Community clean up in Salford Park

As part of the celebrations for Matariki, the Ōtara Waterways and Lakes Trust organised a community planting day at Salford Park, Flat Bush.

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Despite the rain, 28 locals turned up to volunteer including local students and residents. Always great to part of the community efforts to clean up our local waterways.

Empowering community to take environmental action!

We had the pleasure of unveiling this beautiful new sign in Cockle Bay. Over the past 5 years volunteers from the Cockle Bay Residents and Rate Payers Association have transformed the local environment.

As project lead Barry Wood has helped guide this community group to volunteer an incredible amount of work (more than 1,500hours) to plant, nurture, and protect native trees, making Windross Track a beautiful pathway to Cockle Bay beach and reserve.

The new sign (created by local artist Ron Vandam) provides information on where the track goes, how long it takes, while displaying the native fauna and wildlife that you’ll find along the walk.

The Howick Local Board is proud to have provided community grants to enable this work to happen, and another grant for the sign to recognise their efforts.

Fantastic work Barry and team!

Thank you Howick Primary School

Thank you to Howick Primary School for hosting the Pest Free Howick Ward pestival earlier this week.

Students explained what they had learned and done. It's always inspired by the amazing environmental action that our local tamariki (children) are taking. It was a privilege to congratulate the latest cadets through the Pest Free Howick programme.

Great to hear from David on his work leading local volunteers helping protect and restore local reserves in Mellons Bay.

Estuary Art and Ecological Awards putting the spotlight on Tāmaki

On Saturday 6 July we opened the Tāmaki Estuary Art and Ecological Awards at UXBRIDGE Arts & Culture.

The Howick Local Board is proud to fund UXBRIDGE to deliver a wide range of arts and cultural activities, including these awards. Creativity, culture and the arts make Auckland a vibrant and dynamic city. We also know that participating in arts and cultural initiatives enables Aucklanders to express our unique cultures and see ourselves reflected in public places.

This exhibition is not just art, it’s also about the environment. In fact we believe it’s the only art award in the country dedicated to ecological themes.

The Tāmaki is also known as Te Wai o Taiki, meaning "The Waters of Taiki". Taiki being a shortened form of Taikehu, an ancestor of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. It was a key transport route, providing a link through the shortest land connection between the Waitematā and Manukau Harbours.

The estuary extends around 17 km inland, with total shoreline length of approximately 40 km. These intertidal sand and mudflats feature numerous native habitats and ecosystems that are regionally important. Much of the surrounding catchment is intensively developed with a long history of commercial and industrial use which have cumulatively had a negative impact on sediment quality.

We cannot resolve these issues quickly or alone so we partner with local organisations and volunteers to take action to protect and restore the mauri (lifeforce) of our awa (waterways).

We recently approved our new budget, with a commitment to continuing our pest removal, stream restoration and pollution prevention programmes, as well as extra funding for Pakuranga and Botany Creeks, both which feed into the Tāmaki.

This event is a wonderful intersection of these priorities – where environment meets art. Contemporary art has a unique way of sparking the public interest and these awards are a great example of using creativity to promote the ecological value of this vital awa (waterway) and encourage action against its pollution.

Each year we see artworks that inspire, educate, and inform – there’s something for everyone to enjoy. We’re proud to continue to support these awards and the creatives who respond to them.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this exhibition, I’m always impressed by the bravery of artists who are willing to share their ideas and art with us.

Also thank you to this year’s guest judge, Annette Lees. Ecologist, and author of numerous acclaimed non-fiction books, facing perhaps her greatest challenge to judge these incredible works.

And you can join in on the judging - the People's Choice Award is open until 31 August! So get along to UXBRDIGE, enjoy these beautiful artworks, and cast your vote for your favourite.

Meri Kirihimete / Merry Christmas!

As we wrap up for the holidays, we wanted to take a moment to thank our community for their continued support throughout the year. It’s been wonderful to have the opportunity to attend so many community activities and events across the year.

It hasn’t been without its challenges – the extreme weather events of early 2023 continue to impact communities across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. We’ve faced some tough financial challenges with rising costs and a growing population so are very grateful for the massive response to our annual budget consultation. Thousands of locals told us what their priorities were for our limited funding which enabled us to make the tough choices while ensuring we could continue to meet the needs of the community. On top of this, we received input into our new Local Board Plan that sets out the strategic direction for the next few years. Thank you for taking the time to provide your input, it was invaluable to us. We heard the community tell us to focus on protecting the environment, celebrating arts and culture, and supporting youth.

Our environmental programmes have achieved great things this year - the support we provide Pest Free Howick enabled them to run the most successful moth plant competition ever removing 133,507 pods containing an estimated 93 million seeds! We’re delivering on our urban ngahere action plan to increase the tree canopy by enabling volunteers to plant 16,420 trees in the 12 months to June. And we continue to focus on reducing pollution and waste with dedicated educational programmes for local construction, industry, and schools.

We provided funding for the community to deliver events like the Birt & Euro Classic Car Show, 70th Howick Santa Parade, and the Pakuranga Rotary Community Carnival & River Festival. Volunteers are at the heart of many of the successful activities and organisations that make our community such a great place, so we recognised them with a special ceremony in June. Our Celebrating Cultures event in March was a huge success and we look forward to its return as an annual event in 2024.

We’re very proud of the ongoing success of the Howick Youth Council, who’ve delivered a wide range of self-directed programmes and activities throughout the year. We’re also pleased to have secured funding for the long-awaited dedicated Youth Space that is due to open early next year.

2024 will bring new and familiar challenges, as our new Local Board Plan takes effect in July along with continued pressure on our limited budget. We’ve already stepped up our advocacy for the Flat Bush Community Centre and Library as part of the early discussions around the Long Term Plan (LTP). After a short break, we look forward to continuing to deliver for the residents of the Howick Local Board area.

We wish you and your whānau a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

New reservoir at Redoubt Road blessed

"Te mauri o te rangi, te mauri o te whenua, te mauri ora o Tara"

(When the lake, waterways and wildlife flourish, the people flourish)

We're very fortunate to have access to clean drinking water and there's an incredible amount of mahi (work) that goes into making sure it's available when you turn on the tap.

Photo Credit: Simon Runting

Early morning on Wednesday 13 December, I had the privilege of speaking on behalf of the Howick Local Board at the pre-dawn karakia (blessing) of the new Watercare reservoir at Redoubt Road. We'd seen the construction of this massive new asset throughout the year and it was great to be present for the final stages before it's commissioned - seeing water flow into the giant concrete cathedral that we recently visited was an amazing sight. In my speech I expressed our gratitude to all the people have had contributed to it's design and construction.

This third reservoir at this complex adds another 45 million litres of storage capacity, bringing the total to 165 million! This site handles about 80% of Auckland's daily water supply and this addition will future proof it to cope with our growing population while providing additional resilience to the network.

You can learn more about the project, including a time-lapse of the construction here.

You can read more about our visit in February here and our return visit in October here.

Photo Credit: Simon Runting

Auckland diverts 9 million kilos of food scraps from landfill

I love our food scraps bin and it looks like I'm not the only one. Since the rollout began in April, Aucklanders have diverted over 9million kilograms of food scraps. This is great news, as the scraps get converted into useful power and fertiliser to grow more kai.

And all the waste not going to landfill is great for the environment too - avoiding filling landfills and reducing methane. Nearly half of the weight of rubbish bins going to landfill was food waste! Auckland Council is hoping to collect nearly 40,000 tonnes of food scraps in the first year which will be equal to taking 10,000 medium-sized cars off the road.

We're currently on track to divert 35,000 tonnes of food scraps which is a great start. If you haven't tried the new bins, give them a go.

They can take all your leftovers, even ones that you can't normally compost like bones, fats and citrus - I know some locals are continuing to compost what they can, and sending the rest away in their food scraps bin.

Read more on OurAuckland.

Eastern Busway requires removal of some trees but will be replaced

One part of east Auckland is looking a little less green after numerous tall trees were chopped down to make way for the Eastern Busway public transport project.

- Anger over removal of large trees to make way for Eastern Busway, Times 22 August

While it’s unfortunate to see trees cut down, the removal of some trees in the short-term is necessary to enable the Eastern Busway project to progress. We know that transport is a significant challenge for locals and the Eastern Busway will provide more frequent, reliable and quicker transport choices for East Auckland.

The Eastern Busway project have advised us that they will be planting natives to replace trees that are removed during construction. The designs that we’ve been provided show an increased number of trees and planting as part of the landscaping along the route. We’ve seen their commitment to sustainability through the deconstruction and removal of houses along Ti Rakau Drive which provided recycling and reuse opportunities.

The Howick Local Board is committed to improving the number of trees through our Howick Urban Ngahere Action Plan, with the goal of increasing our tree canopy cover from an estimated 15% to a much healthier 30%. Last financial year we supported local volunteers to plant 16,420 trees in public reserves, in addition to those planted by council staff in parks and playgrounds. Last week in our feedback on Auckland’s draft Future Development Strategy, we suggested a policy to ensure that established trees lost through development are replaced as part of the consenting process.

To find out more about the Eastern Busway, including how they're mitigating the impact of construction and how to up to date on what's happening check out their website:

Enjoying Point View Reserve

Took advantage of great weather over the weekend, spending Sunday afternoon with my parents and partner walking in Point View Reserve.

Beautiful native bush filled with tui, pīwakawaka (fantail) and rirorio (grey warbler). Also home to pekapeka (bat) although we didn't see any.

It was good to see the upgrades that we made towards the end of last year providing access to this beautiful area while protecting the trees that make it so special.

See more about our upgrades on Our Auckland: https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2022/11/howick-s-point-view-track-reopens-in-time-for-summer

And more information on the track, such as access, can be found here.

Car Free Day opportunity to try alternatives

It's international Car Free Day so I'm using public transport to get across Auckland (as I often do). It takes a little more planning but pretty easy with the Auckland Transport's mobile app. Plus I can listen to some tunes and catch up on news, emails and social media.

As regular user of public transport I'm aware of the gaps - reliability, frequency, affordability and accessibility aren't where they need to be. But none of it is unfixable with the right focus. Dedicated bus lanes help with the first two which is why I'm such a vocal supporter of the Eastern Busway.

I also support active modes - we also need a connected network of walking and cycling paths, physically separated for safety. They don't have to cost millions or take decades, we can build them faster using proven, cost effective solutions.

There will always be people or situations where private motor vehicles might be necessary. The more people using public transport and active modes, the less cars which frees up road space for those that need it.

Private vehicles shouldn't be the only practical answer most of the time - I want to live in a city where public transport & active modes are realistic options for majority of travel.

Like any large city, Auckland needs transport options that can move large numbers of people efficiently with a little emissions as possible - public transport, walking and cycling are key to this. Done well they will reduce congestion, pollution, emissions and injuries.

If you haven't tried public transport recently, I highly recommend it. Buses have come a long way since I used to catch them to school. We have a single integrated ticketing system which is largely painless, the trains are amazing and ferries improving all the time.

Community planting day at Mangemangeroa Reserve

Early morning start today, helping out with community planting at Mangemangeroa.

Great turnout, especially from the Botany and Flat Bush Ethnic Association. We had so many keen volunteers that we finished so quickly and they had to find more trees to plant!

Submission on Auckland Council's preliminary response to housing intensification

Central Government (together with the Opposition) have created legislation that requires all larger cities in New Zealand to allow more intensification of housing. Auckland Council have prepared a preliminary response and asked for public feedback. The following is my submission.

What do you think of our proposed walkable catchment of 1200 metres from the edge of the city centre?

My response: Do not support - I think it should be further

I encourage Council to extend the walkable catchment to 2400 metres (30 minutes) for the City Centre. I would also encourage the use of Business - Mixed Use Zone instead of a Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone to allow greater mixed use.

For many, walking is the default mode of transport with the 2018 census noting that at least 10% of people living in the central suburbs already walking to work. This is despite the existing safety and pollution issues that many pedestrians face, which suggests that it could rise much higher if it was encouraged, enabled and supported by fit for purpose infrastructure. We also need to consider the positive impact of micromobility which is further reducing distances and helping connect public transport and active modes.  Limiting the catchment to 15 mins will significantly reduce the potential housing that could be developed near the city centre

What do you think of our proposed walkable catchment of 800 metres from the edge of the metropolitan centres?

My response: Do not support - I think it should be further

I encourage Council to increase the walkable catchments for the Metropolitan Centres in the isthmus (Newmarket, Sylvia Park) to 1600 metres (20 minutes) and 800 metres (10 minutes) for other Metropolitan Centres. Both Newmarket and Sylvia Park are vital commercial and retail centres that have good transport links, which can support greater growth.

What do you think of our proposed walkable catchment of 800 metres around rapid transit stops?

My response: Do not support - I think it should be further

I encourage Council to increase the walkable catchments for Rapid Transit Stops to 1600 metres (20 minutes) for Rapid Transit Stops. This is a relatively short distance to access frequent, reliable public transport and would enable much greater growth in areas that can support it. Retrofitting rapid transit into other parts of the city will always be complex and expensive, so we must better utilise what we already have and are planning to deliver. I strongly encourage Council to ensure that the definition of Rapid Transit in implementing the NPS-UD includes high bus priority areas.

I encourage Council to make use of the Business - Mixed Use Zone instead of a Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone, in the first 200 metres of the Walkable Catchment of Rapid Transit stops. This will enable even greater, mixed use growth in these critical areas, moving us closer to the 15-minute neighbourhood. 

What do you think of our proposal to apply the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone to residential areas up to around 400 metres from large town centres with high accessibility?

My response: Do not support - I think it should be further

I support upzoning adjacent to town centres - enabling people to live near town centres will reduce our transport needs and improve the wellbeing of residents. The pandemic has reminded us how important it is to have easy access to the essentials without needing to travel across town. I encourage Council to consider extending the upzoning to a distance of 800m around all Town Centres defined by Council as ‘large + high accessibility’, as well as all other town centres on the isthmus.

What do you think of our proposal to apply the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone to residential areas up to around 200 metres from small town centres or large local centres with high accessibility?
My response: Do not support - I think it should be further

I support upzoning adjacent to town and local centres. However, I encourage Council to extend the upzoning up to 400m around all Town Centres which have have high accessibility. While our city is growing, we still have an opportunity to build in 15-minute neighbourhoods through the use of mixed use zoning close to town centres.

What do you think of our proposal to include identified special character areas as a qualifying matter?

My response: Do not support – I do not think special character areas should be a qualifying matter

I fully support genuine moves to protect our history including listed Heritage buildings, but do not support the protection of entire suburbs simply because they are old.

While I appreciate that this is a complex issue with limited time and resources, the approach that Auckland Council has taken to identify these buildings is too broad, leading to perverse outcomes. While there are suburbs of Auckland that have a number of historic houses that deserve protection, claiming an entire suburb needs protection is disingenuous. While we must protect the important historical buildings, not everything that was built in these neighbourhoods needs automatic protection.

Special Character Areas relies heavily on the concept of collective value, failing to recognise the importance of place and building, and creating the impression that suburbs that are not protected are at risk. In reality we need a more nuanced approach, that recognises the need for our city to grow and develop, while respecting where we’ve come from. There are plenty of good examples in New Zealand and around the world, where historic buildings are redeveloped in a way that respects the past while enabling them to remain current.

Finally, the Special Character overlays are focused on the central suburbs - the areas with the greatest access to transport and existing amenities. We must make better use of our existing infrastructure, while we close the significant deficit seen across the city. 

What do you think of the proposed residential special character areas that we have identified?

My response: Do not support – I do not think special character areas should be a qualifying matter

As noted above, I fully support genuine moves to protect our history including listed Heritage buildings, but do not support the protection of entire suburbs simply because they are old.

Older homes were not built to modern standards of warmth and dryness, nor weather tightness. Replacing older homes and villas with modern apartments will radically improve quality of life for residents, offering warmer, drier and healthier living environments.

What do you think of the proposed business special character areas that we have identified?

My response: Do not support – I do not think special character areas should be a qualifying matter

As noted above, I fully support genuine moves to protect our history including listed Heritage buildings, but do not support the protection of entire suburbs simply because they are old.

Business zones need flexibility to adapt in order to provide for the needs of a growing local population. This includes providing for local shops and services, as well as apartment-style housing above.

What do you think of our proposal to include areas in Auckland with long-term significant infrastructure constraints as a qualifying matter?

My response: Other

I support the extremely limited use of infrastructure constraints where there is no other viable alternative. However, this cannot be used as an excuse and must be the option of last resort. I am deeply concerned that this is too open for abuse, given the poor state of the infrastructure in our city. There are few neighbourhoods that could claim they have no issues.

We know there are parts of Auckland where the infrastructure cannot cope with current demands, flooding streets and homes when there is heavy rain. Beaches become unswimmable as waste floods into our harbours. As our city continues to grow these issues continue to compound, increasing the risk of serious, long-term environmental damage. Watercare in particular has failed to identify, contain and resolve these issues, creating real concern that intensification will only lead to more issues. 

It should be noted that these aren't new concerns - in East Auckland, the Manukau City Council apparently had a moratorium on intensification due to the lack of infrastructure but decades later, little has been done to address the gaps. Council must take proactive action to address these infrastructure gaps while investing across the city to build capacity for growth. Retrofitting infrastructure is expensive, disruptive and unpopular - we must make better use of our existing infrastructure and ensure that all new developments include sufficient infrastructure to support the planned growth. Intensification in existing urban areas is a more efficient use of infrastructure, compared to greenfield development. Prioritisation of infrastructure funding between greenfield growth and brownfield intensification needs to be considered.

If this is included as a qualifying matter, Council must ensure that there is a strict and transparent process to ensure it is not abused. Areas that are identified as requiring limited development must have a robust plan developed to address the gaps, including timeframes and funding. Long-term and permanent use should be extremely rare and only where there is no other alternative.

Other qualifying matters

Do you have feedback on any other qualifying matters? (please be clear which proposal you are talking about)

I support the Stockade Hill viewshaft protection which was secured after a long, expensive battle by local residents. It should be noted that this was established under the previous zoning rules and it should be reviewed to ensure that the existing overlay will continue to protect the views of the Waitematā. 

I support the protection of viewshafts of cultural and spiritual significance to mana whenua in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Latest Climate Report shows ‘We are pretty much out of time’

"We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5 degree limit agreed in Paris. Some governments and business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another. Simply put, they are lying,"

"This report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a litany of broken climate promises. It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unliveable world."

-United Nations secretary-general António Guterres.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from the worlds top climate scientists makes for pretty grim reading. Despite decades of promises to reduce our carbon emissions, we’ve increased them. And I mean we - New Zealand is one of the worst performers.

"Two in five people worldwide live in a country with annual emissions of less than 3 tonnes of greenhouse gases per person. ... In New Zealand, that figure is 17 tonnes."

So much for our 'nuclear free moment' or 'climate emergency' or whatever the latest political buzzword is. Successive governments and councils have failed to act, leading to more emissions. In fact many of the plans and policies that have been put in place have led to increases emissions - the absurd $37B Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) confirmed last year claimed to reduce it by 1%, but relied heavily on EVs which will not deliver fast enough nor are they a realistic solution for many.

While Auckland Council has proposed a new Climate Action levy to fund $1B in dedicated actions, they couldn’t provide any estimates on what the impact would be. Under Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan, the goal is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. The bulk of this is transport and with less than 8 years left, we need to move faster.

Despite all the talk, we're well behind where we need to be. Lack of action is embarrassing for a nation that has promoted itself based on our love for the environment. The Climate Action Tracker shows what we're really doing to help our planet and our people - not enough. And before anyone says "but we can't afford that" - the cost of inaction will be much, much higher.

We're running out of time - we need real climate action now.

Congratulations to the entrants, finalists & winners of the 2021 New Zealand Biosecurity Awards

Congratulations to all the entrants, finalists & winners of the 2021 New Zealand #BiosecurityAwards.

We all have a part to play in protecting the incredible biodiversity of our country and these awards recognise the champions who are leading the way.

Special Congratulations to Peter Wilkins for his Minister’s Biosecurity Award for outstanding contribution to NZ biosecurity. I've had the pleasure of working with this living legend, so can vouch for his incredible knowledge and passion.

Also (this is my local pride showing) but amazing representation here from East Auckland:

Pest Free Howick Ward – finalist in BioHeritage Challenge Community category

Howick Schools Moth Plant Competition – finalist in Kura (School) category

Ethan McCormick (Pest Free Howick Ward & Friends of Mangemangeroa) – finalist in AsureQuality Emerging Leader category.

 See the full list and more details here: https://www.thisisus.nz/news-events/biosecurity-awards/winners-and-finalists/2021-winners-and-finalists/

Auckland Transport $37B plan nothing to celebrate

On Monday 28 June, the Board of Auckland Transport approved their ten year plan known as the Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). The plan comes with a hefty price tag of $37 Billion which on the face of it seems positive - Auckland has under invested in transport for far too long. However, there isn't much to celebrate. 

It does not meet the needs of our current growth projections, so congestion will continue to get worse. Blocked roads already cost the city millions of dollars a day in lost productivity - we need action to provide realistic alternatives to unlock our city. Reliable, affordable and accessible public transport would take pressure off our roads and leave capacity for those who need their vehicles.

It does not move us towards the council's climate change target of reducing emissions by 64% by 2030. In fact it only claims to reduce emissions by a mere 1% and that relies on the government's controversial freebate scheme for electric vehicles. Analysis by people far smarter than me suggests that the plan will actually increase emissions in the short term. Auckland Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has done little since (in fact public transport fares have gone up twice since).

It does not deliver the infrastructure we need - key projects like the Eastern Busway are delayed. It’s taken far too long to get this project to this point and now it’s going to be another two years late bringing the final date to around 2026 (I won’t hold my breath). This is despite promises from the Mayor last year that delays like this wouldn’t happen.

Our elected representatives had their vote last Thursday, and to their credit, both Howick Ward Councillors Sharon Stewart and Paul Young voted against it. But the plan was still endorsed by the rest of council and Auckland Transport has signed it off.

According to AT, they were hamstrung by the funds provided by Auckland Council in their 10 year plan. It’s worth noting that the RLTP is funded through the Regional Fuel Tax, the extra that Aucklanders have to pay at the fuel pump in exchange for an accelerated transport plan. I’ve always believed that this was a clumsy funding model and it’s not delivering.

What’s even more unbelievable is that the council is still out of touch with our transport needs. This should not happen - this process has taken months and involved countless staff from across Auckland Council and it’s various organisations. We all know that the council has funding challenges but to arrive at this point to discover that key projects and outcomes cannot be met is appalling. There aren't side projects that got lost in the detail, they’re core to the city's transport plan.

Auckland Council and Auckland Transport have agreed to develop a Transport Emissions Reductions Plan, but we've all heard the promises before. We’re already a year and a half through the decade and Auckland Transport is never on time. Even if they do agree to a plan this year, I have little faith they’ll be able to deliver it by 2030. 

Point View Drive gets another community clean up

Point View Drive offers amazing views across East Auckland

Lots of volunteers turned up to help clean up the site

(left to right) Mike Turinsky (Howick Local Board) John Spiller (Howick Local Board), Paul Young (Howick Councillor) and me.

Point View Dr offers some stunning views over East Auckland, but unfortunately some people dump rubbish which ruins it for everyone.

Today we had 2nd annual clean up, organised by Howick Local Board Member Mike Turinsky (he organised the event last year as well). We removed lots of rubbish thanks to the generous local volunteers who gave up a few hours of their Saturday morning to make it happen. So disappointing to see the amount of bottles, plastic and polystyrene littering the environment.

Good to see this supported by local politicians with John Spiller (Howick Local Board Member), Paul Young (Howick Ward Councillor) and Naisi Chen (Labour's candidate for Botany).

Absurd - public transport prices increase despite climate emergency

““Putting up prices during a climate emergency is absurd,” Damian Light, who stood unsuccessfully in the Howick Ward in the last local body election, tweeted.

”We’ve declared a climate emergency and transport is our largest contributor to emissions – we must address this.””

— https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/118807935/aucklands-public-transport-fare-hike-absurd

Auckland Council: we've declared a Climate Emergency. Transport is our largest contributor to emissions, we must address this.

Auckland Transport: we're making it more expensive to use public transport. Again.

It's great about the free weekends for 5-15 year olds, making it easier for families to get around our city is a positive step. We need to do more of this and also introduce changes like fare caps.

But putting up prices during a climate emergency is absurd. I appreciate that some of the restrictions come from parliament, with farebox recovery mandated but when will our leaders get serious about standing up for our city, our environment and our future?

Why is sunscreen so expensive in NZ?

We all know to slip slop and slap, but sunscreen is expensive especially when compared to Australia.

"The best buy from Aussie Woolworths is a homebrand Woolworths Sunscreen – 1 litre for A$9. For NZ$10 here, we get a 100ml Cancer Society Sunblock Lotion. That means we get one-tenth of the sunscreen for the same price that Australians pay." - The Spinoff

With 80,000 new cases of skin cancer a year, the government needs to do more. Prevention makes social and financial sense. We spend $57m on skin cancer treatment but only $600,000 on prevention. If we increased prevention, we save money and lives.

Sign the petition here.

Climate action needed now

Auckland Council’s departing sustainability officer has some hard truths about the lack of action on climate change.

"John Mauro said the council and community needed courage and ambition to make better progress, but there was a trend towards "show-ponying"." - Stuff

It was great to get the declaration of an emergency but we need to do something. We don't have the time or money to waste - we need real Climate Action now. Another six years of buying diesel buses is worse than inaction, it's creating more emissions and pollution.

Auckland Council must direct Auckland Transport and all the Council Controlled Organisations to present realistic, practical but ambitious plans to address climate change (both mitigation and adaption) and then make them happen.

Community planting day a success

This weekend was another fantastic community planting day, this time at Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain. We had a great turnout with families, the Scouts and other groups helping out .

There's 30,000 natives going into this area with locals schools getting involved, all organised by the Tīpuna Maunga Authority. We planted around 7,000 in a few hours but plenty more to do. There's another planting next week so get along!