Auckland City Council
Media release

10 April 2008

Award recognises community focussed consultation

Auckland City Council has been awarded a 2008 best practice award by the New Zealand Planning Institute for its community based approach to planning for Otahuhu’s future.

The institute recognised the council for its best practice approach throughout the future visioning project and the resulting “extremely successful outcome that the extensive consultation process ably demonstrates”.

“Community consultation holds a number of opportunities for the council, which we work hard to capitalise on,” says Councillor Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, chairperson of the City Development Committee.

“The Otahuhu community is particularly diverse and the council’s approach to communicating with them on the Otahuhu liveable community plan was to engage on a number of different levels, over a number of different events.

“Council officers should be congratulated for their efforts in engaging with the community and ensuring such a positive outcome.”

Announcing the award, the institute highlighted the council’s community consultation and engagement process for its adherence to the International Association for Public Participation’s core principles – focus on stakeholder values, decision-making and goal driven public participation.

The council was also commended for developing a community stakeholder reference group linked back to the community, holding a variety of consultation events designed to engage with all community groups (including students and those that are normally under represented in consultation projects) and utilising prominent locations to achieve maximum exposure of the project with the community.

A hearing on the draft Otahuhu liveable community plan is being held on Friday, 18 April at the Otahuhu Town Hall and Community Centre from 10am. While the hearing is open to the public, only those submitters who have advised the council they wish to speak, will be able to speak at the hearing.

Ends

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