Stunning Saturday afternoon for a community meeting in Aberfeldy Park in Highland Park. Sadly this park is on the list for potential sale under Auckland Council's so called "asset recycling" programme which will see over $224m in community assets sold.
While I'm not ideologically opposed to asset sales, selling our reserves and greenspaces is something else entirely. As our city continues to grow and housing is intensified, these spaces become more important. Once gone, we'll never get them back. It's short sighted and fails to address the issues of waste and misspending.
Disappointed that neither of our Councillors could be there to hear concerns and explain their part in the decision making. Both voted for the asset sale programme in the Emergency Budget, although they did vote against the sale of these specific parks in a later meeting.
Big thank you to local MPs Christopher Luxon and Simeon Brown for organising the meeting, making sure that locals are aware of the issue and are heard.
Formal consultation is due to start sometime in February and locals are coordinating to ensure everyone is able to respond with full and complete information.
