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!

Submission on Electoral Boundaries Review 2025

The following is my submissions on the proposed electorate boundaries and names for the 2026 General Election.

Ōtāhuhu

My objection relates to

• a proposed boundary

Objection & reasons
I object to moving 700 from Takanini around Barry Curtis Park to Ōtāhuhu -

This divides Flat Bush into three electorates (already divided into two), unnecessarily splitting this community of interest.

The proposed boundaries will mean that the Ormiston Town Centre (built to serve as the centre of Flat Bush) will be on the border of three electorates. This does not comply with section 35 3ii of the Electoral Act 1993 "in forming the several General electoral districts, due consideration shall be given to community of interest".

This proposal moves further away from the Local Government boundaries, namely the Howick Ward/Local Board boundary.

Suggested solution
Align the boundary with the existing Howick Ward/Local Board boundary down Te Irirangi Drive to keep the majority of Flat Bush together in one electorate.

Refer attached image of proposed shift to/from Ōtāhuhu/Takanini

Pakuranga

My objection relates to

• a proposed name

Objection & reasons
The name of the electorate Pakuranga originates from the name Te Pakūranga Rā Hihi which means ‘The Battle of the Sun's Rays’.

Suggested solution
The electorate name should include the macron i.e. Pakūranga.

New lanes open on Tī Rākau Drive.

Today I enjoyed my first trip along new westbound lanes on Tī Rākau Drive.

The top level of bus 70 provides great views of everything the team have been working hard to deliver - safer separated walking and cycling lanes, improved stormwater outlets, and an incredibly smooth journey.

What you can't see: kilometres of improved infrastructure like expanded water capacity hidden under the road, future proofing the construction.

These new lanes are nearly in final configuration (few tweaks to intersections to come) and enable the Eastern Busway Team to get on building the bus lanes in the centre of Tī Rākau. While they have people working on the centre, the speed on Tī Rākau Drive is temporarily reduced to 50km/hr.

Review of general electorates needs to be fair

With general elections expected in 2026, the electoral boundaries for Parliament are being reviewed. After each census, the Representation Commission reviews and adjusts electorate boundaries to adjust to changes in population.

Regularly adjusting the electorate boundaries makes sure each electorate has about the same number of people. This gives all New Zealanders equal representation in Parliament.

Enshrined in law is a requirement for the South Island to have 16 electorates. To make it fair,  the North Island electorates are adjusted to have the same population. Using the latest population data, the number of general electorates in the North Island reduces from 49 to 48. 

What does this mean for East Auckland?

Within the Howick Local Board area, we currently have Pakuranga, Botany, and Takaaini (with Papakura and Panmure-Ōtāhuhu close by). While boundaries between local and central government don’t have to match, it does make it simpler.

Under the proposal, there are some local changes for the general electorates (non for Māori seats):

• Cockle Bay moves from Botany to Pakuranga

• Mission Heights moves from Takanini to Botany

• Whitford, Beachlands and Maraetai move from Papakura to Botany

• Parts of Flat Bush (west of Ormiston) moves to Ōtāhuhu 

There is no perfect answer to making these boundaries work, but it is important to get them right. Personally, I’m worried about the impact on Flat Bush which is being carved up into three different electorates. If the changes go ahead as proposed, you’ll be able to stand at the corner of the Ormiston Town Centre and be on the boundary of three electorates - shouldn’t a town centre be at the centre?

You can have your say on the proposed electorate boundaries and names - the first round closes on Sunday 27 April.

You can find out more, including how to have your say here: https://vote.nz/boundary-review/

View fullsize

Current Boundaries

View fullsize

Proposed Changes

View fullsize

Future Boundaries

Happy Easter

Wishing everyone a happy Easter!

May you and your whānau have a joyous Easter, however you celebrate.

Howick Local Board attendance at meetings

As part of providing transparency, Auckland Council publishes the attendance for elected members. Here is the Howick Local Board result for January to March 2025.

Absences may be due to leave, illness, bereavement or attending other council business.

You can see more (including previous reports, other local boards and councillors) on the Auckland Council website.

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/performance-transparency/Pages/attendance-governing-body-meetings.aspx

Supporting Poppy Day

Today is Poppy Day, the annual fundraising day for the RSA. Donations go directly to supporting New Zealand's veterans of military service and their whānau.

I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Botany Town Centre with fellow Howick Local Board member Peter Young.

If you missed the volunteers out today, but want to support the welfare work of the RSA, you can still do so: https://www.rsa.org.nz/support-us/donate

Howick Local Board business meeting report for March 2025

On Thursday 20 March, the Howick Local Board held our second business meeting of the year. Here’s a summary of some of the key discussions and outcomes. At the end there are links to the official minutes and recordings of our meetings.

🗣 Deputations from Tāmaki Estuary Environmental Forum, Howick RSA, and Birdcare Aotearoa
📑 Feedback on next years Auckland Transport Kōkiri agreement, adding trees to notable trees register, Draft Storm-affected Land Use Policy, Term of Parliament Amendment Bill
✅ Approval of new lease for Pakuranga and Howick Budgeting Service,
📊 Reviewed current Auckland Transport Kōkiri agreement

After the initial formalities of the welcome, we accepted an apology from Member David Collings, and approved Member John Spiller joining online. We noted the declarations of interest and confirmed the previous minutes.

We acknowledged:
🎉 Pakuranga Library on 30 years of service to the community, after the new building was opened on 11 March 1995.
🎉 Te Tuhi on 50 years of service to the community, hosting over 700 exhibitions featuring local, national and internationally significant artists as well as countless community meetings and events.
🎉 the 21 Local Board Chairs for their collaborative efforts in addressing collective concerns regarding the significant budget shortfall.

We received a deputation from Dr Julie Chambers, the Co-Chair Tamaki Estuary Environmental Forum (TEEF). Dr Chambers raised concerns about the level of sewage overflows that were occurring in our area and the lack of awareness that might be putting people at risk. As a result of her presentation, we asked staff provide information on the number of sewage overflow events in the Howick Local Board area and what actions are underway to monitor and reduce them.

Our second deputation was from Barry Dreyer, the President of Howick Rsa. Barry provided an update on the RSA’s progress and priorities. Since they exited their Howick property, they have been looking for a new welfare location and asked us to consider allowing them to use the Howick War Memorial Hall. We asked staff to bring the item to a workshop so we could review the utilisation data that he had provided in order to consider best usage of the Hall moving forward.

And our third deputation was from Dr Rashi Parker Fundraising Manager for BirdCare Aotearoa. Dr Parker provided an update on recent rescues from across the region and locally from our area. Due to funding pressures they can only help native and endemic birds, and even then they were still facing serious challenges in keeping their critical service operating.

With Auckland Transport staff in the room, I moved up the relevant items. Firstly we reviewed the Auckland Transport Kōkiri / Local Board Transport Agreement Quarterly Update. This new agreement was helping us work more collaboratively with Auckland Transport and I noted the significant improvement in our relationship over the past year.

We also reviewed the draft list of items to include in the next year’s Kōkiri Agreement. We asked to collaborate on the safety projects projects we had initiated (i.e. Bradbury Road, Kerrykeel Drive, Flat Bush School Road, Sunnyview Avenue, and Stanniland Road) and be consulted on major projects (Paid parking in Botany, pedestrian safety on Stancombe Road, and intersection of Cockle Bay/Churchill Road/Pah Road). We wanted to be informed of other improvements and optimisations, and asked for more public transport services, commuter focused cycleways, and some specific safety improvements (Fencible Drive, Union Road/Wellington Street, Smales Road/Sir William Ave).

Next we approved the proposed community lease for the Pakuranga and Howick Budgeting Service. This provides certainty for the group who have been on a monthly rolling lease since 2020. A smaller footprint for the group would allow the Local Board to occupy lesser used parts of the office, resulting in savings for both the group and council. We continued our approach of staggering the rent to increase over three years to help reduce the impact on community groups. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible for the operational expenses (that cover the insurance and maintenance costs).

We provided our feedback on a draft proposal to add more trees to the notable trees schedule. Trees on this register are recognised as significant and are protected. We supported adding more trees (there are 15 trees or groups proposed for our area) which will go out for public consultation. Some of the trees on this list were first proposed 10-12 years ago but this had been the first update since then - we encouraged council to improve the process to make it faster. We also encouraged council to use the consultation process to help educate the public on the rules for tree protection.

Every month we allocate a slot for our Ward Councillors to provide an update. Unfortunately, due to scheduling clashes, they are usually unable to attend. To accommodate this, they agreed to provide a written report when there are board-specific updates to share. No report was received for this meeting.

I presented my Chairpersons Report for the month, detailing what we had been focused on since the last meeting. I noted the progress being made on our destination playground and our local transport projects, as well as the local speed limit reversals. We’d received a lot of emails concerned about the future of Marina Fitness in Half Moon Bay, which is due to be resolved in the near future. And our concerns about the cost pressures, which had been resolved since my report was published. I asked the Board to endorse the Local Board Chairs Letter which had led to the positive outcome. But we also need to address the underlying issues with a lack of proper financial information for local boards – so we formally asked staff to make it happen, warning that without this information it will be extremely difficult to approve the local board agreement and work programmes.

The next item, seeking feedback on the cost pressures had been withdrawn as the Mayor had agreed to resolve it without asking Local Boards to cut services.

We noted our urgent decision to provide feedback on Auckland Council’s Draft Storm-affected Land Use Policy. Our feedback included concerns that Local Boards had not been appropriately involved in the process until the end, which meant the policy failed to adequately consider the impact on local communities. Most of our feedback was along the same theme – take a better look at how this would impact Local Boards.

We provided our feedback into Auckland Council’s submission on the Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill. In short the bill proposed allowing each parliament to elect a 3 or 4 year term, provided they adjusted the membership of the select committees. We noted our previous feedback supporting a move to 4 years, with local government offset by 2 years to avoid clashes. We did not support the variable 3 or 4 year cycle based on the risk it would create uncertainty. We supported greater accountability for central government regardless of the outcome of the bill, including entrenching the NZ Bill of Rights Act.

We were due to provide feedback on the draft Contributions Policy, but it was withdrawn due to issues with the report. We’ll consider it in our April meeting.

We noted our workshop records and forward governance work calendar before closing the meeting at 2:38pm.

Minutes of the meeting are available here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/03/20250320_HW_MIN_11590_WEB.htm
along with related attachments like presentations here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/03/20250320_HW_ATT_11590_WEB.htm
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/03/20250320_HW_MAT_11590_WEB.htm

A recording of the meeting is available here, along with previous meetings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiuqKCzobSzQ05kCv2JI2iefmDp2_tEh
Our next normal Business Meeting is scheduled for Thursday 17 April at 12noon at the Pakuranga Library building in Aylesbury Street.

These are open to the public to attend and observe, although you need to request a slot if you would like to speak (so we can make sure we provide time).

Happy Birthday to Buddha!

Another wonderful event at Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Flat Bush, as we celebrated Buddha's birthday on Saturday 5 April.

The temple's deep connection to our communities was on display, with VIPs including the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, senior members of Police, and many local community leaders. The Howick Local Board was represented by myself, Deputy Bo Burns and Member Adele White.

Ramadan Mubarak

Ramadan Mubarak!

On Saturday All Hands Aotearoa hosted an iftar for locals - the meal eaten by Muslims at sunset to break their fast-during Ramadan. Ramadan is a month-long period in the Islamic calendar where Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset.

This community event was proudly supported by the Howick Local Board as part of our ongoing efforts to better support and connect with our growing Muslim population (which has almost doubled since 2013).

In my brief speech I acknowledged the six-year anniversary of the terrorist attack in Christchurch. One of the darkest days our recent history, the impact of this cowardly act continues to reverberate today. While it was a coincidence that this event was on the anniversary, it was important to acknowledge it. While we’ve made good progress as a country since then, we still have more work to do in terms of diversity and inclusion.

The Bucklands and Eastern Beaches War Memorial Hall was the perfect venue as we watched the sun set before sharing a meal and exchanging stories. Great to be joined by Members Adele White and Mike Turinsky, as well as council staff.

Fairer and more effective representation for Flat Bush!

I’m really happy to see that the Local Government Commission has approved the proposed changes for the Howick Local Board.

This will mean from October 2025:

• 3 members for Howick (unchanged)

• 3 members for Pakūranga (unchanged)

• 2 members for Botany (one less member and smaller area)

• 3 members for Flat Bush (new area)

This brings the total members to 11, making it the largest Board (which matches the largest population).

Flat Bush is a growing community with unique needs and deserves its own recognition and representation. The proposal was strongly supported by both locals and Aucklanders, as well as the Howick Local Board.

With over 150,000 residents to serve, it’s important that we have enough elected representatives to listen and act on their behalf. Even with the additional members, we’ll still have one of the highest ratios of residents per elected representative.

We look forward to welcoming new members in October.

Annual declaration for 2024

Transparency is critical to a functioning democracy. Our democracy is representative, meaning we elect representatives to make decisions on our behalf. Therefore we need transparency on what might be influencing the decisions made by our representatives. To help with this, elected members are required to declare any financial and other interests they may have.

Elected Members are required to declare property, companies, employment and other sources of income. Auckland Council publishes our declarations online which anyone can search:
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/how-auckland-council-works/elected-members-remuneration-declarations-interest/Pages/elected-members-declarations-search.aspx

None of this removes the need to declare or act on conflicts of interest. If we have an interest (financial or otherwise) in a discussion or decision we're making, then we should declare it. Depending on how significant the interest is, we may not vote or even leave the room. If it's less significant it may be appropriate to continue to be involved in the decision. Although this can lead to people questioning whether the decision we made was in the best interests of the community we represent or our own personal interests.

Sometimes the potential perception is enough to require us to step back, even if we're not conflicted. Often this is the best approach to protect the integrity of the decision, elected member and the organization involved. Ultimately this has to be handled on a case-by-case basis because there are so many variables. It can be challenging, especially for local government representatives who are often deeply involved in their community.

But the first step is transparency.

You can search for anyone's declaration (including mine) but to make it easier I've attached mine here.

• I work part-time for AsureQuality

• I don't own any property or benefit from any trusts (we rent)

• I have a single (unpaid) governance role outside of the Local Board, with some memberships in other groups and volunteer work.

Happy to answer any questions on this, my declaration or anything else.

Howick Local Board business meeting report for February 2025

On Thursday 20 February, the Howick Local Board held our first business meeting of the new year. Here’s a summary of some of the key discussions and outcomes. At the end there are links to the official minutes and recordings of our meetings.

🗣 Deputations on Redoubt/Murphys Road intersection, Howick Little Theatre
📑 Feedback on voting sign locations, traffic bylaw review, proposed plan change for filming on Sites and Places of Significance to Mana Whenua, Fix and Finish Fund, Local Government (Water Services) Bill, Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill.
✅ Approval of new transport projects, road names
📊 Reviewed our Quarter Two Performance Report

After the initial formalities of the welcome, we noted the declarations of interest and confirmed the previous minutes.

We acknowledged three local residents who had been recognised in the New Year Royal Honours:
🎖Denise Astill on her appointment as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the prevention of foetal anticonvulsant syndromes.
🎖 Dinesh Khadka, JP on his appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Nepalese community.
🎖 Reay Neben on her award of the Kings Service Medal for services to print media and the community.

We received a deputation from Adarshpreet Bhullar and Frank Chen, two second year Civil Engineering students at the University of Auckland. They presented suggestions to address the dangerous intersection at Murphys Road and Redoubt Road. We asked Auckland Transport to remain in contact with them to ensure their ideas where considered.

Our second deputation was from Howick Little Theatre, with President Laurie Mills and Office Manager Ellie Barrow presenting the highlights and successes of their activities and programmes. We’re proud to provide them operational funding, plus a community grant last year to help rebuild their roof.

Every month we allocate a slot for our Ward Councillors to provide an update. Unfortunately, due to scheduling clashes, they are usually unable to attend. To accommodate this, they agreed to provide a written report when there are board-specific updates to share. No report was received for this meeting.

I presented my Chairpersons Report for the month, detailing what we had been focused on since the last meeting. I noted the busy end to 2024 and start to 2025, along with the transport projects that were making good progress.

We received an update from Auckland Transport regarding our local board transport capital fund. Due to savings returned from completed projects, we had some funding to allocate. We asked Auckland Transport to get underway with pedestrian safety improvements on Sunnyview Avenue (near Shelly Park Primary School) and Stanniland Street (near Pakūranga Park Retirement Village), with Tiraumea Drive (near Anchorage Park School) to be considered if more funds became available.

On another transport related matter, we provided feedback on voting sign locations for the 2025 local elections. While candidates can arrange with private properties to use fences, Auckland Council provides a couple of public locations to ensure equal access. We recommended that the site at the Cascades roundabout be removed (due to safety concerns) and add a new site in Flat Bush (either on Stancome Road or Frank Bunce Reserve). We also asked for advice on a potential ban on all election signage, which has been suggested before.

Our final transport matter was providing feedback into the traffic bylaw review which had been out for public consultation. It had very low turnout (only 10 responses from our area) so it was hard to judge the community view. But we continued to support the simplification of bylaws and reiterated our previous feedback that we “acknowledge that intensification of housing is putting pressure on existing parking capacity, resulting in more parking off the roadway and more needs to be done to address the issues that cause and result from this.”

We provided feedback on a proposed plan change for filming on Sites and Places of Significance to Mana Whenua, supporting it as a practical improvement that would reduce cost while encouraging Auckland Council to continue to work with mana whenua to ensure that their feedback and input is considered and respected.

We approved the extension of the road name Whakatupu Road in Flat Bush and also a new road name Wakawaka Lane in Highbook.

We provided our feedback into the Fix and Finish Fund. As part of the Long Term Plan signed off last year, $20M will be put aside from the sale of the airport shares to fix or finish projects within the legacy Auckland City or Manukau City boundaries. We supported the equitable split which would see Howick receive $2.8M, while suggesting a hybrid model may deliver more value. We nominated the Flat Bush Community Centre & Library as a candidate for the fund, given the project was initiated under the Manukau City Council.

We provided our feedback into Auckland Council's submission on the Local Government (Water Services) Bill, with a strong focus on ensuring that locals continued to have a say in how their water is managed. “While the Board supports efforts to improve water services, central Government reforms ought to be fair, efficient, and responsive to Auckland’s needs.”

We received our Quarter Two Performance Report which showed that 93% (113) of our projects were on track for delivery. The remaining 8 projects have been deferred or cancelled to the following financial year. One big highlight was that Te Taiwhanga Taiohi East Auckland Youth Space has had over 15,000 young people since April 2024!

We noted our feedback into the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill, which we’d provided outside of the meeting schedule due to short timeframes created by Parliament. We “acknowledge the need for more housing to address the challenges of housing affordability and population growth, but that this should be delivered in a deliberate manner using appropriate planning and zoning mechanisms.”

We noted our workshop records and forward governance work calendar before closing the meeting at 2:32pm.

Minutes of the meeting are available here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/02/20250220_HW_MIN_11589_WEB.htm
along with related attachments like presentations here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/02/20250220_HW_ATT_11589_WEB.htm
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/02/20250220_HW_MAT_11589_WEB.htm

A recording of the meeting is available here, along with previous meetings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiuqKCzobSzQ05kCv2JI2iefmDp2_tEh

Our next normal Business Meeting is scheduled for Thursday 20 March at 12noon at the Pakuranga Library building in Aylesbury Street.

These are open to the public to attend and observe, although you need to request a slot if you would like to speak (so we can make sure we provide time).

Stunning weather at Community Carnival and River Festival

Stunning weather brought a great crowd to the Pakuranga Rotary Club's Community Carnival and River Festival.

On at Bramley Drive Reserve, Farm Cove with proceeds used to support local community projects and activities.

Proudly supported by Howick Local Board through our events partnership fund.

Submission on Treaty Principles Bill

The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill would “set out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation and to require, where relevant, that those principles must be used when interpreting legislation.”

The following is my submission on the Bill:

Ko tangata tiriti te iwi.
Nō Ireland rātou ko Scotland, ko England ōku tīpuna.
Nō Tāmaki Makaurau ahau.
Ko Damian Light taku ingoa.

My name is Damian Light, I was born in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and have lived here my entire life. I am a Pākehā whose ancestors came to this country generations ago from Ireland, Scotland, and England. I am an elected member of Auckland Council (Howick Local Board), but this submission is in my own name. I do not need to be heard by the Select Committee - my submission speaks for itself.

I strongly oppose the Bill and call on the Select Committee to recommend the Treaty Principles Bill not be referred to a second reading.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a foundational document for this nation and cannot be reworded, rewritten, or redefined without risking undermining its constitutional value. This Bill and the process that has led to this point has been rushed, poorly considered, and harmful to our constitutional arrangements. The lack of meaningful engagement with Māori, one of the two partners in the signing of the Treaty while attempting to redefine its legal effect, is extremely harmful and dangerous.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi enabled my ancestors to come to this country, to make it their home. Some fled racial and religious intolerance, others were seeking an opportunity for a new start. Generations later I believe they would still want us to strive for the freedoms and opportunities they came here for. For their sake and future generations, we must honour the Treaty.

Some of this is hard, requiring us to acknowledge that we (directly or indirectly) have not lived up to the promises made in 1840. We can't change the past, but we can (and must) learn from it. This attempt to redefine the principles is a distraction from the ongoing redress and settlement processes. 

Despite being a Government Bill, it lacks any serious support. Two of the three government coalition parties agree and have said they will not support this Bill past its first reading. The lack of political support together with the extremely short time frames reflect that this is a deeply flawed and unserious attempt at bilateral constitutional reform.

The Regulatory Impact Statement prepared by the Ministry of Justice that notes that they “consider the status quo is more beneficial”, that the Bill “does not accurately reflect Article 2” and that the “proposed Bill could be seen as an attempt to limit the rights and obligations created by the Treaty.” It also makes it clear that the bill is unnecessary, noting that “The status quo also provides a higher degree of certainty about what the Treaty principles are and how they operate in New Zealand law. The existing principles have been developed over years of jurisprudence and by the actions of successive Governments.”

Despite any challenges (real or perceived), Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the founding document of our nation and must be respected.

Toitū te Tiriti. Honour the Treaty. Reject this Bill.

Wrapping up 2024!

It’s been a busy year and Christmas is approaching fast.

Last week we had our last business meeting for the year and our local staff are taking well earned leave until 6 January. As always, make sure you log any issues with Auckland Council (09 301 0101 or www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/report-it) but don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any electedmembers if you need support.

As we farewell 2024, it’s good to look back on the year that has been. In addition to our normal events, projects and activities, some highlights include:

• Confirming our commitment to incorporate Māori culture, language, art and stories into the design of public spaces through Te Kete Rukuruku (March);

• Providing clarity on future of Howick War Memorial Hall as venue for hire (March);

• Opening Te Taiwhanga Taiohi East Auckland Youth Space (April);

• Ensuring fairer and more equitable democracy for Flat Bush through Representation Review (February-October, taking effect October 2025);

• Supporting the inaugural East Auckland Business Awards (April), in addition to existing Howick Sports Awards (August);

• Securing the future of Kauri Kids Howick early childhood education through new operator (June);

• Delivering transport safety projects including gravel footpaths for Flat Bush (May and July) and Bucklands Beach (September);

• Taking action on resilience by approving the first Howick Local Board Readiness and Response Plan (November).

None of this would have been possible without the support of our amazing staff, our partners, and the community - thank you all.

Looking forward to 2025, we will be:

• Providing greater transparency through open-by-default workshops (January);

• Consulting the local community on local and regional annual budgets (February-March);

• Building the new Barry Curtis destination playground and replacement for the Wetlands Building (starting February);

• Continuing to work towards building the Flat Bush Community Centre and Library sooner (we’ve secured some funding from July 2025).

On behalf of the Howick Local Board, we wish you and your whānau a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Final Eastern Busway Update for 2024

Final Eastern Busway update for 2024!

The project team has out together this great video showcasing the amazing work they've been up to this year, with some great flyover shots of the progress to date.

You can always find out more about the busway project at: https://easternbusway.nz/

Local Government Reform cannot forget localism!

Yesterday the government announced their plans for local government reform, including the removal (again) of the four wellbeings (“promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, taking a sustainable development approach”). They were created by Labour in 2002, removed by National in 2012, then out back by Labour in 2019. So here we go again.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-getting-local-government-back-basics

There’s some good ideas in here - I’m pleased to see some modernisation of the rules “including removing requirements for newspaper notices, to drive efficiency and cost savings.”

I'm interested in the benchmarking as greater transparency and accountability is always welcome. However it will need to cope with the fact that not all local government is the same - Auckland is a unitary council (both local and regional) with multiple levels of governance (as imposed by Parliament). Very different to most of the other councils who have a very different scale and scope.

There’s a lot of talk of “pursuing expensive extras that burden ratepayers” but most of Auckland Council's increases are due to storm response, wage increases, and inflation. It’s also worth remembering that in Auckland only 40% of the council’s revenue comes from rates, with the rest coming from fees and charges, user pays, and return on investments. We’ve also already banked $337M in savings over the past three years, by making tough calls on what we continue and what we stop. I’m not suggesting there isn’t still waste or savings to be found but we’re already working on this with another $66M planned for this year. I don’t believe we need Parliament to tell us how to do what we’re already doing.

I'm a strong believer in localism - our community should determine what they want, not Parliament dictating from afar. Every year we consult with our residents on our annual budget based on our strategy (also consulted with the public). In fact local government consults with residents far more than Parliament does, which seems to rely on broad “electoral mandates” which are questionable at times.

More importantly I worry about the impact on our “non-core” activities like our significant environmental programmes, community grants, and support for arts and culture. This is what our community told us they wanted. But does our critical funding for the Howick Historical Village make the cut? What about UXBRIDGE? Or the local volunteer Coastguard? It’s too early to tell, but are these the “nice-to-haves” the Minister is referring to?

I'd rather the reform focused on addressing the real issues with local government - the awful legislation enforced upon Auckland by Parliament that creates massive inefficiencies and prevents us from doing what our communities want. Or the lack of funding tools available that force an over reliance on rates and have created massive infrastructure deficits. Or the three year terms that (once you take into account election years) effectively means we get 18 months to achieve anything.

It's still early days and there's promises of more reform which I welcome. But it needs to be driven by the right reasons and include local government so we get what we need.

Local Water Done Well succeeded where the previous government's Three Waters failed largely because the government listened to what Auckland needed, working together with local government to deliver positive change.

I hope we see that same approach here.

New tractor for Howick Coastguard

Howick Volunteer Coastguard have an incredible new tractor which they showed off at the Howick Santa Parade on the weekend.

Look at the massive wheels on that thing! Necessary to keep the mechanics clear of the salt water.

This amazing group of volunteers do incredible work, saving lives at sea across the Hauraki Gulf. Having reliable, fit for purpose equipment to do the job is essential.

Thank you everyone who contributed to getting this new tractor.

Next Auckland Council elections in October 2025

Next year Aucklanders will have the opportunity to vote for who they want to lead their city. This includes the Mayor, Councillors, and Local Board members.

We face a lot of challenges as a city and we have to make tough decisions on what's important to our communities. So it's vital that we have good representatives who work hard for their communities, putting aside political differences to do the best we can. As a first time elected member, I've found the role is both challenging and rewarding.

On Wednesday 11 December 5-6pm there is a free online webinar for anyone who might be interested. Find out more here: https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2024/12/free-webinar-become-a-candidate-in-auckland-s-local-elections-2025/

For the Howick Local Board, there will be 11 positions (3 for Howick, 3 for Pakūranga, 2 for Botany and 3 (new) for Flat Bush). Once elected, the Board then selects one member to be the Chairperson and another as Deputy Chairperson. Each role is paid to reflect the demands on your time (roughly 10-20 hours a week), with the Chair and Deputy earning more (roughly 20-40 hours a week).

If anyone wants to understand more about the role of local boards and what it's like to be an elected member, I'm happy to provide non-political information. Feel free to contact me here or via email to arrange a time to chat (online or in person).