Auckland

The population of Auckland is set to bust through 1.5 million:

Auckland’s population will be pushed over 1.5 million next week, Statistics New Zealand says.

And it’s likely that will be a literal push, with the 1.5 millionth person likely to be a new baby.

“The 1.5 millionth person could be a migrant coming from overseas or from within New Zealand but it is most likely to be a new baby,” population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said.

“That’s because births add more than net migration to Auckland’s population growth.”

Auckland had dominated the nation’s population growth for the past 60 years and was most likely to hit the 1.5 million mark on February 1, Ms Blackburn said.

It had taken 35 years to jump from 500,000 to 1,000,000 but only 16 years to reach 1.5 million – and account for 34 per cent of New Zealand’s population.

Nick K at No Minister writes about how Auckland has become a bunch of can’ts:

Want to have a cigarette in an Auckland park?  Can’t.

Want to walk your dog on the beach in Summer on a leash?  Can’t.

Want to buy a house, demolish it and build a modern house?  Can’t.

Want to buy some commercial property and build a fancy new building?  Looks like you can’t.

Want to ride your bike without a helmet along the footpath on Tamaki Drive?  Can’t.

Want to subdivide your land outside the Rural Urban Boundary and sell some sections to some first-home buyers?  Can’t.

Auckland – a city of Can’ts.

It reminds me of the time a Singaporean programmer told me that he had a solution to a particular problem but that he also did’t, by responding to my queries as to his ability to solve the problem: “Can can, cannot also can”.

Looks like Auckland is making the running for “cannot also can”.

In the press release she signed with 27 other Auckland loons, Green MP and Waiheke Local Board member Denise Roche has thoughtfully reminded me that she has held the joint role of local board member and Member of Parliament since the November 27 election.

I wonder – is she keeping both salaries and perks though? Jami-lee Ross resigned the Monday after his win int eh by-election. Labour too made much of double-dippers in the past so why are they remaining silent on Denise Roche?

As a backbench List MP, Roche would be earning $135,000 pa, more or less, plus perks like free phones, travel etc.
As a local board member, Roche would be earning around $35,000 pa, more of less, plus perks like free cellphone, free laptop etc.

So, questions for the media to ask:

Given that Denise Roche has not resigned as a local board member since becoming a MP, is she drawing both incomes? Has she been keeping the extra money, or is she giving it away to a charity (like Sam Lotu-Iiga did)

Is she keeping 2 laptops, 2 phones etc? If she hasn’t returned both phones, how do we know she hasn’t given one to a relative or friend or political ally to use as a nice free phone or laptop that is cost-centred by the ratepayers of Auckland..

I think we should know.

This is a video Michael Poole showing what a weeks training for a professional triathlete looks like:

Triathlete Michael Poole, 20, doing a week’s training in Auckland at the end of 2011 before heading off to begin training and racing in the USA. Just started studying at University of South Florida in Tampa. Filmed, directed and edited by Chase Madsen. Anyone interested in supporting Michael in the USA can contact him through his website michaelpoole.co.nz

If anyone is looking for a moving billboard through the USA during the professional triathlon season then click the link above and get in contact.

As if Len Brown hasn’t got enough on his plate with the POAL dispute and Matt McCarten’s vile hatred, he also has major problems with his Auckland Plan.  The tipline has run so hot over the weekend with information about the mayor’s “visions” for Auckland that I’ve literally run out of paper to print it on.

So much information has come across my desk that it is difficult to find the time to read all of it and it is also hard not to fall off my chair laughing at some of it.

The main issue is the retention of the urban limit. Greenie planners despise removing the urban limit.  They also masturbate over heritage as Len Brown’s chief media mouthpiece, Bernard Orsman, wailed in Saturday’s Herald.

This gnashing of teeth and argy bargy between greenie environmentalist planners has come about because a leaked report on the Auckland Plan by third party consultant developers hired by Len’s council has pretty much said that Len’s intensification model for Auckland is not going to work unless some major changes occur in land zoning and demolition of heritage housing.  Yep, massive re-zoning and demolition of heritage housing.  Remember the outcry from greenie environmentalists when Len stood by and watched those outdated, decrepit old houses torn down in St Heliers?  And what about the reaction from greenie environmentalists in Saturday’s Herald when that old rust bucket in Freemans Bay was going to be demolished?  City Vision’s Shale Chambers (a Labour Party hack) called it a “sick joke”.

Well get your bucket ready Shale because here’s another sick joke for you, and for your party’s leader.  The consultant report said this about Mt Albert:

Substantial intensification opportunities exist. The Unitec site could be substantially master-planned to a high density Campus, similar to the British Columbia University in Vancouver.

This area is capable of supporting substantial market-led intensification, with bold up-zoning.

Mt Albert will be a litmus test for political resilience.

Prepare an intensification master-plan for Mt Albert. Communicate the Plan clearly with the Community.

Council should not believe intensification will occur without major upzoning. Without boldness, intensification will be ad-hoc and low in number.

Mt Albert is a litmus test for political resilience. Without major up-zoning intensification will be sporadic and low quality. Quality upzoning could make Mt Albert a vibrant intensified precinct.

I can’t wait to see David Shearer standing in front of the bulldozers when the developers start demolishing those 80yr old houses in Mt Albert for semi-detached townhouses and units.

As the tipline has been running so hot this weekend on this stuff, I will reproduce more material in coming days that will show Len’s compact city model is, to quote Shale Chambers, a sick joke.

Len Brown was unavailable because he was too busy holidaying to respond to the Ports crisis, but not too busy to appear in a self-promoting fluff piece in the Herald.

It seems that Len Brown doesn’t really have his priorities on being the Mayor for All of Auckland like he promised.

He’d prefer to talk about his favourite books and movies rather than working to get the Port back to work.

The Auckland Council wants to lock up the Occupy Protestors who won’t leave Aotea Square:

The Auckland Council wants to jail Occupy Auckland protesters for 21 days.

Last week, a judge ordered members of the Occupy Auckland movement to leave Aotea Square, where many had been living for 10 weeks.

Most moved onto other parks but a few have stayed in the square.

Today the Auckland Council is asking the District Court to imprison the remaining protestors for breaching last week’s order.

The anti-capitalist protesters have vowed to fight the application.

Occupy Auckland member Chris Glen says the threat hasn’t fazed some of the protesters, who vowed last night to remain in the square.

He says they’re simply standing up for their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Council lawyer Ross Burns told Newstalk ZB a 21-day jail stint would be severe, so he said the anti-capitalist protesters could be given until New Year’s Eve to pack up and leave.

I don’t know why the Council just doesn’t get some big sprinklers and soak them for days on end.

The dirty hippies masquerading as a mass protest movement have been ordered to leave Aotea Square within 48 hours.

Occupy Auckland has launched a petition in response to a court order giving them 48-hours to leave Aotea Square.

The group has been camped in the central city since October 15, in a protest against wealth inequality and corporate influence on government.

However, this afternoon Judge David Wilson released a decision saying the group was breaching an Auckland Council bylaw governing the use of public places and had caused damage.

Protesters have lodged an appeal with the courts and will meet with the judge again tomorrow afternoon.

Occupy Auckland spokesman Chris Glenn said many in the camp were resolved to stay there through Christmas despite the eviction order, he said.

“As far as we’re concerned it’s business as usual. We’re continuing to protest against corporate greed and gross inequality in our society.”

Once the time limit expires if I was the council and the Police I would move in at about 4am and clean out the 5 people sleeping there and then chuck all their stuff into a skip and be done with it.

The Judge certainly has had enough of their weasel excuses:

Justice Wilson, in his ruling, said the group did not “practice what they preached”.

“While Occupy Auckland proclaims its adherence to participatory democracy the evidence reveals that they do not practise what they preach. They did not do so when they decided to occupy Aotea Square. They did not ask those who live and work around Aotea Square… what they would think if Aotea Square… turned into a tent city.”

Wilson said although Aotea Square is used for protests, Occupy Auckland gave the council no notice of their intention to camp in the square. They began putting up their tents at 7pm on October 15, after an earlier march up Queen St.

The Judge basically says, enough already, get out!

The Maritime Union issued another strike notice.

Ports of Auckland says it has received notice of a fourth and more disruptive strike by wharfies.

Ports chief executive Tony Gibson said the latest 48-hour strike was set down for December 30 to January 1, the same time as KiwiRail was shutting down its rail network for electrification works.

This promised even greater disruption for consumers, importers and exporters than the Maritime Union’s previous two strikes, he said. Notice of its third strike from December 22 to 25 is still on the table.

Looks like Santa isn’t coming for a lot of kiddies. The strike action for the 3 days before Christmas will hold up a whole lot of Christmas merchandise.

Still it just goes to show that Dinosaurs are not extinct, and we all know where Jurassic Park was filmed.

The Maritime Union left Mediation yesterday afternoon after receiving the 9^th offer put to them since September, and placed another Strike Notice on the table as they left.

“They did what?” I hear you say.

The talks had not broken down, and in fact both parties considered that they had been positive.

What I am positive about now is that the Executive of the Union either have no idea of the damage that they are causing, or they do and they don’t give a damn.

If it is the first case then they are unbelievably stupid, and if it is the second, then they are unbelievably stupid.

How they cannot see the damage that they are causing to themselves through causing damage to Auckland’s port is beyond my comprehension.

This is a bit like the death of a thousand cuts, but self inflicted.

Their actions have already cost contracts for the Port, it is inconceivable that the previous offers can now be sustained with the loss of business. Union jobs and contract provisions and terms are going to be lost as a result of this action, hardly a win for members.

via the tipline:

We have a real concern about the impact of strike action by unions at the Ports of Auckland and its effect on importers, exporters and retailers – plus the message it sends internationally about Auckland as a place to do business. It seems unreasonable for such a small part of Auckland’s workforce to hold our region to ransom.

• We know that for every 40 hours a stevedore is paid, they can work as little as 26 hours
• We know that the average pay for a full-time stevedore is $91,000 - more than double the average weekly wage
• We know that the strike is not about money, but about modernising work practices
• We know that it is depriving Auckland of valuable revenue for upgrading the region’s infrastructure
• We have observed that workers at the Port of Tauranga are benefiting from the action as opposed to striking in support
• We know that the strike action is having a devastating impact on Auckland’s economy
• We know the strikes are damaging Auckland’s brand and image

We are holding a virtual protest to voice the concerns of affected businesses. Click here to support our virtual protest.

Kind regards

Michael Barnett
Chief Executive
Auckland Chamber of Commerce