Posts by Joshua Arbury
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This case precisely shows why the s59 repeal was so necessary. It seems fairly plausible that he may have got away with punching his 4 year old in the face under the old laws.
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There is a LOT of sense in aligning the ward boundaries with the local board boundaries. In fact it would be stupid to do anything else. So people should submit demanding 30 councillors - each elected from a ward. And also 30 local boards.
How many people are on each community board at the moment - around 5? That could be the number we end up with on each local board, but perhaps the chairperson of the local board is also a councillor on the main Auckland Council. Sure that would be a lot of work for them, but it would mean that each councillor would be very tied in with their local community and it would give the local boards some real power.
Regarding whether ward/local board boundaries should match up with electorate boundaries, I think the changeability of electorate boundaries means that could be a bit messy. However, on the other hand if each ward area has one councillor then to ensure equality shouldn't they also have a similar population?
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It is a shambles and I think John Key is catching on to that fact. With the majority of people in his own electorate being strongly against the government's proposed Super-City structure I think Key has finally realised that Rodney's lead needs shortening.
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Are they still going sofie?
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Per kilometre the Vic Park Tunnel is VERY expensive. More expensive than the full Waterview Connection per kilometre. The total cost of the Vic Park Tunnel project is around $430 million.
However, most other CMJ work was predicated upon having the Vic Park Tunnel upgraded, and simply doesn't work until that time (like going from Sh16-SH1 northbound in the evening peak and waiting 20 minutes at the ramp signal). However, if the Vic Park Tunnel had been built as a widening of the existing viaduct it would have destroyed even more of Victoria Park. This park is used by people all over Auckland as it is so central.
I don't think it's really a political issue - the Vic Park Tunnel got consent when Labour was in government. It also got confirmed funding at that time, the only thing National has done is not cancel it.
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Sam F, as someone said on another blog:
"If I want to spend $500,000 on a Ferrari but spend $20,000 on a Suzuki because that's all I can afford, have I really saved $480,000?"
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James - I think that's where the $240 million of SH16 upgrades come in. Those apply to 8-laning between St Lukes and Te Atatu. I think there are already plans to 6 lane from Te Atatu to Westgate.
If the SH 20 tunnel ever is upgraded to 6 lanes those lanes will need to go somewhere, so SH16 between St Lukes and Te Atatu might go to 10 lanes and then we'd 8 lane to Westgate, but then we'd need to 6 lane SH18.....
Hmmmm..... anyone else see the problem here?
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Thanks for the kind words Russell. It has certainly been one hell of a week.
The fight has only just begun though. The next important step is to avoid this project being fast-tracked through some 'call in' process that will lock people out of having their voice heard at the local level.
Nick Smith's reading of the RMA Amendment Bill does not fill me with confidence though
The first tranche of reforms deals with projects of national significance. There are real problems in how long it takes to get major infrastructure projects through under the consenting process, particularly as they have to go through a local consenting process and, inevitably, end up at the Environment Court. We need only look at examples—such as the Albany to Pūhoi realignment B2 (ALPURT B2) in Auckland, which took nearly a decade, and the Wellington City bypass, which took 17 years—to see the need for reform.
The tricky balance we need to recognise is that these projects have both a local and a national dimension to them. It is a gross simplification to say they are all either national or local. That is why this bill takes an innovative approach in creating a single board of inquiry, but with the capacity of local authorities to nominate board members on to those boards, and also an amendment to ensure that local knowledge is an important factor. The bill provides for a single-step process that recognises both the local and national dimensions of projects.
The boards will be chaired by a current or retired Environment Court judge to ensure independence. There are tight timelines of 9 months for reaching a decision, and restrained appeal rights, to ensure that we can build important infrastructure for our country.
So... no local hearing, a strict 9 month time limit on the consent process and limited rights of appeal.
Thinking about establishing some sort of "stop the motorway" association - my boss talked to Duncan McDonald from the Avondale Business Association this morning. Anyone else interested?
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Well to be honest I wouldn't build the Avondale-Southdown railway line until after a CBD loop, rail to the airport, turning the northern busway into a railway line AND building a Botany/Howick railway line.
It may be an important freight line in the future, but as for passenger trains generally cross-town routes aren't particularly popular internationally.
We have more pressing rail needs.
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Paul - yes I guess you could run the conspiracy theory argument. But what I don't get in that regards is why the Road Transport Forum doesn't support public transport, as better public transport would surely reduce the congestion which holds up shifting freight?
Sofie - I am a bit worried about the railway designation (more talk on it here: http://transportblog.co.nz/2009/05/14/another-waterview-connection-post/ ). It seems like life will be difficult for Ontrack to ever build the Avondale-Southdown railway line as most of their designation will have been eaten. Maybe NZTA will ensure that their designation is wide enough to provide for a rail alignment, but that might get messy from a legal perspective as NZTA are not the proper requiring authority for railway works (and therefore wouldn't be able to designate for railway purposes).
Richard - there already is a railway designation though. Therefore, if Steven Joyce was interesting in a balanced transport policy he COULD instruct Ontrack to prepare designs for the Avondale-Southdown railway line, put in an Outline Plan of Works to Auckland City and start building the line in a few months time. Easy peasy. Annoyingly, this motorway looks like it will make that task - if it ever happens - much harder.
Rhema - you make an interesting point. What is obvious (now) is that the NLTF can support $1.4 billion in roading expenditure for the Waterview Connection. Given that the cost of building the full tunnels plus the SH16 upgrade would be ($1.98b + $240 million) $2.38 billion, only a billion would need to be borrowed. So therefore financing would only need to be paid on a billion and not on $2.38 billion. Finance costs seem to be around 23% of the construction cost ($550 million of $2.38 billion), so that would mean around $230 million of finance cost would be necessary - not $550 million.
So we add that up and we realise that the full tunnels could be built for $1.98 billion construction, $240 million SH16 upgrade and $230 million financing. That comes to a total of $2.45 billion, not $2.77 billion. There's still a difference of around $1 billion, but not the $1.5 billion rubbish being thrown about.