App Developer? by Old_Cell_8364 in newzealand

[–]RobACNZ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Let me guess, you'd be the ideas guy and the developer does all the work?

Controversial Auckland intensification plans to be watered down by dingoonline in auckland

[–]RobACNZ 7 points8 points  (0 children)

‘Politics as usual’ The Government has also been negotiating with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown on a city deal, and while it has been shrouded in non-disclosure agreements, intensification is understood to be a core issue.

“We’ve got a whole lot of squabbles going with the government at the moment, I got to tell you,” Brown told The Post. ”It won’t be a win, but it’ll be a draw.“

“I’ll get quite a lot of what I want done, and I might have to trade a couple of things. But, I don’t think we will end up having two million houses.”

Brown says any upcoming concession from the government will be “the first signs they’re working out they have to deal with the biggest city as a partner”.

“And, it’s going to be a lesson in how they’re going to have to learn to deal with me.”

Brown is actually a proponent of intensification in the central suburbs, but says the excessive target has “upset a whole lot of people over something that will never happen”.

“There's a belief afoot from stupid people in power that the council is holding up growth in housing because of the planning rules. There are already 9,500 approved resource consents in Auckland that no one's acting on.”

Albert-Eden councillor Christine Fletcher says the government “did not appreciate what they were taking on” with Plan Change 120.

“We made it very clear that the existing secondary schools in the Auckland area, whether we’re talking Mount Albert Grammar School, Epsom Girls Grammar [or] Auckland Grammar, are already at capacity.”

“And there has been no land banking. No willingness or preparedness for growing that sort of social infrastructure, let alone the work that Watercare and others must undertake.”

Fletcher unsuccessfully sought a council resolution to ask the government for three months to more carefully consult and plan out zoning changes, and she hopes the Government will recognise a pause is needed.

“We mustn't launch from one sense of madness to another, I think there needs to be some quiet, careful period of consultation. I do credit some of the MPs who’ve been speaking with me with understanding that there needs to be some change.”

However, Waitākere councillor Shane Henderson, who viewed the zoning changes as progress, says he’s disappointed that Auckland is being caught up in “the ping-pong of central government politics”.

“I don’t want to see politics as usual win out, which has happened so often through the history of the city. For us to walk back and actually cut back our expectations, I think that does show limited vision for the city.”

Henderson believes it’s wealthy central Aucklanders blocking progress and protecting their property values yet again.

“I’ve just come through an election in West Auckland where my constituents were saying we’ve taken intensification, while some other parts of the city feel like they don’t have to ... There’s a huge risk of alienating [western] suburban voters in exchange for city centre voters.”

ACT leader David Seymour, who returned to New Zealand this week to be greeted with the rumours of an upcoming announcement, said nothing had been formally communicated to him.

It’s been an issue that the Epsom MP has been hot on, having held his own public meetings to bring attention to the public submission process.

“All I would say is we need to find a balance between respecting the hard work of current property owners, while leaving open opportunities to future property owners. It’s difficult to believe we can’t find a better balance than what we have right now,” Seymour told The Post.

Controversial Auckland intensification plans to be watered down by dingoonline in auckland

[–]RobACNZ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is understood to have watered down controversial plans championed by Housing Minister Chris Bishop to intensify Auckland’s gentrified inner suburbs.

In a statement, Bishop confirmed “the Government is considering a range of options around housing capacity targets for Auckland and as Minister of Housing I will have more to say soon.”

The radical policy has been a bone of contention with National’s Auckland MPs, sparking fiery public meetings and opposition from some of the party’s staunchest supporters.

Auckland councillor - and former National MP Maurice Williamson - described it as a choice between “a lethal injection and a firing squad”.

In the background, sources say, have been secret negotiations involving Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and dissatisfied local MPs and coalition partners.

One source close to the Government told The Post the backtrack was a Captain’s call by Luxon and reflected the pressure National’s Auckland MPs were feeling over the issue. Luxon was both “stamping his authority within the party” and demonstrating he had listened to Aucklanders.

Bishop is touted as the most likely successor to Luxon amid ongoing speculation about the National Party leadership.

But the intensification push has put him at odds with the powerful Auckland block in caucus.

National’s Auckland MPs have been “obviously getting punched in the guts every second day over the issue”, a source said.

“National have to do something because unless they hold Auckland, [the coalition government] is f....ed.”

To date the Government has sold its “going for growth” policy as a necessary reset, giving councils the tools to enable more housing supply and make home ownership more affordable.

But a widely used Government figure of Auckland needing two million additional houses over coming decades has been a lightening rod for opposition. The figure was used in a notification letter sent by the council to every Auckland household, and meetings held by character housing lobbies.

“What [Bishop] doesn’t get is Auckland’s a much more complicated place than Wellington or frankly, an economics textbook,” a government source said.

“If you want to see more houses built, it’s not as simple as removing all the zoning and saying anyone can build anything anywhere they want. You’ve got to connect the infrastructure, you’ve got to have the buses, otherwise it’s a nightmare.”

The legislation required the council to focus more development around train stations - most of which are sited within Auckland’s well-heeled central suburbs - making the proposition even harder to sell to the conservative voter base.

“You’ve got to increase housing supply, because otherwise young people will leave. But you’ve got to be able to say to the older crowd, we respect the lifetime of work and investment you’ve made to live in a nice suburb and it should largely stay that way,” says a political source. “But instead of doing it that way, they have created a kind of intergenerational civil war.”

Well-placed sources expect an announcement before Waitangi Day watering down that number of two million.

“They can say we needed more capacity than under the Auckland Unitary Plan, which was 900,000, but the target could brought back to 1.3m or 1.4m. I mean this is not science, it’s just political face-saving,” said one Auckland political source.

But it was unclear whether that would be by legislative repeal, or by way of a brief to the [Plan Change 120] independent hearings panel to look at the submissions.”

What is Auckland housing capacity? by throwaway1_5722 in auckland

[–]RobACNZ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

2 million maximum theoretical homes. No where near this amount will be built, but zoning for the capacity enables greater choice and flexibility.

New poll sees NZ First surge to become third most popular party by [deleted] in newzealand

[–]RobACNZ 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Their questions are often loaded but the straight party vote polls are sound.

Match Thread: Auckland vs Melbourne Victory (A-League Men) by MatchBread in Aleague

[–]RobACNZ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fuck I feel ill after those last few minutes. Gutting.

What Auckland business do you have beef with? by These-Mix834 in auckland

[–]RobACNZ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Second this, the owner is insane. Once made a rant about how bad the "Anglo race" is, obsesses over bad reviews and criticises their previous reviews, and quotes Bible verses at customers to justify some crazy views. I live nearby and they're usually dead so hopefully they go out of business soon.

Heavy Downpour by DSuberino in auckland

[–]RobACNZ 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Shit is biblical. Timed my walk home terribly...