Research Roadshow set to challenge new drivers
06.08.09 The Research Roadshow, complete with a car crash scenario and a host of road safety factors, is set to visit Auckland as it works with secondary students from Kelston Girls’ College and Green Bay High School. More

National attack on beneficiaries who go public an outrage
28.07.09 National’s attitude to people who dare to speak out on benefit issues is reminiscent of the worst of 1990s beneficiary-bashing, Green Social Development Spokesperson Sue Bradford said today. More

Labour to lodge privacy complaint over Bennett
28.07.09 Labour’s Associate Justice Spokesperson Charles Chauvel plans to lay a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner over Paula Bennett’s clumsy and vindictive attempts to silence her critics.
More

Super city needs water accountability
27.07.09 The Government must give urgent consideration to protecting Auckland ratepayers from the super city's new monopoly water company, says Labour's Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford.

A bill currently before select committee merges the existing council water operations but leaves out the Royal Commission's recommendation for an independent performance auditor to protect ratepayers. More

Tramping shown to spread kauri killer
21.07.09 New research indicates trampers using walking tracks in the Waitakere Ranges are responsible for the spread of the water-mould, PTA (Phytopthora taxon Agathis), that causes the collar rot fatal to kauri. The Waitakere Ranges Protection Society is calling on the Regional Council to close some tracks to protect areas free from the disease. More

Labour, Greens, Progressives announce inquiry into bank profits
21.07.09 The Labour Party, the Greens and the Progressives will hold the equivalent of a parliamentary select committee inquiry into bank profits, says Labour finance spokesperson David Cunliffe. More

Fitch warning follows budget mistakes
17.07.09 The move by credit rating agency Fitch to place New Zealand on a negative credit watch highlights the shortcomings of the National Government's first Budget, Labour Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe says. More

Twyford's bill to protect Auckland's assets drawn
2.07.09 Labour's Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford has introduced a Bill into Parliament to protect Auckland community assets from privatisation by requiring the new Auckland super city to hold a referendum if it wants to sell them. More

Waitakere approves plan
30.06.09 Waitakere City Council has formally approved its Long Term Council Community Plan, which includes its budget for the next financial year. More

GAG gets Council supporting Maori
25.06.09 GAG's strong support for Maori seats on the proposed Super City Council culminated last night in a vocal protest at Waitakere City Council's chamber for a crucial meeting at which the Council debated their stance on the issue. More

Waitakere approves submission
25.06.09 Waitakere City Council has unanimously approved its submission to the Select Committee on Auckland Governance. More

Waitakere City Council under pressure on Maori seats
22.06.09 The Grassroots Action Group (GAG)has written to all the Waitakere City Councillors calling on them to support the Royal Commission recommendation for Maori seats in the new Auckland Council when making their submission to the Governments Select Committee on Auckland Governance. The Council in its original submission to the Royal Commission had not supported Maori seats but is now coming under pressure to change its view. More

Be afraid…be very afraid
11.06.09 Over recent months the National/ACT government’s moves to trample all over democracy by creating their own version of a “Super City” in Auckland have, rightly, caused alarm up and down the country. But as the NZ Herald editorial yesterday (June 11) points out, much worse could still be to come. More

Community demands action on Super City
02.06.09 A public meeting last night in West Auckland gave a clear mandate to organisers the Grassroots Action Group (GAG) for more protest action on the Super City.

Labour MPs Lynne Pillay, Phil Twyford and Green Party co-leader Russell Norman, were among the attendees. The meeting heard how the Government’s Super City proposals would affect individuals, families and our community. More

Greens farewell Jeanette - welcome Metiria
30.05.09 The Green Party farewelled Jeanette Fitzsimons and welcomed Metiria Tuei as there new Co-Leader. Mrs Turei was elected by delegates at the Green Party’s AGM in Dunedin.
“It’s a new face and new energy for the co-leadership, but it’s dedicated to the same cause and values that the Green Party has always stood for,” Mrs Turei said. More

Budget 09 won't help people in West Auckland
29.05.09 National has failed in the Budget to set out a real plan to keep West Aucklanders in work, Labour MPs David Cunliffe, Chris Carter and Lynne Pillay say. More

Grassroots Auckland turns out
25.05.09 Over 7000 people marched up Queen Street on a wet Monday lunchtime to show their support for guaranteed Maori representation on the new Super City Council. More

Mayor Harvey congratulates trasition team
25.05.09 Waitakere's Bob Harvey has come out in support of the new Auckland Transition Agency, saying "The Government's announcement of the members to lead the Auckland Transition Agency will be a relief to the thousands of contractors and staff needing executive decisions, and to the multi-billion dollar major projects that councils have underway." More

Labour derides Government's sham Super City consultation
18.05.09 The National Government’s newspaper ads this weekend headlined ‘Have Your Say on Auckland Local Government’ is an insult, given that the Bill in question is already being rammed through Parliament under urgency, says Su’a William Sio, Labour’s Associate Local Government Spokesperson and MP for Mangere.
Su’a William Sio said the ad gives the false impression that Aucklanders are being consulted on the reorganisation of local government in Auckland. More

Government creates Super City chaos
18.05.09 The Government’s Super City plans are unravelling rapidly as the full extent of its mishandling of the reforms become clear, says Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford.
More

Government running scared on Super City
18.05.09 The Cabinet appears to have blocked Rodney Hide’s proposed appointments to the Auckland Council transition agency as it suffers an attack of nerves over its plans, says Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford. More

Labour: time to talk about the true costs
15.05.09 The Government’s Super City plan will cost Auckland ratepayers up to $750 each to implement  - a cost estimated to be well over 30 per cent higher than the Royal Commission’s plan, says Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford. More

English and Key pedalling apart
15.05.09 The strange dance between Bill English and John Key is just getting stranger by the day, Labour Finance Spokesperson David Cunliffe says. More

Labour seeks to guarantee Maori seats on Super City
14.05.09 Labour will today move an amendment to the Bill setting up the new Super City which guarantees Maori seats on the proposed Auckland Council, says Labour’s Maori Affairs spokesman Parekura Horomia. more

Guts ripped out of local democracy by week's end
13.05.09 The Government’s so-called technical transition Bill on Auckland governance is in fact a draconian piece of legislation giving it full powers to ram through its Super City plans before Aucklanders have been consulted, says Labour’s Local Government spokesperson George Hawkins. more

$4.5B profits: Are the Aussie banks sharing the load
13.05.09 Labour Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe today questioned whether New Zealand’s Australian owned major retail banks are sharing the load of the economic downturn in light of the $4.5 billion dollars in profits they made last year. More

Australian budget lights the way forward
13.05.09 The budget delivered by the Australian Government has provided a credible template for John Key’s Government to follow to protect Kiwi jobs and the economy, Labour Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe said. More

'Supercity' risks firesale of Waitakere public services
12.05.09 The ‘Supercity’ plans put Waitakere City's public libraries, community centres and water supply at risk of privatisation, the Green Party revealed yesterday.
"Rodney Hide's plan to sabotage local democracy and ready Auckland for a firesale of its assets must be stopped right now," says Kath Dewar, Green Party Spokesperson for West Auckland.
More

"Make no mistake, the people of Auckland are waking up to exactly what this means. And they don't like it." Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse addressing last weeks Community Coalition for Auckland rally in Henderson Picture ©John Chapman

Waitakere and Helensville electorates show low support for Government super city proposals
27.04.09 Almost half of people in Waitakere, the country’s fifth largest city, oppose plans for a super city. A telephone survey of 401 residents shows 47% are not in favour of the Government’s plan. More

What’s wrong with Auckland?
Nothing that can't be fixed by a greter clarity on regional issues and additional funding from government according to Waitakere City Councillor, Janet Clews. In a coherent analysis of the government's proposed governance changes she writes: It has two major problems on which everyone seems to agree: firstly the need to clear up confusion on regional issues and, secondly, the need for additional money to make up for years of underfunding the region’s infrastructure. More

Grow up and govern, Mr English
New Lynn MP David Cunliffe has called on Finance Minister Bill English to "grow up and govern." Labour Finance Spokesman David Cunliffe says Bill English's petulant attempt to blame Labour for the country's recession woes shows a man out of his depth and losing his cool under pressure,

"The fact is National inherited some of the lowest gross government debt in the developed world at around 20 percent, while many others have rates of 50 to 80 percent,” David Cunliffe said More

Retailers endorse a plastic bag-free future for Waitakere
More than 50 Waitakere retailers today unanimously endorsed a council plan to eliminate the use of plastic shopping bags in the city. Hosted by Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey and attended by a wide variety of retailers, the forum resulted in an agreement to work together to reduce the distribution and consumption of plastic shopping bags and eventually eliminate their use all together. More

Intense discussions. Prime Minister John Key with Mayor Bob Harvey at the Waitakere Enterprise Business Lunch. Picture ©John Chapman

Central and Local Government can lead recovery
4.02.09 Local government has a key role in leading the country out of the economic recession, says Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey.
Speaking at today’s announcement by the Prime Minister of support for small and medium sized businesses, Mayor Harvey said local bodies are also vital to the economic recovery More

Writing on the wall for airport at Whenuapai
30.01.09 Waitakere City Council will delay public hearings on a proposed district plan change intended to create a Whenuapai Airport Special Area (comprising most of the current airbase).

At a meeting this morning, the Minister of Defence Hon Dr Wayne Mapp told Waitakere City that there is a significant paper going to Cabinet by the end of March on the future of Whenuapai air base.

Mayor Bob Harvey says: “With that development it makes sense to delay and then look at going forward with all the available information. More

Commission distances itself from from Herald report
The Royal Commission on Auckland has confirmed that the lead article in today’s New Zealand Herald is speculative. The Commission Chair, the Hon Peter Salmon QC, said “The Commission is due to present its report to the Governor-General on March 31st, and does not intend to release its recommendations before that date. Articles of this nature, which purport to reveal the Commission’s decisions, are unhelpful, and disturb council staff throughout the region.” More

NZ Govt fiddles while Gaza burns
Green MP Keith Locke has criticised the New Zealand Government for its silence on the bombardment of Gaza.

"While other governments work around the clock on the issue, ours has gone missing," said Mr Locke, Green Party Foreign Affairs Spokesperson. "No formal statement has been issued, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry website has nothing on the Gaza crisis."Hopefully, this press statement will embarrass our government to issue its own statement, although it will be a week and 400 lives too late.More
Editorial: Welcome to Gaza

Airport report lacks transparency
The Green Party is critical of a Waitakere City Council report on submissions about the proposed commercial airport at Whenuapai.

"There are two key aspects of the report which are much less transparent than we are used to seeing from Waitakere City," says Kath Dewar, Green Party spokesperson for West Auckland.

"The report states 2,676 submissions were received, but I had to pick through the detail to discover that only 80 of them support the airport proposal. And to find the total number of opponents I had to count the rows and columns in a table of submitter numbers. By my reckoning 2,576 of the submissions, a whopping 96%, oppose commercial flights from Whenuapai. More

Credit crunch - Waitakere City Council unaffected
Waitakere City Council has had its financial position re-affirmed by the international credit agency Standard & Poor's. The agency has assigned the Council it's A+ long-term and A-1 short term ratings.

Standard and Poor’s says the Council credit rating is supported by its cash position, and the absence of risk associated with substantial Council Controlled Trading Organisations.  Waitakere City Council also benefits from being part of the wider Auckland Region which represents a strong economic base.
Standard and Poor’s confidence echoes the recent sign-off on the City’s accounts by Audit New Zealand.
While retaining the overall rating, in light of the global economic situation and the Council’s projected capital works programme, Standard and Poor’s did revise its outlook to negative. More

Green Party calls for open government
The Green Party is calling for greater transparency of government at a central and local level," says Green Party spokesperson Kath Dewar. "The current regulations make it hard for citizens to get the information they need when they need it and undermines trust both in democracy and our elected representatives. Politicians need to be answerable to voters, first and foremost, and too often supposed 'commercial sensitivity' is used as an excuse to keep things secret. The ongoing South Titirangi Road substation fiasco is a case in point." More

Mayor Calls for hardline to end child abuse
Waitakere City Mayor Bob Harvey is calling for tough intervention and the removal of children from at risk families to stem the tide of child abuse in New Zealand.

Opening the “Every Child Counts” conference in Wellington, Mayor Harvey hit out at the continued “fumbling” of government agencies who fail to protect at risk children.

He says despite the work of numerous agencies and much discussion, the statistics of children being maimed, beaten and dying continues.
"Enough is enough. We have to toughen up and say that some people right now are just not fit to be parents.” Mayor Harvey says newborns in particular can, and must, be protected. More

Green concern on walkway
West Auckland Green are urging Waitakere City Council to insist the walkway at Landing and Grendon Roads go ahead, as required by the Maxwell housing development resource consent.

“Council must show some grit on this one,” says Kath Dewar, Green Party Candidate for New Lynn. “As petrol gets ever more expensive, the Council owes it to residents to make walking easier in our communities.”

The walkway, imposed as a resource consent condition by the Environment Court, will cut the walking distance between two significant residential areas from several kilometres down to less than 400 metres. It will be the only walkway on the western side of South Titirangi Road, linking Laingholm and Titirangi. Due to the steepness of the area it is the only suitable location for such a path. It will allow a lot more people, including the residents of Maxwell’s development, to easily catch the buses along South Titirangi Road, and will improve pedestrian access to the South Titirangi beaches.  The developers have applied to the Council for the resource consent condition to be relaxed, meaning the walkway and an accompanying reserve, would be scrapped. The application is notified and submissions close 5pm Monday 30th June.

“As petrol prices continue to rise, it is essential that people can choose to leave their car at home sometimes, especially for short, local trips.  People will need footpaths like this more and more,” says Dewar.

The decision will also be seen as an indication of Council’s seriousness in implementing the new Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area legislation.

Council scrap inorganic waste collection
Waitakere City Council has scrapped its inorganic waste collection. The decision to scrap the collection was made despite an unprecedented number of consultation responses in favour of keeping the service. Greg Presland, President of the Titirangi Ratepayers and Residents said: "Cessation of the inorganic waste collection was opposed. Our concern was that people would use bushy areas to dump their rubbish. A walk down Titirangi Beach Road shows what can happen."

Green Party candidate for New Lynn added:"t's very disappointing to see Waitakere City Council has scrapped the inorganic and continues to spend excessively on new roads. The Greens don't believe Council accounted for the high volume of inorganic waste reclaimed for reuse by other residents - reuse is a lot more energy efficient than recycling and should be the first option. The illegal dumpers will just abuse our streams and bush instead, shifting the problem to a worse place. Not all ratepayers use libraries but we still provide them. We also wanted to see the millions going into new roading schemes, such as the extension of Trading Place diverted into supporting public transport, cycling and walking.

Titirangi Ratepayers and Residents oppose cuts to inorganic waste collection
The influential Titirangi Ratepayers and Residents Association has made submission to Waitakere City Council's Annual Plan opposing the Council's controversial proposal to cut the annual inorganic waste collection. The submission states:"The association opposes the proposed change.  Inorganic waste collections have been provided by Council as a service to residents for many years.  Illegal dumping will become rampant and bushy areas such as Titirangi and the rest of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area will bear the brunt of this."
To view the whole submission as a pdf file click here

Waitakere’s mixed messages on plastic bags
Green candidate snubbed
Waitakere City Council has ought to disassociate itself from a Green Party campaign on plastic bags. Kath Dewar Green Party Parliamentary candidate for New Lynn along with Glenn Turner and Dave Kenkel of Green Bay Residents and Ratepayers Association presented a petition to Waitakere’s Mayor, Bob Harvey and Cr. Judy Lawley from 423 Waitakere City residents supporting making Green Bay, Titirangi and eventually all of Waitakere a plastic-carrier bag free zone. More

Green candidate disappointed at Waitakere submission
The Green Parliamentary Candidate for New Lynn, Kath Dewar, has expressed disappointment at the submission made by Waitakere City Council to the Royal Commission on the Governance of Auckland. She told Waitakere News; "I was disappointed to see Waitakere City Council's rejection of Te Taumata Runanga's recommendation in the same way I was frustrated with that aspect of the outcome of the Waitakere Governance review in 2005." more

Waitakere agrees to disagree on Maori representation
Waitakere City Council has agreed to allow it's Te Taumata Runanga standing committee on Maori affairs to make a separate submission to the Royal Committee on Auckland governance. Te Taumata Runanga had recommended Waitakere City include provision for Maori seats in its submission but Councillors rejected the proposal and instead proposed the Waitakere's consultative model of Te Taumata Runanga be adopted.

The Council adopted a resolution to: Agree that the Te Taumata Runanga should present its own submission to the Royal Commission in order that the views of Maori in Waitakere are represented. Notwithstanding those views may differ from current council policy.

Pita Sharples calls for Maori representation in Auckland local government
The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance gives us a chance to ensure Maori representation in local government in the most densely populated part of the country.
Some people say that, if a proposal for a super-city council goes ahead, it will be like a mini-Parliament – because so much of its business will be of national importance. more

Fitting Finale to Music Festival
The Titirangi Festival of Music is over for another year.  Thousands of people took part, participating and enjoying the various concerts, gigs and workshops throughout the week.
More than 80 acts performed across the 8-day fest, among them was the festival director himself, David Parker, who performed as part of the ukulele group, The 3 Tenors, and local soul/reggae group, Pauanation more

Landmark Legislation Passed to Preserve the Waitakere Ranges
Waitakere City Council has applauded the passing of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act 2008 as a significant landmark that will have a positive impact for many generations to come. The Act was passed after it's third reading in parliament tonight. more

Tidy Titirangi Takes Off
Titirangi Ratepayers and Residents Association is determined to make Titirangi the premier destination out west with a competition aimed at sprucing up the village into a place we can all really be proud of. The Tidy Titirangi Competition will pit merchants against each other as well as having them work together in teams to make their area of the village the best. Patrons Mayor Bob Harvey and MP David Cunliffe are fully supportive of the idea and Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse has been working closely with the Tidy Titirangi team to make the Council a pro-active partner with business and landowners to fix the problems. The idea is to get everyone working together on large and small initiatives to boost the village’s appeal and improve business by making Titirangi into the gem in Waitakere City’s crown. more

It's not OK says Mayor Bob
Mayor Bob Harvey is refusing to swear in Wayne Davis winner of the New Lynn community Board byelection because of his previous convictions for domestic violence. more

The price of democracy
The dust has finally settled on the Waitakere Local Body Elections and with the exception of three new faces the Council remains virtually unchanged. In spite of its ethnically diverse population Waitakere’s Councillors remain predominantly white, middle class, and middle aged with men having a slight majority. Just over thirty percent of eligible voters cast their ballot while the rest seemed to assume that if voting changed anything it would be abolished anyway. More

Local Body Election 2007

Candidates dismay at election tactics
Mayoral candidate Peter Chan has caused consternation amongst his Council colleagues by joining forces with Council candidate hopefuls Michael Kidd and Gary Osborne. Better known for their negative 'Yeah right' campaign against Bob Harvey, they have jointly signed an advertisement calling for a cessation of overseas trips by Councillors.

In view of his recent trip to China, as part of the Waitakere City Council delegation to sister city Ningbo, we asked Mr Chan for his comments on his latest campaign initiative with Kidd and Osborne. Mr Chan initially told us he had never taken a penny from the council in air fares but paid them all himself. However when we refreshed his memory with the exact amount contained in the council expense records,$7,322.29 he recanted saying trips such as this made a valuable contribution and fostered good trading relationships.
Confused, we are...

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Draft Hector's and Maui's dolphin Threat Management Plan consultation set to close soon
The consultation document on the joint threat management plan to reduce human induced threats to Hector's and Maui's dolphins is set to close on October 24th. The threat management plan has been drawn up by the Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Conservation, as a result of public concern over the threatened extiction of both the Hector's and Maui dolphins. Read more

Immigration earns the Country over $3 billion
Research shows that new Kiwis boosted New Zealand's coffers to the tune of $3.3 billion in the year to 30 June 2006. Research shows that new Kiwis boosted New Zealand's coffers to the tune of $3.3 billion in the year to 30 June 2006, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe Mp for New Lynn announced today. Read more