will take if elected to the Puketapapa Local Board.

We all know that change is on the horizon for Three Kings. The re-development of Three Kings Quarry is likely to commence within the next 5-10 years, and plans for what the end use will be are already under development. The Unitary Plan may also result in changes to the look and feel of the Three Kings community, with most parts of Auckland being zoned for some degree of intensification.

Change cannot be avoided, but it is our belief that the local community must have a strong voice to ensure that it is our community’s vision that shapes the future of Three Kings.

We have been listening to the community over the past three years and have developed a set of policies that respond to key local concerns.

Our Vision sets out policy in four key areas:

• A plan to restore Big King, our neglected maunga.

• Our vision for a quality development on the quarry site, with real public amenity

• Proposed Unitary Plan provisions and how we ensure quality development

• Protection and promotion of our local heritage and character

Most importantly, we believe that local community must have a strong voice in charting the future of Three Kings. We will always ensure that the residents and groups of Three Kings are informed and involved in decisions about Three Kings and we are open to good new ideas and perspectives.

We are excited about our Vision for Three Kings and with your support, hope to be able to implement this vision on the new Local Board. Please contact us with any questions or comments.

Restore Big King

We believe that it is time for real leadership in our community to restore our neglected maunga. Big King/Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta is a source of local identity and pride, but it has been treated poorly over many years. With focus, resources, and a partnership approach we believe that Big King can have its mana restored and public amenity improved.

Action we will take:

• We have led the public process to get public art back on the reservoir after ‘Grumpy Cat’ was removed. In the short-term we will work with the local community to identify the preferred concept, and we will then work with Watercare to get this actioned.

• Longer-term we believe that the reservoir must be removed from Big King. We acknowledge that this will involve working with Watercare on technical issues and that it will not be resolved quickly. However, it is time to make a start. Removing the reservoir is about respecting the maunga as a place that is important for iwi and community, and not just seeing it as a prop for infrastructure.

• With co-management of Auckland’s volcanic cones coming soon we believe it important that the Board builds a strong relationship between itself, local community, and the Tamaki Collective, so that a collaborative plan for restoring Big King can be developed.

• We will support the creation of a Friends of Big King group so that there is a clear channel for the community to be engaged around maunga issues.

• Within the first year of the new Board, we will establish a dedicated budget line for restoration of Roskill’s two volcanic cones.

• In the short-term, we will look to fund a range of measures to improve community access and amenity including a renewal of the crumbling path and improvements for dog users.

• We will establish a programme to better control rats and possums around Big King, including a scheme for neighbouring residents to receive free or low-cost possum traps.

We are running a postcard campaign to show the strength of the community support for restoring Big King and removing the reservoir.   Please contact us to get involved.  We also have signs that you can put on your fence to show your support!

A Quality Quarry Development

The re-development of Three Kings quarry is the major planning issue faced by the Three Kings community over the next decade. It is absolutely critical that there is a strong community voice in this process, and that the development is focussed on people and community. We believe that a high quality and appropriately scaled development, with strong open space connections and linkages to the town centre, could be of real community benefit.

Action we will take:

 

• To recognise the importance of quarry development issues for the Three Kings area, we will create a dedicated Board portfolio position for Three Kings development issues.

• We will work with Auckland Transport to develop an integrated transport interchange at an appropriate location so that public transport becomes easier for locals to use.

• Take a firm position with the developer (Fletchers) on behalf of the community to support a development that balances private and public space, enhancing community integration.

• Strong advocacy for the development to assist in the restoration of Big King/Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta, and to better connect Big King with other reserves in the area.

• We will strongly support completion of the current Precinct planning process and also the development of a community- led ‘precinct layer’ that will have effect in the Unitary Plan. 

We will put forward the following three principles to guide the formation of the ‘precinct layer’ and any subsequent development:

Principle 1.  Community and Iwi Involvement:  The future development of the quarry site is the major public concern of the Three Kings community and is of intense interest across the Puketapapa/Mt Roskill

area. For iwi the site is of immense historical and cultural interest. The site is being privately developed, but given its scale and impact on local people, there must be strong community and iwi involvement in the process. Community and iwi are more than just stakeholders' to be consulted. They are legitimate partners in a major undertaking that we will live with for generations to come. The quarry owner (Fletchers) must enter into a genuine partnership approach to reach the best possible outcomes for the site.

Principle 2.  Public Access and Open Space: Our community has been cut off from good quality access to Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta for too long. Future development of the site must substantially improve public access to and around the maunga, and ensure that important public viewshafts are not compromised. Any plans to create a large residential presence in the quarry area must be balanced against the need for a significant net increase in the amount of quality, well connected public space in the area. This will serve to increase the attractiveness of any residential development, to provide  community amenity, and to meet restoration objectives for the site. The site should not be developed simply to maximise private profit, but also to provide for the public good.

Principle 3.  Quality Development that Builds Community:  The scale of potential development on the quarry site means that it will have a substantial impact on the urban form and nature of community in the broader Three Kings area. It is essential that any residential development be comprehensively planned with the strong involvement of the community. Development must be sympathetic to the local community and environment, provide good transport connections, integrate with a re-vitalised town centre, and be in line with the Auckland Plan vision of creating a truly 'liveable city' - including provision for affordable and social housing. A 'hole in the ground gated community' is not acceptable. This must be a place that is inclusive, attractive, and contributes to overall community cohesion and wellbeing.

The Unitary Plan

We want to see the future development of Three Kings done in a careful and sensitive way.   Gentle intensification as envisaged by the Unitary Plan can be done well, but we must ensure that development is appropriate to local conditions. Local input into the ongoing development of the community is essential.

Action we will take:

• We will support high quality intensification in appropriate places. The preservation of character and amenity must be prioritised.

• Advocacy for a reduction in the 8 story maximum height limit proposed for Three Kings Town Centre and the development of a fine grained approach to heights so that we get a local solution that works for this area rather than a cookie-cutter approach imposed from above.

• We will place major emphasis on the quality of new developments and sympathy with neighbouring properties, including the use of graduated buffer zones so that there are more gentle changes in height, rather than the scenario of a large block next to a small villa.

• Working to ensure that Three Kings remains a place that people can afford to live in, with access to affordable and social housing. We will work with HNZ to ensure good quality redevelopment of existing public housing stock, preserving or increasing number of properties, and ensuring integration of housing types to avoid ghettoisation.

• In line with our position over the past term, we will advocate for much stronger notification requirements before significant developments go to consent so that local community can provide meaningful input.

• Strongly advocate for local flooding issues to be dealt with. Advocacy for improved stormwater infrastructure before there is large-scale development, and better planning rules to prevent inappropriate development.

• We will argue for strong protection of our local heritage, including support for the pre-1944 demolition controls, and the identification and protection of important heritage sites and character zones.

Protection of Local Heritage and Character

Three Kings was in many ways the birthplace of modern Mt Roskill. We have a rich local history, including significant patterns of Maori and colonial settlement. This heritage gives our community real heart and soul. It must be protected and celebrated. We have led the way in elevating Roskill’s heritage over the past three years and will ensure that it is there for future generations to treasure.

Action we will take:

• We will continue to push for the sympathetic restoration of the iconic Mt Roskill Municipal Chambers for civic and community use.
  

• Continue the development and roll-out of heritage interpretive signs to complement existing signs and the new suffrage memorial (due to open 19 September at the Rose Gardens)

• The development of 3 Kings Heritage trail taking in key local buildings, features, and sites, so that local heritage can be better understood.

• Continued strong advocacy for planning rules and zoning that protects key heritage sites and character zones in Three Kings.

We have produced this in booklet format as well - please contact us if you would like a copy.