Opinion: Wellington idealists are acting like a bully over Auckland’s housing
We normally value a centre-right Government. However, since entering a bipartisan agreement while in opposition, National’s continued erosion of local governance and its setting of housing targets, as driven by Chris Bishop, is as bully-boyish as it comes.
And Auckland’s initial rejection of the proposed Plan Change 78 housing projections was a factor in seeing Labour voted out of Auckland at the last central election. Bishop’s high growth targets for Auckland are extortionately inflated.
Tall towers versus volcanic views: The building blocks in Auckland’s development
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, thinks viewshafts “eviscerate hundreds of millions of dollars of economic value”, as he put it in a speech in mid-June. In other speeches in recent months, Bishop has quoted a 2018 study which suggested the toll-booth viewshaft has cost the central city in excess of $1.4 billion.
“Most cities,” North Shore ward councillor Chris Darby says, “have few really unique features. But we do. We have the volcanoes. Being able to appreciate them as you move around the city is one of the special things about living here.”
‘Democracy in crisis’: Council reps complain of bureaucracy’s ‘quiet agenda’.
There’s a power struggle within Auckland Council between those elected to represent the will of the public and the bureaucracy employed to implement it. In a rare public showing of that tension, the council may end up legally challenging itself, reports Jonathan Killick.
Ōrākei Local Board member Troy Churton is entirely aware that taking his own council to court would be “an absolute waste of ratepayer money”.
And yet, it’s on the cards with elected members set to vote on an “extraordinary” motion on Thursday to use board allocated funds to get an independent legal opinion to use against council staff.
Character Coalition on intensification around CRL stations
The government has instructed Auckland Council to allow apartments of at least 15 storeys around three key train stations - Mt Eden, Kingsland and Morningside as well as Mt Albert & Baldwin Avenue stations, as the City Rail Link (CRL) nears completion. The Character Coalition spokesperson, Sally Hughes, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss on RNZ Morning Report.