Welcome to the 8th Newsletter for CityWatch NZ
It has been a busy month since the last CityWatch NZ newsletter.
In August, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gave a speech to the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference and announced major local government reforms. Some mayors were upset at being told by the Prime Minister that ratepayers “…expect local government to do the basics and to do the basics brilliantly. Pick up the rubbish. Fix the pipes. Fill in potholes. And more generally, maintain local assets quickly, carefully, and cost effectively”. In an opinion piece, Hamilton Councillor Andrew Bydder provides this thoughts on Luxon’s speech and the importance of the 2025 local body elections.
The agenda to introduce variable/universal road pricing, congestion charges, and similar schemes is rolling ahead. The government has indicated plans to implement such schemes around 2025-2026. In the first of a series of opinion pieces raising arguments against these schemes, John McDonald challenges the think tanks and argues that these schemes are a slippery slope toward “…more surveillance and more taxes”.
In the face of growing local opposition and Minister of Transport Simeon Brown blocking central government funding for speed bumps, Wellington City Council appears to be scaling back its plans to install five raised crossings on Thorndon Quay. We give an update on this high-profile speed hump dispute after the Wellington City’s Regulatory Processes Committee votes to remove three raised crossings from the plan.
In the context of installing a new roundabout at the intersection of Silverdale, Morrinsville, and Matangi roads, Hamilton Councillor Andrew Bydder also provides an opinion piece on the raised crossing situation in Hamilton. The Three Waters reforms continue and we have an opinion piece about the Coalition government’s “Local Water Done Well” plan.
We have updated information on the election results for the by-election in Hamilton for the Maaori Ward Seat and also have reminders about upcoming public consultations and events.
PRIME MINISTER LUXON ADDRESSES MAYORS AND COUNCILLORS AT THEIR ANNUAL JUNKET
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gave a speech at the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference on 21 August 2024. The speech urged the mayors and councillors to reduce wasteful spending and focus on the basics.
We have a post giving links to the speech along with a summary of some of the media articles covering both the speech and reactions from mayors.
Articles covering PM Luxon’s speech to LGNZ (August 2024)
“Ratepayers are sick of the white elephants and non-delivery. So, my challenge to all of you is to rein in the fantasies and to get back to delivering the basics brilliantly.
Councillors often tell me that they agree with all that, but there’s a problem. They just need more help from central government, usually in the form of cold, hard cash.
I have to be honest with you – the previous government might have taken that approach, but the party is over.
There is no magic money tree in Wellington, thanks to the previous government's economic mismanagement and vandalism.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Speech to the LGNZ Conference, 21 August 2024
The Prime Minister’s speech appeared to be met with a mixture of gasps, outrage, heckling, murmurs, stunned silence, and some hearty applause from the audience of local government officials.
“All of us in the room felt like we were being told off – the naughty kids who have been chucked in the corner for doing something wrong.”
Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton as quoted by Mike Tweed in Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says Prime Minister’s LGNZ speech missed the mark, Whanganui Chronicle, 24 August 2024
Aside from giving the assembled mayors and councillors some stern words, Prime Minister Luxon made announcements about four points of a “local government work programme”.
The four points of the “local government work programme” can be summarised as:
“get councils back to basics” & “abolishing the four wellbeing provisions in legislation”,
“investigate performance benchmarks for local councils” & “performance measures” for “financial performance and customer service delivery”,
“investigate options to limit council expenditure on ‘nice-to-haves’” such as “revenue caps” being “applied to non-core activities to control rates increases”,
“review the transparency and accountability rules that apply to councils” with a mention of the problem of “unelected officials” preventing “elected members from accessing the information they need to represent their communities”.
The Prime Minister’s speech also mentions plans to allow councils to take on more debt.
“We know your communities need the tools to sustainably finance the necessary investment. So, we’re making changes.
Through changes agreed by the Local Government Funding Authority, we're alleviating pressure on council debt caps, which will relieve a lot of pressure on fast-growing councils.
We’re presenting a suite of options for achieving local water reform that will satisfy ratings agencies' concerns while maintaining local control of water.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Speech to the LGNZ Conference, 21 August 2024
Hamilton City Councillor Andrew Bydder gave his take on Luxon’s speech and we will be posting further opinion pieces commenting on Luxon’s speech and wider discussions on the topic of reforming local government.
“Luxon wants councils to get back to basics. Councils are essentially large engineering companies. Two thirds of expenditure is on roads and waters. Fixing potholes and treating sewage is core business, not fancy stadiums. Half the remainder is property management. This ranges from town planning, building consents, maintaining parks and building assets, and infrastructure for construction growth. Rubbish collection and libraries are useful add-on public services, but the rest is just fluff.
Looking at the people around the council table, the lack of skills in the engineering and property areas explains the mess councils have got themselves into. We, the people, need to help Luxon and start electing candidates on the basis of competency. This also means that people with competency need to stand. This is my request to some of you reading this – the nation needs you to front up.
I am sharing my experiences and plans with groups across the country who are gearing up to take on their local councils in elections next year. I am happy to share with you as well. If you are unable to stand as a candidate, get behind competent people who will. They need support. Central government legislation only goes so far. How it is implemented ultimately determines the outcome. Elected councillors need to take control and deliver for the people.”
Hamilton City Councillor Andrew Bydder, Luxon Nails Councils, 27 August 2024
The annual Local Government conference has a bit of a reputation for debauchery, extravagance, and wasteful spending. After this year’s conference, National-party aligned blogger David Farrar posted a table comparing the National Party annual conference with the LGNZ annual conference in terms of costs, features, and entertainment offerings.
In a year where double-digit rates increases were announced by many councils across the country, it would be good if council officials collectively had enough wisdom to tone-down the decadence at their annual junket.
CONGESTION CHARGES AND ROAD PRICING
These schemes go by a range of names including congestion charges, time-of-use charges, and variable road pricing. Generally these schemes involve charging people different fees to travel on certain roads at certain times. We have posted a summary of recent RNZ articles which give indications of the government plans for a potential implementation of these schemes around 2025-2026.
Auckland Transport and NZTA (Waka Kotahi) are looking to share technology and aim to “…use cameras to snap number plates to charge for using strategic roads from early 2026”.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is quoted as “being committed to passing legislation that will enable local authorities such as Auckland Council to introduce time of use charging”. The Coalition government is planning to introduce legislation this year to “allow councils to introduce congestion charges”.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has promised that the new legislation will go through a full select committee process with the public able to make submissions.
"Congestion is a tax on your time, and on productivity. It means that we are away from home for longer sitting in gridlock, and it results in fewer jobs being done, fewer deliveries, and delays to services across the city…
…We need to make sure that we take the public with us on this journey. It's all very well for transport experts to sit around a room and say 'this is how it's going to work and isn't this amazing' but actually we need to make sure we have a really good conversation and discussion"
Transport Minister Simeon Brown as quoted by RNZ in Government accelerates congestion charging plans, 12 August 2024
Auckland’s congestion has been estimated to cost the country about a billion dollars annually and there has been suggestions that congestion charging could reduce that congestion by 8-12%. Some critics argue that the scheme would be unfair on those on low income, women, shift workers, and those without access to “reliable and affordable public transport”.
RNZ articles on congestion charging and time-of-use charging (July-August 2024)
CityWatch NZ Editor John McDonald, challenges the “journey“ in a recent opinion piece. He argues that the “journey“ is often a slippery slope, because prominent think tanks and the bureaucracy have been openly advocating for using gradualism/incrementalism to ease the public into accepting these road charging schemes. Reports from various New Zealand groups and overseas examples provide plenty of evidence that schemes will likely expand after they are implemented.
OPINION: The Slippery Slope is a Strategy, not a Fallacy
…we need to prevent these schemes before they are legalised and implemented. Once the authorities install the cameras and setup the digital charging system, they are going to want to recover those installation costs and expand the schemes. Any simple and modest charges used in the beginning to win public support are likely to evolve into a daunting set of complex and expensive charges once the schemes are well-established. Stopping these schemes early is the responsible course of action and will help society avoid the ‘sunk cost fallacy’…
…when politicians, think tanks, PR consultants, and managers start telling you a “story” and are about to take you on a “journey”, keep asking questions about the final destination…”
John McDonald, OPINION: The Slippery Slope is a Strategy, not a Fallacy, 3 September 2024
WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL’S $55-67 MILLION THORNDON QUAY PROJECT IS NOW SHRINKING
Wellington City Council’s $55-65 million plan to install five raised crossings (speed humps) on one of the capital’s busy arterial roads (a 1.7km stretch along Thorndon Quay) received a wide range of critical coverage in the media. In the last newsletter we covered the groups combining to challenge these ”traffic calming” installations as well as the concerns being raised about damage to vehicles and impacts on emergency response times.
In our August update article, we present reports that the expected cost for the project has apparently shrunk to $45 million and Wellington City Councillors voted to remove three raised crossings from the project. A presentation by council staff showed that each raised platform was expected to cost $125,000 more than the equivalent flat crossing. Councillor Ben McNulty left the meeting before the vote on the controversial project.
"I just feel fundamentally uncomfortable about playing role of traffic engineer here, so I'm going to leave the room,"
Wellington City Councillor Ben McNulty, as quoted by RNZ in Wellington councillors walk out of meeting, refuse to vote on controversial project, 08 August 2024
Other public figures weighed in on the project in the lead up to the August vote, including Joel MacManus (Wellington Editor at the The Spinoff) and Cameron Luxton (ACT Local Government spokesman).
“It’s really important to have a public discussion about street design. Streets are negotiated spaces, owned collectively by everyone, so everyone should be part of the conversation about their form. Almost every city in the world is taking steps to move away from car-centric design to adopt more people-friendly streets. Wellington City Council is embracing that change with more enthusiasm and pace than most. There will be mistakes – for example, the proposed design of Thorndon Quay goes a bit overboard – but, with a bit of creativity, there will also be solutions.”
Joel MacManus,The Spinoff, Windbag: Why firefighters often oppose pedestrian safety measures, 06 August 2024
“’Raised table’ pedestrian crossings are a gold-plated option that slow down commuters and emergency services alike, and often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars…
…With the change of government there’s been a change in gear on transport policy, and local councils need to get with the programme. Councils can no longer rely on taxpayer support for the kind of false improvements that proliferated under Labour’s Road to Zero fantasy, and it’s not fair to just pass the bill on to tomorrow’s ratepayers.”
Cameron Luxton, ACT Local Government spokesman, Councils increasing debt to fund raised crossings are out of touch, 06 August 2024
OPINIONS ON RAISED CROSSINGS AND THREE WATERS FINANCING
We have two further opinion pieces, which cover both nationwide issues and specific situations in Hamilton City.
Hamilton City Councillor Andrew Bydder gives an update on the political battles to prevent more raised crossing being installed in Hamilton. A new roundabout is planned for the Silverdale Road/Morrinsville Road/Matangi Road intersection. At this stage the new roundabout will feature raised pedestrian crossings.
Councillor Bydder also raises the controversial topic of when urban planners deliberately use children to slow vehicle traffic. On this topic, CityWatch NZ has previously drawn attention to page 82 of this Land Transport New Zealand Research Report (published back in 2006) that specifically cautioned against putting pedestrians and cyclists in dangerous situations as a “traffic-calming measure”.
OPINION: The Fight Against Speed Bumps Rolls On
“Raised crossings are speed bumps that came from European urban planners’ idea to use children to slow cars. The crossings are deliberately located in places of danger at intersections. We used to have crossings set back from intersections because their purpose was safety. Now the purpose is to slow traffic. Children who don’t understand traffic are likely to run over raised crossings under a false impression of safety. For drivers approaching roundabouts, the rule is to give way to the right. The driver does not need to look left. A child approaching from the left is in real danger. Additionally, car drivers have to break to leave the roundabout because of the raised crossing in the exit lane. This disrupts traffic flow and increases the number of accidents. In densely packed narrow lanes of European cities, there is some sense with cars peaking at 30 km/h anyway, but it does not translate to New Zealand conditions.”
Hamilton City Councillor Andrew Bydder, The Fight Against Speed Bumps Rolls On, 18 August 2024
Geoff Kreegher presented research and commentary on the new Three Waters plan called “Local water done well“ in his latest opinion piece. The Coalition government’s plan creates a new water regulator and allows councils to form new water companies as Council Controlled Organisations (CCO). These CCO water companies will have a higher debt limit than councils. This is especially concerning in the case of councils with a history of reckless borrowing.
OPINION “Local Water Done Well” and the Hamilton Ratepayer
“It is doubtful that Hamilton City Council could effectively govern and monitor a CCO when it is unable to monitor or control its own expenditure. There is also a lack of direct accountability to the ratepayer for the services the CCO delivers, both from Council and the CCO…
…The funding model clearly indicates the establishment of a CCO that is financially supported by Council that has the ability to raise finance up to a level equivalent to 500 percent of (water) operating revenues does not auger well for Hamilton ratepayers based on Council’s past performance.”
Geoff Kreegher, “Local Water Done Well” and the Hamilton Ratepayer, 31 August 2024
HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL KIRIKIRIROA MAAORI WARD BY-ELECTION 2024
The voting closed on Wednesday, 7 August 2024. The by-election concluded with Maria Te Aukaha Huata becoming the new councillor for Hamilton’s Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward.
The reported voter return rate for this by-election was 11.34%.
The final vote count was reported as:
HUATA, Maria Te Aukaha, 806
HENDERSON, Horiana, 422
TE UA, Olly, 296
RURI, Marian, 236
POKERE-PHILLIPS, Donna, 194
GALLAGHER, Jarrad, 139
MARKS, Danielle, 106
MANARANGI, Riki, 77
For further details see the Hamilton City Council webpage.
The CityWatch NZ’s page covering this by-election can be found at the link below -
Hamilton City Council Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward By-election 2024.
If there is an upcoming local by-election or local politics event you think CityWatch NZ should be covering, email the details to contact@citywatchnz.org
OPEN CONSULTATIONS AND EVENT NOTICES
Second Call for Submissions: P1055 Definitions for gene technology and new breeding techniques
For those concerned with the labeling of genetically engineered, genetically modified, and genome edited food…
Link:
https://consultations.foodstandards.gov.au/fsanz/p1055/
Closes Tuesday 10 September 2024
Biogrow NZ is opposing to the labeling and regulation changes and their perspective can be found at…
https://www.biogro.co.nz/regulation-updates/ge-regulation-how-to-make-a-submission?
“At BioGro, we stand firmly against Proposal P1055, and here’s why:
The proposed shift from a “process-based” to an “outcome-based” definition of GM foods raises significant concerns. This change could compromise transparency, making it more difficult for consumers to identify whether their food has been produced using gene technology.”
Biogrow NZ is opposed to the labeling and regulation changes and their perspective can be found at…
https://www.biogro.co.nz/regulation-updates/ge-regulation-how-to-make-a-submission?
Submissions open on Amendment Paper No 84 to the Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill
For those concerned with how fibre-optic infrastructure is installed and maintained…
“The amendments would alter the Telecommunications Act 2001 (the Act). Provisions introduced into the Act to support the Ultra-Fast Broadband Initiative are set to expire on 1 January 2025. Some of the amendments would:
reinstate, for three years, fibre providers’ rights to enter shared property to install and extend fibre infrastructure
clarify that fibre providers’ rights to enter shared property to maintain fibre infrastructure continue indefinitely
continue to require fibre providers to be members of an approved dispute resolution scheme.”
Link:
Closes midnight on Thursday 19 September 2024.
“Challenging Councils NZ” North Island Tour
Mark Quinn from “Challenging Councils” is doing a North Island tour and giving a number of talks in cities and towns.
The Auckland talk is advertised here which contains the following in the event description…
“…After more than 10 years of LGFA borrowing, many Councils now have debt burden in the hundreds of millions, and some in the billions, and are guarantors for LGFA debt.
Introducing Challenging Councils NZ and its founder, Mark Quinn. With 35 years of experience travelling the country to troubleshoot businesses and companies helping them run more efficiently, Mark brings a down-to-earth facts-based approach to simplify the issues and establish realistic pathways to hold the obligated accountable and challenge fiscal irresponsibility within District and Regional Councils…”
The Auckland talk is on Sunday, 22 September 2024, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, The Tiny Theatre - Garnet Station Cafe, 85 Garnet Road, Westmere · Auckland
Other North Island talks are being organised and we have been informed that further details can be found at https://m.facebook.com/groups/1264660404499165 or https://t.me/CCDiscussions
Posting of event information, petition information, consultation viewpoints, or other content on the CityWatch NZ website or CityWatch NZ newsletter does not necessarily constitute endorsement of those views by CityWatch NZ or its editors. This section is largely based on information readers have sent to us on issues they think are important.
If there is a political/regulatory consultation, petition, or event you think might be of interest to CityWatch NZ readers, email the details to contact@citywatchnz.org
UPCOMING ISSUES
Over the next few months CityWatch NZ will be focusing on the following issues.
Smart Cities and the Smart Cities Council
Auckland Transport’s “Traffic Calming“ and Emergency Vehicles
City Council Surveillance Capabilities and the Push for Road Pricing Schemes (Congestion Charges etc)
Growing Council Debts and Other Council Finance Issues
Three Waters Reforms
The Te Huia Train between Hamilton and Auckland
We have opinion pieces arriving on many of these issues. CityWatch NZ is open to covering many different sides. If you are interested in volunteering an opinion piece or know someone who would write on these issues email content@citywatchnz.org for more information.
The following information has been posted in previous newsletters
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP CITYWATCH NZ?
We need more groups to add to our directories of Local Group Contact Details and Issue-based Group Contact Details. If you know of a local group challenging or engaging with local government or a New Zealand-wide group focused on relevant issues, send them a link to CityWatchNZ.org or ask them to email contact@citywatchnz.org. We will email them a template and ask their permission to add their group to the directory.
As the website grows, and especially as we look at creating regional sub-newsletters, we will need the help of volunteers and contractors. If you have an interest or background in editing or creating content and want to help CityWatchNZ grow, email contact@citywatchnz.org with a brief description of your skill set including whether you are interested in volunteer and/or paid contractor work.
CITYWATCHNZ.ORG WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
CityWatch NZ is running active investigations on various issues and will be continuing to post articles to the website. A number of future explainer articles are being worked on to bring attention to the groups, agendas, policies, and terminology being used to reshape our cities. We are planning on gradually adding more regions to the website (especially those regions with active groups challenging their councils).
We hope to be posting some wins in 2024. CityWatch NZ aims to feature articles and case studies about communities who were successful in resisting or reversing the unwanted changes imposed upon them. These should be more than just brief ‘feel good’ stories and should feature details on tactics and approaches which have been effective. To help enable other New Zealanders to learn from successful groups and campaigns.
It will be helpful if people share CityWatchNZ.org content on social media. Note that Twitter (X) may not like Substack links. If you have a request for features that would help with sharing content on social media or staying up-to-date with CityWatch NZ content, email your suggestions to feedback@citywatchnz.org and we will see what we can do.
THE ‘WHAT IS TO BE DONE’ SERIES OF OPINION PIECES
CityWatch NZ is planning to post a series of ‘What is to be Done’ opinion pieces in 2024. The purpose of this series is to share a wide range of ideas to facilitate solving problems with local government and urban development in New Zealand. Given the many issues facing local government, reforms will be needed in the near future. CityWatch NZ consider it is important that well-informed discussions about underlying problems and proposed reforms take place in a public forum.
If you are interested in volunteering an opinion piece or know of someone who can write on these issues, email content@citywatchnz.org for more information.
SUBSTACK E-NEWSLETTER
At this stage, the plan is to keep the e-Newsletters freely available without needing a paid Substack subscription. We currently email a monthly Substack e-Newsletter summarising content from our website. We are open to feedback and suggestions to help improve the newsletter. We also plan to create a feature whereby people can subscribe to a ‘sub-Substack’ email list; for a different version of the newsletters focusing on specific regions and cities.
Aside from the monthly e-Newsletters, the Substack email list will be used for informing subscribers of time-critical issues. We will endeavor to send these ‘urgent’ emails sparingly. However, projects being rushed-through with minimal consultation is quite normal when dealing with local government. This means that rapid responses may be needed on a variety of issues.
The Substack platform also has other features (such as polls) which could be useful in the future to gain feedback from our readers. We plan to trial the Substack features in 2024.