August 28, 2024
It can be revealed through the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) that Auckland Council’s urban regeneration arm, Eke Panuku, has spent $126,400 on a two-day event in Pukekohe, South Auckland.
Commenting, Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
“Only last week, councillors up and down the country scoffed at the Prime Minister’s announcement that his government expects councils to focus on must-haves and pull back on projects that are less essential.
“Given that so many are tightening their belts, most Aucklanders would think this is a shocking amount of money just for one local event.
“Eke Panuku has tried to justify the expenditure under the guise of ‘creating community cohesion during a time of significant neighbourhood change’. Perhaps the biggest change facing Aucklanders right now are spikes in local rates bills, and poorer delivery of our most basic services.”
“Once again Eke Panuku fails to demonstrate any fiscal accountability, and only further undermines confidence that they, and other CCOs, can be trusted with spending public money responsibly.
“Recently Mayor Wayne Brown has announced his desire for a major shakeup to CCOs, including the disestablishment of Eke Panuku. When Auckland ratepayers keep hearing about this kind of reckless spending by Council Controlled Organisations, support for his announcement would be a safe bet.”
August 20, 2024
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is welcoming news that the Manurewa Local Board will be the seventh local board in Auckland to allow members of the public to attend workshop meetings, previously hidden from transparency behind closed doors.
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
“For too long ratepayers have been kept in the dark about what goes on behind closed doors. Good governance depends on transparency so that decision makers can be held accountable.
"Previously, councils and local boards have argued that decisions are not made in these workshops, but we have long been concerned that’s exactly what’s happening, and the open meeting is simply a rubber stamp for decisions already made.“
"The threshold for excluding the public from democratic processes should be exceptionally high. It is great to see another local board making openness the default for workshops, but this should have been done along time ago. Other local boards must work quickly to follow Manurewa’s lead.”
August 12, 2024
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through the Local Government Official Information Act that Auckland Transport has spent $455,719 on a series of bike riding lessons, courses and workshops since FY 2023.
Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
“They certainly are taking us for a ride. Most people wouldn’t dream of asking Auckland Transport for a driving lesson, or how to do an oil change – so why does AT think its their job to teach locals to ride bikes or fix chains?
“Pedalling these courses as ‘free’ is taking one too many liberties with the public purse, especially as Aucklanders are facing a series successive of rate hikes over the next few years.
“It’s not free; it actually cost $233,784 in 2023; and $221,935 in 2024. As for 2025, all bets are off. Our advice to Auckland Transport is to put the brakes on these ridiculous courses and focus on actually running a functional transport network."
August 09, 2024
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has today made headlines proposing a restructure into council-controlled organisations (CCOs), including stripping away the planning and strategy functions of Auckland Transport.
What is intended to be a significant shake-up, Mayor Brown contends Auckland Transport would be better to serve only as a delivery agent of transport services, and instead give full control to elected representatives.
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
“Mayor Brown’s proposal is on the mark. Auckland Transport’s independence looked good on paper, but the reality has been something else.
“Deeply embedded within the culture of AT is a we-know-best arrogance that many Aucklanders have come to loathe in recent years.
“An unfortunate misconception exists that the Mayor and his councillors have more control over AT than they actually do. Due to this arm’s-length relationship, the region’s transport provider has had virtually free rein to pursue its own agenda, which seems to be at odds with the wants and needs of most Aucklanders.
“Aucklanders just want the basics done well. No amount of spin from AT will change the feeling of your bus being delayed, your train cancelled, or a $490k raised pedestrian crossing scraping the bottom of your car on your morning commute.
“Restoring a sense of accountability to Auckland Transport is desperately needed to bring the Super City back up to speed.
“We implore Local Government Minister Simeon Brown to work with the Mayor to introduce the legislative change required that would see Auckland Transport stripped of the powers it has used to make things harder for everyday Aucklanders.”
August 08, 2024
An Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance–Curia poll shows 59 percent of respondents want Auckland Transport to be made directly accountable to Auckland’s mayor and councillors. Only 25 percent think it should make its own decisions, and 16 percent were unsure.
Respondents were asked: “Unlike in other parts of New Zealand, Auckland Council does not have direct oversight of Auckland Transport or responsibility for setting the Regional Land Transport Plan that decides on transport infrastructure projects. In Auckland, this is done by the separate Auckland Transport body. Do you think the Auckland Transport should be made directly accountable to the mayor and councillors on Auckland Council or make its own decisions?”
The full polling report can be found here: https://www.ratepayers.nz/at_poll
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
“The current model has been a disaster. Operating with independence from Auckland Council looks good on paper, but certainly not in practice.
“Auckland Transport has instead become its own bureaucracy captured by ideology and largely detached from accountability to elected officials, and ultimately, Auckland ratepayers.
“The outcome has been a barrage of excessively expensive pet projects that are neither practical, nor wanted, by the majority of Aucklanders simply wanting a reliable transport network without all the spin.
“A rethink into how Auckland Transport works is well overdue. Unlike every other council in New Zealand, Auckland Council does not have direct oversight over its own transport provider, nor in setting the Regional Land Transport Plan that decides on transport infrastructure projects."
August 05, 2024
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through the Local Government Official Information Act Auckland Transport has spent more than $157,505 to create and promote its ‘Mix Your Go’ campaign in an attempt to get commuters to vary their chosen modes of transport.
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson Sam Warren commented:
“If they spent less time on comms and more time on improving roads and services, Auckland commuters might actually start trusting Auckland Transport as an agency.
“Instead, vast amounts of time and public resources are put towards marketing campaigns telling us to subscribe to their ideologically driven dribble.
“It’s hardly a mystery. Stick to the basics, do them well, and let the product speak for itself. Because no amount of spin will distract the average commuter from the fact that their train has been cancelled for the third time this week."
Auckland Transport declined to provide information on the costs associated with sign writing the 'Mix Your Go' campaign onto its bus fleet as they are currently under negotiations with their sign writer.
August 01, 2024
In an effort to find savings, Auckland Council’s property agency Eke Panuku was instructed by Mayor Wayne Brown to relocate its office from Wyndham Street to Levels 21 and 22 of Auckland Council’s Albert Street headquarters.
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through the Local Government Official Information Act the cost of moving and renovating was $920,000.
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
"Eke Panuku has long taken ratepayers for a ride. This however destroys any credibility they might have left.
"Eke Panuku blew $685,000 on just one of the floors. This involved things like updating the décor, installing pictorial decals, and opening up the flow and light for desk density for Level 22. How much of this work was necessary?
"A further $280,480 was spent on bathroom upgrades, including fixing some plumbing issues apparently affecting the floor.
"No work has been done to date on the floor below, but given the obscene cost of just one floor, the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has no faith this could ever be done responsibly.
"Remember, this was under the instruction to save money, not spend it. Mayor Brown has gone to lengths to find savings for Aucklanders. When CCOs like Eke Panuku get up to this kind of mischief, the question remains if these agencies can be trusted at all."
June 10, 2024
In a recent Stuff article, Auckland Transport Chief Executive Dean Kimpton says copping blame for ongoing issues 'part of the job'.
Kimpton says, “[we’ve] got 1.7 million customers and 99.9% of the time it’s going really well for them.
“But when the 0.1% goes wrong, it’s attention-grabbing and for many and it’s the only thing they get to see”.
Auckland Ratepayer’s Alliance spokesperson Sam Warren commented:
“Sadly, Auckland Transport has earned its reputation. Even getting just the basics right proves too much of an ask for the organisation.
“Suggesting the network runs the way it should 99.9% of the time is incredulous, even delusional, when considering the recent news that trains are now only coming every 20 minutes during peak hours as a result of ongoing industrial action.
“Anecdotally, seven out of nine staff in our office take public transport either by bus, ferry or rail. It’s now become a running joke around the water cooler each morning as we watch stragglers coming in 20–40 minutes late, without fail. Stepping back, imagine what this costs Auckland businesses each year in efficiency. AT needs to sort themselves out and claw back the trust of Auckland commuters.”
May 20, 2024
Through a Local Government Official Information Act request the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance can reveal that $285,000 has been spent by Local Boards and Tataki Auckland Unlimited to Rebel Business School Aotearoa to train locals to start their own business. $270,000 has been spent to set up these meetings since 2018 with $15,000 spent on a long term impact study.
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman, Sam Warren said:
“Local Boards are showing Aucklanders that the council isn't the only one that knows how to spend large. A long term study wasn’t needed to demonstrate this is a waste of ratepayers' money.
“Rebel Business school provided a 10-day courses resulting in unaccredited certificates that only acknowledges 'the effort they [attendees] put in to attend.' If councils want to get more people starting up new businesses – the first step is to cut wasteful spending and lower rates so people can afford the start-up costs.”
May 17, 2024
Yesterday Auckland Councillors voted on the future of the Super City through the Mayor’s Long-Term Plan, settling on a series of cumulative rate increases, year on year.
Commenting on these increases, Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
“For many Aucklanders, the Council’s decision to increase rates during a cost-of-living crisis will be a hard pill to swallow.
“The Mayor has made strides to keep increases lower than initially proposed, however there is little justification to move rates beyond the level of inflation, considering the culture of wasteful spending we see within Auckland Council.
“Council must go to further lengths to demonstrate it can be responsible with ratepayer funds by cutting back its bloated bureaucracy and return focus to only providing core services before rummaging around in the pockets of Aucklanders."
