Decision digest | Governing Body
27 July 2017

Steering and advisory groups for housing and Domain memorial approved

The Governing Body today approved a steering group to oversee progress on the recommendations from the Mayoral Housing Taskforce Report (June 2017) and an advisory group to advance the Auckland Domain’s World War I centenary memorial project.

The following is a digest of decisions made. The agenda is available on Auckland Council’s website and minutes will be added once confirmed. This meeting was also webcast on the council’s website and items are available on demand.

Items 1-9 were administrative items, excluding 5.1 (petitions) and 6.1 and 6.2 (public input). There was no local board input. Item 15 covers information memos and briefings, which are available online.

Item 5.1: Petitions | Save Chamberlain Park Inc. – petition objecting to the redevelopment of Chamberlain Park
Geoff Senescall, Chair of Save Chamberlain Park Incorporated, supported by Hare Paniora, Richard Quince and Louise Kane, presented a petition which opposes the Albert-Eden Local Board Master Plan for Chamberlain Park and requests that the course remains as it is, an 18-hole golf course.

The Governing Body noted that this matter is the subject of a judicial review and that the decision-making of local boards, under their allocated activities, cannot be reviewed by the Governing Body. These resolutions will be forwarded to the local board.

Item 6.1: Public Input | John Stowell – Participatory budgeting as a contribution to enhancing the engagement of citizens
Mr Stowell spoke to the Governing Body on the concept of participatory budgeting, where members of the community make direct decisions on how budgets are spent. Mr Stowell’s supporting information will be published with the minutes of this meeting.

Item 6.2: Public Input | Fields of Remembrance Trust – End of the World War 1 commemorative period
David McGregor and Juliana Austen from the Fields of Remembrance Trust spoke to the Governing Body about its plans for a field of remembrance to commemorate Armistice Day on 11 November 2018. A commemorative walk in the Auckland Domain and field of 18,277 crosses will be part of this activity.

Item 10: Housing Taskforce Report implementation
In 2016, Mayor Phil Goff set up a taskforce to look into the barriers to building new homes at pace and scale to meet the demand of our growing region and catch up on the deficit in the current housing stock, and recommend options for overcoming these barriers and constraints. This work followed on from the Housing Accord, which expired in May 2017.

The Governing Body appointed a Housing Taskforce Steering Group to oversee the progress and implementation of the recommendations of the June 2017 Mayoral Housing Taskforce Report. The members are:
• Mayor Phil Goff (Chair)
• Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore (Deputy Chair)
• Councillors Chris Darby and Linda Cooper
• David Taipari (Chair IMSB)
• Dean Kimpton (Chief Operating Officer) and Jim Quinn (Chief of Strategy)
• David Wood (Director Finance and Policy, Office of the Mayor)
• A senior manager from each of Watercare, Panuku Development Auckland and Auckland Transport.

Mayor Phil Goff says the Housing Taskforce Report pointed to a way forward to better tackle the problem of housing shortage and affordability and this working group will pick up on its recommendations.

“We have a responsibility to respond to the recommendations that Auckland Council is accountable for and to make sure we advocate to government on the things the taskforce has identified as government priorities.

“This work does not sit in isolation. We have recently welcomed announcements of a Housing Infrastructure Fund and Crown Infrastructure Partners funding, a special purpose vehicle, to speed up home building in the region, as well as the provisions we have made in our Unitary Plan.

“There is nothing more fundamental for Aucklanders than housing and there is no silver bullet, however we have come up with a range of very good recommendations to pursue and have showed that working alongside the government and the private sector can offer extremely insightful outcomes,” he says.

Read more about the Housing Taskforce Report on OurAuckland.

Item 11: World War I Centenary Memorial
Mayor Phil Goff has ‘called in’ the project to create a memorial at the Auckland Domain to commemorate the centenary of World War I and acknowledge the loss felt by those that saw loved ones off to war, never to return.

The project will now be overseen by the Governing Body with a Mayor’s Advisory Group set up to guide some of the project initiatives in more detail, including confirming a potential timeline to the Governing Body.

Today’s decision revokes previous decisions of the Auckland Domain Committee, relating to the World War I Centenary Memorial and will see the council progress the Wraight + Athfield design Te Takuahi – The Hearth.

Item 12: 2016 elections – submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee
The council’s submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee was approved, subject to minor amendments. This process follows each local authority election and offers opportunities for local government organisations to raise matters that may lead to legislative change.

A selection of areas highlighted in the council’s submission were matai titles; online voting; requirements for candidates to state where they reside; timing of school holidays; separation of DHB elections; and electronic voting and nominations.

Item 13: Submission on Ngati Tamaoho Claims Settlement Bill
The Governing Body approved the council’s submission in support of the Ngati Tamaoho Claims Settlement Bill. The council’s submission focusses in particular on sites at Waitete Pā (Waiau Pā Historic Reserve) and Hunua Falls (Hunua Falls Scenic Reserve).

Item 14: Deputy Mayor’s report on trip to Suzhou, Shanghai and Singapore
Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore reported back on his trip to China and Singapore earlier this year. Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore believes Auckland can learn a lot from cities like Shanghai and Suzhou, which have balanced economic growth with the preservation of their natural environments.

“In Suzhou, economic growth has been supported by foreign investment,” says Deputy Mayor Cashmore. “This means the city has been able to build world-class infrastructure while retaining its green spaces, history and culture.”

Cr Cashmore represented Auckland at the opening of the Belt and Road Forum, the World Cities Summit and the Global Infrastructure Summit.

“As we start procurement for the City Rail Link and plan our future infrastructure projects, the experiences of Suzhou and Singapore should inform us: plan long term; future proof; take your time to implement change; and be innovative,” he says.

Item 16: Resignation and appointment of Strategic Procurement Committee Chairperson
Councillor Mike Lee has resigned as chairperson and member of the Strategic Procurement Committee and Councillor Bill Cashmore has been appointed as Chairperson.

ENDS

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