It’s worse than we thought
My granddaughter Isla was christened recently. I stood by as she was blessed with prayers for her future, knowing her parents’ mix of pride and hope.

Instead I felt fear. Fear for the world she would inherit. Fear she would never enjoy the opportunities I had. Fear her life may even be cut short.

The days before the christening had been spent at the Australia-New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference. It was a glum affair. Speaker after speaker took the podium with the news all is not well and, even more depressing, it’s not going to be. More

Rotundo development of concern to residents
Recent media reports that Titirangi residents are fully supportive of a proposed three story development for the Heritage Area village have been somewhat exaggerated. More

Vector evicts kindy mums
Vector Limited today evicted parent kindergarten representatives from their AGM being held at the Ellerslie Convention Auckland. The parents from the Titirangi Kindergarten in West Auckland attended the AGM in the hope of persuading Vector to agree to moving a proposed substation metres away from the kindergarten to a more suitable location. The proposal has put the kindergarten under threat of closure and put on hold a $100,000 dollar improvement scheme proposed for the kindergarten. Vector put a security cordon around the building to prevent the parents from gaining access. Vector employees, Debbie Lockhart and Tim Bond told the parents they were unwelcome. more

Vector explores..
We walk under them and we drive past them, usually without a glance or second thought. Until the lights go out we take our electrical power infrastructure completely for granted. Now it seems we shouldn’t. New evidence is emerging that being close to pylons and substations can cause serious illness including significant increases in childhood leukaemia. This new evidence has led Titirangi residents to oppose the plan by Vector to site a new 10 megawatt substation in the heart of the village. More

Time to give tangata whenua a seat in local government
Last year's local body elections in Waitakere once again returned a virtually unchanged council with no Maori representation. A largely white, male, middle class council remained impenetrable to Maori representation.  As Dr Sharples states in his article. "There are lists of Maori people, national figures in anyone’s eyes, sporting icons, former MPs, leading academics and jurists, people with all the requisite skills, who have stood for Council and been rebuffed. They never got close." More

Family Violence - It's not OK
Waitakere News supports Mayor Bob Harvey's refusal to swear in the newly elected New Lynn Community Board member, Wayne Davis. Mr. Davis was found guilty in 2004 on three charges of domestic violence and two charges of breaching a protection order. At the time the offences took place Mr. Davis was the Deputy Chairman of Henderson Community Board. Upon his conviction he stood down as Deputy Chairman but remained in office until voted out. Given the nature of Mr. Davis's offences   that is where his political career should have ended and had the electors of New Lynn been aware of Mr. Davis's convictions that would almost certainly have been the case. More

Paula Bennett - protector of the Ranges?
Protection of the Waitakere Ranges has been a Holy Grail issue in Waitakere for many decades.  Luminaries such as Jonathan Hunt, Bob Harvey, Gary Taylor and John Edgar have fought for decades to achieve some sort of protection against creeping urbanisation.  The problem is plain to see, the Waitakere foothills are a starkly beautiful area right on the edge of the city and just on the other side of the metropolitan urban limit, and the foothills and coastal villages such as Piha, Karekare, Huia and Te Henga are beautiful areas that any Jafa with taste and a bit of money would love to have a place in. More