Category: Auckland Council

Source: Auckland Council

The 2023 Kaipātiki Local Board Plan has now been formally adopted, providing an essential road map for the board’s decision-making over the next three years.  

The board used community feedback gathered during a consultation period in mid-2023 to shape and finalise the plan. 

It sets out the board’s priorities for the rest of its term: 

Auckland’s 21 local boards are required by law to produce a plan every three years and board chair John Gillon is pleased that the majority of feedback received during consultation was positive. 

Around 72 per cent of individuals and 100 per cent of organisations were supportive of the plan, its direction and themes covered.  

“Thanks to everyone who engaged with our consultation in developing this plan. We really appreciate your views, and it was great to hear that you thought we were on the right track. We’ve refined this final plan to address the key themes that came through with the feedback,” he says. 

“Although this plan is inspirational, we’ve included a number of key things that we’d like to do over the next three years. It’s not meant to be a long list of projects, but instead set out the objectives and key initiatives that we’ll focus on to help achieve our desired outcomes. 

“We all share in the future of Kaipātiki and this plan provides a map for how our community wants Kaipātiki to develop over the next three years.” 

You can find the final plan here. 

Source: Auckland Council

In a recently published update, the Auckland Council group continues to deliver positive momentum across the Midtown Regeneration Programme while building smarter across agencies.  

Work hours are being extended on-site in Victoria Street until the end of December in order to achieve the re-opening of Victoria Street for some traffic movement by the end of 2023, a key milestone in getting the city centre ready for the completion of the City Rail Link (CRL).

Work to expand the city centre’s critical wastewater infrastructure is set to begin early next year, carefully coordinated with street improvements. The new infrastructure will ensure more resilience on the network while enabling growth and capacity for the city’s future development.

“Our city centre is crucial to the success of the whole region, so we need to ensure it’s working well and efficiently, as quickly as possible, while also reducing impacts on businesses wherever we can,” says Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.

“The city centre generates a fifth of Auckland’s GDP. As it gets more attractive to business owners and investors, with better connections to the rest of Auckland, then its value – and the benefits it brings the whole city – will keep growing,” she says.

In summary, the midtown programme looking ahead:

• Significant Watercare works in 2024, at the intersections of Queen Street with Wellesley Street, Victoria Street and Mayoral Drive, have been incorporated into the programme, ensuring underground services are completed ahead of streetscape upgrades. Underground works will build capacity for future residential and commercial growth, further safeguard the health of the Waitematā Harbour, while also aiming to reduce disruption at street level in the long run.

• After encountering some unexpected complexity underground in Zone 1 (Victoria Street West) which slowed progress, construction of Te Hā Noa on Victoria Street is extending work hours to catch up and enable the anticipated opening of the Victoria/Albert Street intersection by the end of the year as planned. Also in December, CRL will open the Victoria/Albert Street intersection to one lane east-bound and one lane south-bound along Albert Street, through to Wellesley Street. By the end of December, Victoria Street will open to east-west traffic – from Federal Street to Kitchener Street – with one lane in each direction, reflecting the street layout of Te Hā Noa when it is complete. Further detail in editors’ notes.

Auckland Council Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services Barry Potter says Aucklanders expect us to be nimble and build smarter.

“The works happening in the city centre are vast and complex – including the City Rail Link, streetscape work, transport network upgrades, and attention to longer-term environmental resilience and future-proofing underground services.

“There is strong commitment across the council group, and with other partners such as Vector, to ensure we’re scheduling our works so that we’re reducing disruption wherever possible.

“The midtown area is changing week by week. You can see Victoria Street taking shape, and you already get a sense of how seamless the area is becoming as we prepare it for the opening of Te Waihorotiu Station,” says Mr Potter.

Te Hā Noa

Related projects in the midtown programme include:

• The upgrade of Federal Street, from Mayoral Drive to Wellesley Street, now completed with a tree-lined and community-focused shared space

• the upgrade of Queen Street from Mayoral Drive to Shortland Street, completed last year, with the final phase to Custom Street set for completion next month

• the upgrade of the Myers Park northern end and underpass, set to be opened by the end of the year, with boardwalk, new native trees, wetland garden, flood mitigation elements and a new stairway to Queen Street

• the Te Hā Noa project on Victoria Street which started in April this year; once completed will create a thriving environment while welcoming thousands at the new Te Waihorotiu Station when it opens

• plans to deliver a place-based programme in High St that will prioritise people and enhance the unique heritage and history of the area, are underway.

• significantly improved options for people taking the bus, walking, using micro-mobility and cycling on Wellesley Street, along with improvements to streetscape and the surrounding environment.

This momentum of change in midtown, and throughout the city centre, is supported by Auckland Council’s investment of the city centre targeted rate (CCTR). Read the CCTR 2022 / 23 report here

For a map of the Midtown Regeneration Programme, please click here

Source of economic data: Infometrics Regional Economic Profile, Auckland City Centre

Background Notes

Construction hours on Victoria Street until end of December

• Construction working hours on Victoria Street West have been extended from Friday, 13 October. The new hours mean that crews will be working seven days, and later into the evenings Monday to Saturday, until the end of this year.

• More workers will be on-site, working in two shifts until 11pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 7pm on Sundays.

• Works will include completing underground ducting, preparing the roadway on the northern side and continuing work on the northern footpath.

• Good progress is being made in Zone 1 (near The President Hotel, Countdown and Mecca). However over the last few months, construction crews have encountered some unexpected complexity underground. That has meant the team has needed to accelerate construction in order to re-open the Albert/Victoria Street intersection to vehicles, by the end of this year, as planned.

• The Auckland Council project team acknowledges that early starts and working late into the evening may impact people who live and work nearby. To help with this, crews will aim to do the noisiest activities during daylight hours and finish construction activity by 10:30pm each day. The last half hour will be used to tidy up the site and make it safe to leave overnight.

• Auckland Council development response team members have visited all neighbouring ground-floor businesses to let them know about these changes. A staff member is dedicated to the management of any issues that arise for people who are impacted in the neighbourhood.

City centre’s economic scorecard

• Auckland’s city centre is New Zealand’s highest performing 4.3 square kilometres, with data showing growth in employment and GDP within the city centre boundary is tracking faster than New Zealand as a whole.

• Infometrics Regional Economic Profile, Auckland City Centre, measured GDP in the city centre at $26,686 million in the year to March 2022, up 8.2% from a year earlier. New Zealand’s GDP increased by 5.3% over the same period.

• It cited employment in the city centre tracking up 6.6% in the year to March 2022 compared with New Zealand’s equivalent increase in employment of 3.0% over the same period.

• The Infometrics report also averaged economic growth in the city centre at 4.4%pa over the last 10 years compared with 3.0%pa in the national economy across the same decade.

More on midtown regeneration

• Read about the investment the Auckland Council group is making to spearhead the midtown regeneration here, and about the design symbiosis of Wellesley and Victoria Streets here.

Source: Auckland Council

Aucklanders voted overwhelmingly for me because of my five key policies.

Accountability is important to me, and coming up to my first anniversary as Mayor, I think it’s a good time to do a stocktake of my progress on these so far. Commentators have said my first year has seen me lead a council through what’s been perhaps the most difficult period since the supercity amalgamated in 2010. Yes, there were the catastrophic Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. On top of that, I inherited a heap of debt and an ever widening $325 million budget hole. I swore I would face issues head-on, make tough decisions, and fix Auckland.  

A majority of Aucklanders voted to stop wasting money. They said they wanted better, cheaper, and faster services. My councillors and I managed to agree on a budget that cut costs following lengthy discussions articulating the reality of our debt situation. It involved compromise, but I don’t see that as a weakness. It means we listened to Aucklanders and made decisions, which is our job. We reduced our operating spend by $83 million in the Annual Budget. Just by being grumpy and asking for better returns, the Port of Auckland increased their dividend by $10 million this year. I also asked council to accelerate their office consolidation programme, which was good but going too slow for my liking. As of today, this acceleration has really shrunk the number of offices council and CCO’s have in the CBD, a move that will contribute to $13 million a year in savings. I don’t think it’s unreasonable that CCO’s share offices with the council to reduce costs. Councillors agreed to the partial sale of Auckland Airport shares, which is now saving around $25million a year in interest costs.  

What I am also trying to get across to our organisation is the need to sell investments that don’t return our cost of capital. If it is costing Aucklanders more money to keep owning assets than they return in cash to us, then it’s time to sell up and invest in something that can help reduce rates in the long term. Right now, in this high interest rate environment, the best investment we can make is to pay down debt. This isn’t politics; this is good decision-making.  

I also campaigned on finishing the big projects and making the most of what we have before starting any new projects.  This couldn’t be more true than in transport and infrastructure. I am leading the development of an integrated transport plan that we will agree with central government, which is already underway and has many priorities already adopted. I want to prioritise rail infrastructure and the use of rail to get big trucks off the road. Early in my term I secured government funding for completing the Eastern Busway; the next priority is the Northwest Busway, and it is my vision that these will be up and running as smoothly and efficiently as the Northern Busway already is. I’m pushing to make better use of transponders on buses to wake up traffic lights when a bus approaches. I’m pushing for more dynamic lanes to move traffic better in peak times and exploring the options here. I’m also looking at where time-of-use charging might be helpful. Funding is underway for level crossings to get the most out of the City Rail Link (CRL) and I look forward to seeing this mega project finished. It is unfortunate that light rail has turned into the expensive political football it is. With my background, I know we could do it better, faster, cheaper. This makes more sense than building more motorways and tunnels. When we look at overseas models, surface light rail could be 20 times cheaper than the proposed model; it does not need to be tunnelled, and making use of existing infrastructure couldn’t ring truer here when we consider cost-saving measures.  

On infrastructure, we have a significant capital programme being delivered for more efficient growth, and our Making Space for Water programme, as well as things like the Central Interceptor to deal with wastewater overflows, under construction. These are important moves following the catastrophic floods at the start of the year. I’m sure I don’t need to emphasise the need for Making Space for Water in our region’s infrastructure.  

I also promised to take back control of Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs). I have been reminding staff that while they are experts in their field, it is their job to advise elected officials, and it is the role of elected officials alone to make the decisions on behalf of Aucklanders. That is how democracy works. On that note, I’ve been able to get councillors to provide stronger and clearer direction to CCOs, and even Auckland Transport is beginning to change its approach. Legislative change is also on the way here.  

The Long-Term Plan is our next big challenge to get consensus on what we invest in for the next ten years. So far, I have ensured it is done differently from the start, bringing councillors in from the beginning with a joint direction document for the council group on what our priorities are and what we want to see in the LTP (Direction document). We are getting more information than we have had before to make the best decisions for Aucklanders on the things that matter to them. 

I am looking forward to a new relationship with Wellington and to making an Auckland Deal with the government that is in lock-step with Aucklanders and why they voted for me.  Stopping waste, getting Auckland moving, taking back control of CCOs, fixing our broken infrastructure, and making the most of our environment and harbour.  

Source: Auckland Council

The rāhui and blanket public health advice not to swim in the Waitematā Harbour is starting to lift as green ticks return to Auckland’s safeswim.org.nz

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei placed a rāhui over the Waitematā Harbour and Auckland Council activated black pins on Safeswim when advised by Watercare of the Ōrākei main sewer blockage and significant discharges into the harbour on 27 September.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust chair Marama Royal says that the main purpose of a rāhui was protection and in this situation it was important to consider the entire Waitematā Harbour.

“As tangata whenua of central Auckland and upper Waitematā, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have a duty as kaitiaki to look after the mauri or life force of the Waitematā as well as to keep our communities safe. We will continue to keep the rāhui under review – the health of the Waitematā and of all who enjoy using it are paramount to our iwi,” says Ms Royal.

“We have lifted the rāhui across the Waitematā Harbour, except between Ōkahu Bay west to Masefield Beach reserve by Curran Street and we thank Aucklanders for respecting rāhui areas as it gives the harbour a chance to recover,” she adds.

Deputy Mayor and Ōrākei Ward Councillor Desley Simpson also thanks the community for their understanding and support, at the same time as Watercare undertook the massive task to design, plan and install the Parnell bypass to resolve wastewater discharges into the harbour.

“This was a distressing situation with major impacts on recreational users of our Waitematā beaches and waterways, as well as wider impacts for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei who placed a rāhui to allow time for the harbour to recuperate and be safe to use,” says Deputy Mayor Simpson.

“I know there have been economic impacts for organisations which run water-based events and activities. I really want to thank Watercare for their efforts to start to fix the Ōrākei Main Sewer, knowing that public health and safety is paramount,” she adds.

Due to spring weather conditions, the pins that signal safe swimming are updated as water quality monitoring results are checked by the council. Aucklanders should continue to check the Safeswim website for the most up to date information and to make decisions on where it is safe to swim. Following rainfall, swimming water conditions can change quickly.

The rāhui remains in place at Ōkahu Bay, Te Tinana / Wilsons Beach, Judges Bay, St Mary’s Bay and Masefield Beach reserve at Curran Street.

A map showing where the rāhui remains in place.

A black alert is used to indicate wastewater discharges to water and elevated health risk to beach users. The following areas outside the rāhui area have black alerts due to the most recent water quality results: Chapman Strand, Taipiri Strand, Te Atatu, Pt Chevalier, Herne Bay, Home Bay and Sentinel Road. The water quality information for these locations will be updated as testing results are received.

Up to the minute information on water quality and swimming conditions at your favourite spots are at safeswim.org.nz

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service provides public health advice about fishing and gathering shellfish – which should not be collected in areas that have been contaminated for at least 28 days.

Source: Auckland Council

Struggling to make ends meet is stressful, particularly when food prices make essential staples such as fruit and vegetables a luxury item for many. The assumption that “growing your own” is the solution is not as straightforward as it sounds, but three kai sovereignty initiatives across Auckland are helping feed their communities while developing skills and knowledge.

Homegrown support (and chickens!) with Rākau Tautoko

Rākau Tautoko garden advisor Tricia Joe says that for many, growing your own food isn’t as simple as digging up your lawn.

“When you haven’t experienced gardening and you don’t have any tools whatsoever, it’s pretty hard to just go out and dig and know where to go – you just don’t,” Tricia says. “It’d be like me saying, ‘Why don’t you make your own wedding dress or suit? It’s just a few straight lines.’ It’s not that easy.”

Rākau Tautoko is a social enterprise of skilled practitioners working together to strengthen communities, with Tricia teaching locals in Glen Innes and Mt Wellington how to grow their own food. This includes installing raised gardens filled with fresh soil, equipping them with the right tools and providing ongoing visits to help them successfully grow throughout the year. This Māori-led project was supported through funding from the Auckland Climate Grant

An important part of the process is making sure people are growing what they like to eat, but Tricia also wants to provide choices that “are not only giving them success, but the best bang for their buck”. So instead of residents planting six cauliflower or broccoli – which take months to grow and need quite a bit of space – they’re opting for things like perpetual spinach, different varieties of lettuce and bok choy with strawberries around the edges for the children. “They’re eating out of those plots in four to five weeks.”

The initiative even provides chickens, raised by Tricia at her Patumahoe home. As well as helping reduce food costs, Tricia says that learning how to look after an animal is a positive experience for children. Residents are given a coop, food for the first couple of months, an automatic feeder, a drinker and wood shavings. “I always make sure that they pet the chicken and I explain how to hold them,” she says. “They do fall in love with them.”

Tricia mentors each family for three of four months, but is always on call to guide them into what they can grow next. “We want to give people support,” she explains. “Not just give them a garden and say, ‘You go ahead and do it.’ It’s that long-term success that’s important and that will make a difference.”

Happy Point England resident Jackie Pihama is a happy chicken owner thanks to social enterprise Rakau Tautoko.

Bananas and bokashi at Hope Teaching Garden

On the banks of the Whau River in New Lynn lies EcoMatters’ Hope Teaching Garden, a place where the community is welcome to visit and learn gardening skills while spreading the kaupapa of growing local kai.

One of their initiatives is a bokashi drop and swap service. Bokashi is an efficient food recycling system where food scraps are effectively pickled through a form of fermented composting. Participants in the scheme are given a bokashi bucket and everything else they need to get started. Once their bucket is full, they drop it back and pick up a clean one. The nutrient-dense fermented food scraps are buried in swales (a type of trench) where they are gobbled up by banana plants.

“The bananas are such a heavy feeder that the food scraps are absorbed in a couple of weeks,” says coordinator Amanda Hookham-Kraft. “They’re eating up all the food and we’re producing a food source as well.”

Along with individuals and households using the bokashi service, four schools are involved and businesses along Rosebank Road are also starting to participate.

The Hope Teaching Garden also has an outdoor kitchen where freshly harvested fruit and vegetables from the garden can be prepared. Amanda says engaging with the full food-growing cycle helps reduce food waste.

“If we’re growing the food, harvesting it and putting that time and care into it, then we have a lot more awareness of how much we need. There’s a deeper respect and understanding.”

Visit www.ecomatters.org.nz/hopegarden or email food@ecomatters.org.nz to find out more or get involved.

Hope Teaching Garden Coordinator Amanda Hookham-Kraft says that the process of growing, harvesting and eating your own kai builds a deeper appreciation of where food comes from and helps reduce food waste.

Awhi Mai Te Atatū: Growing as a community

Behind a church in Te Atatū Peninsula, the site of an old unused playground is being transformed into a productive māra kai (food garden) for the community with funding from the Auckland Climate Grant.

Thanks to different community groups working together, including Te Atatū Peninsula Community Trust and Te Atatū Marae, garden coordinators Lila Kuka and Dalton Neho were offered the space by Pastor Brian Spicer. Since April, two lots of cover crops have been grown in the soil in order to regenerate it and make it fertile.

“We want to show that even marginal land can be turned into food-growing space, and that we can do it collectively,” says Lila. “We would like to see māra kai everywhere because there are so many benefits – for the environment, our wallets, our mental health, our physical health. It’s food sovereignty.”

Every Friday volunteers come and work in the garden, carrying out a range of tasks from weeding to planting seedlings that Lila grows in a tunnel house Dalton made from upcycled materials.

“We always start with a karakia (prayer), we whanaungatanga (create a sense of belonging through connection), we do the mahi, and then we always eat together. That’s part of showing the value of manaakitanga (hospitality) and looking after people,” says Lila.

While the kai grown will eventually go wherever it’s needed in the community, at this stage it will be shared with local social service agency Care Waitākere Trust, which offers counselling services to the community free of charge and advocates for people in financial strife, including providing a food bank. The rest of the food produced goes to the kaimahi (workers) who come along and help.

Te Atatū local AJ has been helped out by Care Waitākere during a time of financial hardship and has used their food bank a couple of times. Now he’s helping out as a volunteer in the māra kai. “I want to give back to the community I’ve received so much from, because karma goes around.”

If you’re interested in growing food with your community you may want to consider applying for an Auckland Climate Grant. Information on upcoming funding rounds is available here: https://livelightly.nz/auckland-climate-grant/

Dalton Neho and Lila Kuka from Awhi Mai Te Atatū: Growing as a Community want to show that using regenerative practices, even marginal land can be converted into a kai-growing space.

Source: Auckland Council

Auckland Council’s Governing Body has agreed to maintain Tāmaki Makaurau’s existing wards, without introducing Māori seats in time for our next local body elections in 2025.

Most councillors believe they have not yet received enough support from Aucklanders to justify changing the status quo for representation on the council’s Governing Body.   

Thirteen councillors have voted against introducing Māori seats to the council for 2025 local elections.

Further work to consider appropriate Māori representation in Auckland will be undertaken by the council’s Joint Governance Working Party, who will report back to to the Governing Body by 31 December 2024.

Councillor and Māori Portfolio holder Kerrin Leoni says the outcome is disappointing, especially after changes to legislation this year have finally made Māori seats in Auckland possible.

“It’s been a long wait to get this far. I had hoped for a different pathway, but this topic has generated widespread discussion and raised awareness about those core values we all hold close to our hearts – democracy, equality and fairness. That can only be a good thing.

“The next time Tāmaki Makaurau considers this decision, I expect there will be a whole lot more motivation to support change,” says Cr Leoni.

A total of 11,825 individuals, 43 organisations and 17 Māori entities gave their feedback on the proposal. Local Boards also provided feedback to the governing body on this decision.

Those not in favour of introducing Māori seats accounted for 68 per cent of individual submissions and 54 per cent of organisations.

Support predominantly came from Māori entities (87 per cent), Māori individuals (54 per cent) and local boards (85 per cent).

Most of the feedback focused on the overarching themes of Equality, Equity, and Democracy.

Those in support believe introducing specific Māori representation will help address Māori inequity and honour the council’s obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Other submissions maintain Māori wards will help deliver proportional Māori representation based on population.

Opposition to Māori seats has centred around concerns of equality. Submitters believe that everyone should have the same opportunity for representation, regardless of ethnicity, and that our current system is the most democratic.

Auckland Council’s Manager of Governance Services, Rose Leonard, says the council made significant effort to capture Māori views and preferences, in recognition that this decision has the greatest impact and significance for Māori.

“We canvassed the range of options that were possible under current legislation, and some that require legislative change. The difficulty is to find a solution that everyone agrees on for the process of how we can implement this effectively,” she says.

Mayor Wayne Brown says the council hasn’t yet found the right solution for Māori representation and he wants to see more work done on alternative options for this, other than the ‘parliamentary’ and Royal Commission models proposed during consultation.

“This doesn’t mean Auckland Council says ‘no’ to Māori wards. We want to get this right from the start to ensure we are creating a legacy everyone in our city can be proud of.

“There are problems with current Auckland Council representations wider than just Māori seats and these all need to be considered once the new government engages with Auckland over a proposed City Deal,” he says.

Source: Auckland Council

Fireworks are only sold for four days leading up to and including Guy Fawkes..

It’s that time of year again, when fireworks go on sale ahead of Guy Fawkes. You may enjoy letting off fireworks but they can be a cause for concern for others.  

There are strict rules in New Zealand around buying and selling fireworks. Fireworks are only sold for four days leading up to and including Guy Fawkes (2 to 5 November, 2023). To buy fireworks you must be 18 years old and have a valid ID. 

Councillor Josephine Bartley, chair of Auckland Council’s Regulatory and Community Safety Committee says many Aucklanders enjoy Guy Fawkes season, but others find it an unsettling time.  

“People can enjoy fireworks on private property in Tamāki Makaurau, however some people don’t enjoy the sight and sound of fireworks and pets can become extremely distressed by them. 

“I urge Aucklanders to use fireworks safely and responsibly and be respectful of others,” says Cr Bartley. 

Julie Pickering, Auckland Council Head of Operations, Parks and Community Facilities says people should be mindful about where they let off fireworks. 

“You can enjoy letting off fireworks on your own property in a safe manner, however – a reminder to Aucklanders – using fireworks in parks and on beaches across Auckland is not allowed.” 

Muriwai Beach will be closed to vehicles during the Guy Fawkes period this year, from 2 November until 6 November, to mitigate fire risk in the area. 

So how can you ensure that you use fireworks safely and responsibly? 

• Fireworks can only be let off on private property. 

• You cannot light fireworks on council-controlled land, such as parks and beaches, across the whole of Tāmaki Makaurau.

• You are also prohibited from lighting fireworks in forests, conservation areas and on road surfaces, berms or footpaths on your street.

• The Tūpuna Maunga Authority will close public access to 14 maunga across Tāmaki Makaurau from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 November 2023, from 7.30pm through to the usual gate opening times the following day.

• Make sure yourself and others stand well back from fireworks once they are lit.

• Inform your neighbours if possible and avoid using fireworks after 10pm.

• Have water or a fire extinguisher handy.

• Read and follow fireworks handling instructions carefully.

• Do not light fireworks in windy or dry conditions.

• Do not point fireworks at any person, animal, property or vegetation.

• Always have a responsible adult present.

• Keep pets inside or move animals to avoid stress.

• On rural private land during Guy Fawkes (2-5 November) bonfires are allowed but must be lit during daylight hours and extinguished before nightfall. During a Restricted Fire Season a permit is need from Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

• Sky lanterns, also known as Chinese lanterns, are a fire risk when left to fly away. They must be secured.

• Don’t store fireworks after Guy Fawkes as it’s hard to know if they’ll be safe to use at a later date.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand advises visiting its website for restrictions and fire safety advice. 

Pets during Guy Fawkes 

Elly Waitoa, Auckland Council Animal Management Manager, encourages people to be extra mindful of their pets in the lead up to and during Guy Fawkes. 

“Some pets react negatively to fireworks and it pays to take extra care with them and make sure they have a safe place inside during this time. 

“Keep windows, doors and curtains closed to lessen the sound and light flashes of fireworks. 

“If you’re unable to be at home with your pets during this time, please ensure they are safe and well confined,” she says.

Ms Waitoa also says Guy Fawkes season traditionally sees an increase in the number of dogs entering council animal shelters. 

“Make sure your dog is registered and microchipped. This will make it easier for you to be reunited with your dog if it strays.” 

Source: Auckland Council

If you haven’t noticed the smaller addition to Auckland Council’s household bin family, you need to get out more often on your collection day. The new food scraps collection service has been rolling out across most parts of the region since the beginning of 2023. Now, instead of the region’s food scraps ending up in landfill where they turn into methane – a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change – they are taken away to be turned into biofuel and fertiliser.

Like many innovative initiatives, there will be some who are slow to embrace change. If preventing 100,000 tonnes of food waste going into landfill each year doesn’t get you rolling your bin all the way to the kerb, here are some workarounds to the most common complaints about the service.

“Yuck, it’s smelly”

Separating your food scraps and storing them in the benchtop caddy is actually not that different from throwing them in your regular kitchen bin. The Auckland Council pink biodegradable bags for your benchtop caddy are available to purchase from retailers. Just change them every two to three days to avoid spills and reduce food odours. Also, as with your normal household rubbish, if you regularly empty the contents of your benchtop caddy (bag or no bag) into the food scraps wheelie bin outside, you can avoid any bad smells in your house.

Auckland Council compostable bin liners can be bought from retailers.

“I don’t have room for it on my bench”

If bench space is at a premium, store your food scraps in a smaller container with a lid, such as an ice-cream container. Another way to eliminate odours, particularly from meat scraps, is to store the ice-cream container in your freezer, then wait until collection day to empty it into your food scraps bin.

If you don’t want to smell your food scraps, freeze them in a smaller container. This is a handy hack to avoid meat scraps sitting in the benchtop caddy all week.

“I already compost, so I don’t need this”

Tau kē (great)! Composting is one of the most efficient ways to recycle food scraps and return nutrients to the soil. However, to lower pest populations (there’s a rat or two lurking near every compost heap), it’s best not to place cooked food or meat products in your compost bin. This is where your food scraps bin comes in handy. You can compost your uncooked fruit and vegetable scraps and dispose of all your other food scraps in your benchtop caddy.

Henderson resident Innes Nisbet, who is a committed composter and zero-waste lifestyler, says that he was initially sceptical about the food scraps service. “At first I wasn’t happy about having to pay $77 per year for a bin I wouldn’t use. But when it arrived, I decided to use it to get rid of bones, onion skins and citrus, seeing as I had to pay for it. Then I figured if people were using it to get rid of their food scraps instead of them going to landfill, I would be happy to subsidise it.”

Amanda Hookham-Kraft is the coordinator for EcoMatters’ Hope Teaching Garden in New Lynn. As part of their mahi, they run a bokashi drop and swap service, in which local schools, businesses and residents are supplied with buckets and everything else they need to turn their food scraps into bokashi, a form of fermented compost. Participants return their fermented scraps to the community garden where they are added to the soil as nutrient-dense plant food. The beauty of bokashi is that you can dispose of your cooked and baked food scraps, unlike traditional composting.

“We have a lot of businesses and residents in the area who are wanting to engage with this because they like the idea of keeping it local and the benefits of the food scraps going back into the soil,” says Amanda. However, she still values the food scraps service as a way of diverting food waste from landfill. “There are a lot of people out there who are putting their food into the bin, but I think we need to not put all our eggs in one basket, so this is where both are amazing.”

As an alternative to food scraps collection, Amanda Hookham-Kraft (right) and Emily Smith from Hope Teaching Garden in New Lynn run a bokashi swap and drop service where local schools, businesses and residents can donate their fermented food scraps to the community garden.

“It’s a waste of time and too much extra work”

Providing you keep your benchtop caddy handy, disposing of food scraps shouldn’t be any more work than disposing of food scraps in your regular rubbish. Plus, the bins are collected weekly on the same day as your usual council collection, so it’s easy to remember.

If you need more incentive, keep in mind that until now Aucklanders have been sending 100,000 tonnes of food scraps to landfill every year. If some planet-friendly competition gets you going, you might be motivated by the knowledge that Christchurch implemented a food and garden waste collection service in 2009 and many other cities in Aotearoa have

food-scraps services in place or about to start them.

“I live in an apartment or unit and there’s no room on the kerb”

If you share a berm with all your neighbours, one way you can make more room for your bins is to group your food scraps bins together. You can also group your recycling and rubbish bins together as well. They get to hang out with their peers and you are helping Auckland reach its goal of being zero waste by 2040.

Source: Auckland Council

Today marks a milestone in Auckland’s post-cyclone recovery with the Muriwai Water Treatment Plant returning to service.

The Muriwai Water Treatment Plant was taken out of service after Cyclone Gabrielle, when a slip caused by the February 14 weather event buried and damaged part of the plant and reservoir.

To ensure Muriwai residents had access to safe drinking water immediately after the cyclone, Watercare stationed a tanker in front of the Sand Dunz Cafe.

Watercare head of production Peter Rogers says within 11 days of the cyclone, Watercare’s team had put in place a temporary solution on Motutara Road opposite the fire station to restore water to customers.

“The temporary solution was a fixed water tanker serving as a reservoir and a mobile pumping station that distributed drinking water back into the network.

“We kept the temporary reservoir topped up with tanker deliveries throughout the day, usually running from 6am to 11pm to keep up with water demand.

“We know our customers really appreciated this service but tankering in water obviously isn’t ideal, so I think everyone will be really happy to have the water treatment plant back up and running again.”

Watercare upgrades and renewals general manager Suzanne Lucas says work to reinstate the water treatment plant has been underway since April.

“Our teams secured the site by clearing slip material and debris and stabilising the exposed slip face on site.

“We relocated cables and pipework to better-protected positions, replaced the damaged plastic raw water storage tank with a partially-buried concrete tank and improved tanker access to the treatment plant.”

While these actions have significantly increased the plant’s resilience in the event of future landslips, the plant won’t be able to treat as much water as it previously could because access to one of the springs located on Motutara Road has been blocked, says Lucas.

“This spring couldn’t be reinstated due to safety concerns around stabilising the slip face and potential further slips, so the water treatment plant can now draw from only two springs.

“Our access to the treatment plant site is also restricted during and after wet weather due to ongoing geotechnical risks related to the landslide.

“There is a chance we may need to bring back the temporary water supply solution – if for some reason we are unable to draw water from one of the springs or top up supply at the water treatment site.

“We’ll also be encouraging our Muriwai customers to continue to use water wisely, particularly over the summer months when water usage traditionally goes up.”

Lucas says some Muriwai customers may experience discoloured water temporarily when the treatment plant goes into service.

“Because the direction of the water flow will change when we switch over, it may stir up some sedimentation in the pipes that could cause discoloured water for a short period. 

“To help mitigate the chance of discoloured water in the network, our team are out in the community actively flushing the network, testing the water, and addressing the issues if they should occur.

“If customers experience discoloured water, we recommend running their outside tap for up to 5 minutes to clear their private pipes. If the problem continues, we ask them to call us on 09 442 2222 or log a fault on our website so we can investigate.”

Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson thanks the community for their patience and understanding, and Watercare for getting the Muriwai Water Treatment Plant back into service.

“It’s great to share some good news with Muriwai residents, who have shown tremendous resilience over the past few months.

“While there is still work to do for many, this is a sign of things finally turning a corner and returning to normal with the permanent water source back in action.” 

Source: Auckland Council

Risk assessments for flood and landslide affected homes are continuing across Tāmaki Makaurau. This process includes a desktop assessment, using existing information and additional details provided by the property owner, followed by a site assessment if further information is required. Technical assessors do the site visits, which will continue until at least the end of the year.

As of 17 October 2023, we have received more than 2100 Flood and Landslide Registration forms and completed more than 600 desktop assessments and 530 site visits. So far we have identified and notified nearly 200 low risk properties as Category 1.

Flood-affected properties that will likely fall under Category 2P, 2C or 3 in the government’s risk framework have not yet been given a category. One reason for this is that an option assessment is required after the site assessment to determine whether a practical engineering solution is considered feasible and affordable for a property.

As mentioned earlier in the newsletter, Auckland Council’s Governing Body will meet on Thursday 26 October to consider when and at what cost an engineering solution (which reduces the risk to life associated with the property to a tolerable level) should be considered feasible and affordable (such that a property will be Category 2P).

The process to determine a property’s final category (be it 1, 2 or 3) will continue over several months as we work through the specifics of each property assessment and the unique considerations.

We asked two of our engineers to talk us through what they’re looking for when visiting a flood-affected property:

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