Weekly Wrap Up: 30 March 2026
Each week I’m providing a quick summary of the meetings and events I’ve attended as a member of the Howick Local Board (HLB). This is my report for last week, starting Monday 30 March – it’s a little later this week due to the long weekend.
On Monday I attended my first Tūpuna Maunga Authority hui – this is a unique setup resulting from the 2014 treaty settlement with the Crown (Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act). Under the Act, fourteen Tūpuna Maunga ((ancestral mountains) are to be held in trust for the common benefit of the thirteen iwi and hapū of Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau and the other people of Auckland. This arrangement is co-governed by Auckland Council and mana whenua – I am one of the six Auckland Council representatives, alongside the six iwi representatives. See more about the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, including the agenda and minutes here: https://maunga.nz/about-us
On Thursday we had our HLB workshop (https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12271)
🚌Eastern Busway update – this was a closed session so I’m not able to confirm what was discussed
🏐Howick Pakuranga Netball Centre – the club has proposed a cover for one of the courts and staff talked us through how this would work. The court would remain with council while the club would maintain the cover itself. I asked staff confirm the potential lighting and security impacts on the nearby Howick Little Theatre.
🛠️maintenance contracts pre-tender cost estimate model – this was a closed session so I’m not able to confirm what was discussed
💰Local Board Annual Planning (CAPEX) – our first workshop on our draft work capital programme. We’re expected to get around $9.7M for capital (physical) projects, while we need approximately $12M to just maintain what we have. Very few projects are for anything new (other than the Flat Bush facilities) as we do our best to make use of what we have. I remain very concerned that we don’t have sufficient funding from council and we need a practical solution.
On Saturday we opened the Flat Bush Library! Our community has been promised a library for nearly 20 years so it was a pleasure to be able to finally deliver for them. It’s only temporary (5years) while we build the full facility, but it will provide a space for our community to connect and grow in the meantime. Huge team effort to deliver this (especially since it was only approved in June 2025) – thank you to everyone involved, especially our partners Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Ormiston Town Centre.
It was Easter weekend and on Sunday the Howick Historical Village held a very popular Easter Extravaganza event. It was wonderful to see the crowds turn out, especially the children enjoying the entertainment and activities. It was also a great opportunity to check out the new monthly The Village Farmers' Market at Bell with lots of amazing artisan gifts and food to enjoy.
This coming week:
📅 Wed 8 April: East Auckland Tourism meeting
📅 Thu 9 April: HLB workshop (https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12272)
📅 Sat 11 April: Buddha’s Birthday Celebration for World Peace and Opening of the Commemorative Exhibition Honouring Venerable Master Hsing Yun at Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple (https://www.facebook.com/events/947443631117623)