Looking back and moving forward...

A new year. After a much-needed break I’ve finally caught my breath and had a chance to reflect on the year that has just been, as well as what’s up ahead. This coming April we will have a change of Chair for the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, as we switch from Aidan Bennett as current Chair and George Wood as Deputy to Ruth Jackson as Chair and Jan O’Conner as Deputy. I’m looking forward to another 18 months of progressing important issues for the community, working as best as we can in the tough financial climate and continued uncertainty that COVID has brought to all.

After nearly 18 months I definitely feel like I’m better equipped to manage the ol’ game of politics better than I did when I started. If I was honest, I put my hand up for this gig quite naively as I saw it simply as a community role, a natural segue from my previous job as Business District Manager for Devonport. Truly I was shocked when someone referred to me as a politician; a name I thought was singularly reserved for central government. Strangely (to me) there’s plenty of politics that go on at a local level, and when you’re not a political animal yourself, this can be a massive challenge to overcome and I expect is one of the primary reasons why so few people stand for the role. I’ve been doing my best to allay fears and encourage some other fantastic people to stand alongside Aidan and myself next time round – so watch that space. The truth is, the role is such a privilege and actually brings me much joy. As my 40th birthday inches closer in March, it does bother me that I’m the youngest Member sitting at the table and I hope that next time round we can bring an even more youthful voice to the mix.

From the very beginning Aidan and I wanted to bring a ‘fresh approach’ which in a nutshell is about taking the politics out of it and just getting good stuff done for the community. I think we’ve done that and have managed to progress a few great things that I wanted to share with you below:

• We’ve adopted our new Local Board Plan: This strategic document sets the direction for the next 3 years and there’s a few new additions that show our pivot from what has been business as usual to a more responsive plan that has relevance. A good example is Outcome Four: Transport & Access. Here our language has moved away from roads that keep cars moving, to pushing for an affordable, efficient, safe and integrated public transport network, as well as a network of roads including cycle lanes, footpaths & walkways that safely connect people to their desired destinations. Auckland Council has declared a climate emergency and we need to show leadership in this space, because if we don’t, when our lives grow increasingly impacted by climate change, people will be asking why Council wasn’t preparing aggressively (because we need to be) or mitigating the impacts. For every person that grumbles about a new cycleway, I think, you can thank me later. The other new addition to the LBP is Outcome 6: Ngā Tikanga a te Māori: Maori Values. Here we’re not simply honoring our responsibilities under te tiriti, we’re actually improving our place by celebrating our local histories, incorporating indigenous design in our built environment and helping every kiwi feel greater connection to Aotearoa’s point of difference, our Māori heritage. We’re also building stronger relationships with Mana Whenua and Matawaka in our area so that we’re not simply paying lip service or appropriating culture, we’re actually working with the people who know best and who are most invested.
• We’ve Approved the Design for the Takapuna Town Centre: This is one really exciting project that I’m proud to have supported the progress of, alongside the upgraded Hurstmere Road. You can read more about the new Takapuna Town Centre here. It’s going to be a stunner and there is so much reflection of what makes Takapuna special in its design. Our city suffers from historic poor planning and the fact there’s a big slab of asphalt in the centre of Takapuna for cars to park on, as well as a serious lack of connectivity to the North Shore’s best beach, shows how desperately we need to redesign our spaces. Takapuna is designated as a metropolitan centre in the Unitary Plan and we can expect loads of new terraced housing and apartments going in there. This brings increased footfall, an increased demand for retail and hospo, and more opportunities for businesses to set themselves up in this area. Sustainable cities need to build up, not out and this is going to be a fantastic and dynamic area where more people can enjoy the city rhythm & beach vibe. We’ve also recently learned that in 15-20 years time we’ll have a new Waitematā Harbour Crossing and this is likely to be rail from the CBD to Takapuna. It’s going to be a hot market for investment and an incredible place to live.  
• Our Local Parks will soon get Te Reo Names: One of the new programmes we’ve signed up to is Te Kete Rukuruku which is a Council project delivered in partnership with Auckland’s collective iwi. Together we select about 15 appropriate parks and reserves and mana whenua research their names, histories and significant people from that area and a second name is gifted to that reserve. This doesn’t mean we lose the name of that reserve, but the reserve has a dual name. A good example of how this works is Takarunga / Mount Victoria. Maungauika / North Head. Some of our reserves have been arbitrarily named, for instance Bardia Esplanade Reserve is named after Bardia Street. Or Kenmure Reserve in Forrest Hill is named after Kenmure Ave. There may be a more appropriate name that we can gift that reserve.
• We’ve pushed to get Lake Road Moving: This one has been a contentious issue with four of our Board members providing feedback to Auckland Transport in opposition to their proposed improvements. It’s a complex beast because the strategic direction of Auckland Transport is not to make more room for cars, but to make more room for people of all modes to access the corridor. The proposed improvements would offer an 8-12 minutes travel savings for cars using the T2, it would create safe separated cycle-lanes for commuter cyclists and students on their way to local schools, and wherever possible (where the road was wide enough) a T2/Bus lane would be created. In addition, some of the powerlines (around Takapuna Grammar) would be undergrounded to create additional pedestrian space. There’s a very strong desire for car commuters to widen the road to create four lanes and this was illustrated in a recent AA survey, but raising the approx. $100mill budget to widen, is not something any local household wants to pay for. So the Auckland Transport Board has made the decision to proceed once the original budget has been raised again (following the adoption of the new Long Term Plan) and simply get on with it. I’m grateful for that decision and whilst the Board has differing views on what the end result should look like, none of us want to lose that investment.
• We’re working hard to clean up our water: From the day we were elected a range of community groups made it very clear that water quality in their local beaches simply wasn’t good enough. This major issue, which begins with commercial pollutants in the Wairau Valley is a complex one and will take years to resolve. That said, however, we’re well on our way to improving the quality. We’ve got healthy waters teams investigating storm water outlets, identifying cross-connections that see sewer mixed in with storm water. We’ve put funding into better riparian planting to help manage sedimentation issues. The Croftfield Lane Wetland has been completed, Normanton Reserve Stream has been daylighted, Kaipātiki Local Board is funding a commercial contamination management programme that educates businesses further up the catchment, and we’ve established a working group with those same concerned locals to keep the information flowing. Working alongside the Kaipātiki Local Board shows that through collective action we can get best results and the work done to date is a strong move in the right direction.  

So, you can see how hugely interesting the work is as a Local Board member. It’s exciting, at times inspiring, and also challenging. I’m proud of the things we’ve accomplished and genuinely look forward to the next 20 months so we can keep the good things happening. We are seriously privileged to live in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area, where our beautiful coastline offers fantastic life-style opportunities. I hope, like me, you spend more time celebrating the good stuff than bemoaning the bad, because here, it is so, so good.