It’s been another great week for New Zealand in our fight to fully eliminate this virus – no new cases have been reported for 7 days and we currently have just 1 active case. This is great news, and a reflection on how well New Zealanders have handled the cautious transition back to ‘normal’ life.
Details of the financial predicament Auckland Council finds itself in as a result of COVID-19 and the lockdown period are now public. Like many of you, we continue to be adversely affected by the necessary public health restrictions and have an income gap of over half a billion dollars to find.
It’s pretty daunting however this week, the Mayor and my fellow Councillors, finalised the details of Auckland Council’s first ever Emergency Budget which seeks to allow us to build for the future, maintain our essential services, and prudently make cuts to our spending.
This is not a situation of our own making, nor is it one of financial mismanagement. In fact, had we not been in such a strong financial position prior to this pandemic, things could definitely have been a lot worse. A few months back, I committed our Value for Money committee to find half-a-billion dollars-worth of savings and efficiencies across council over the three-year term. Now, we are required to do this and so much more.
Many of you have asked, and rightly so, what we are doing to help ourselves.
I understand the need for ratepayers to ask this of us and I believe we have made some very difficult but necessary decisions. For instance, 1100 temporary staff have lost their jobs, consultancy fees have been slashed and a comprehensive review of council’s operating model has begun. This review will see us lose staff to redundancies. Salaries have and will continue to be reduced on a voluntary basis, including the remuneration of elected members, executives, board members and staff from our Council Controlled Organisations, such as Auckland Transport. Training budgets will be drastically reduced, and all other discretionary spending will almost cease.
However, no matter how hard we go with internal cuts we still won’t come close to filling the hole left in our pocket. When you suddenly lose sixty per cent of your business, no single lever will help you recover.
We have some very difficult decisions to make. There is a very delicate balance of promoting economic recovery, supporting those experiencing hardship and ensuring we can continue to offer essential services across the region
The consultation period for this Emergency Budget opened today, Friday 29th May. This is where we need your help – we want to hear your views. The consultation document and supporting documents we approved this week are available online and provide further detail on what we are asking for feedback on.
As well as giving you the opportunity to submit feedback online, we will be holding a series of community webinars via Skype which I’d invite you all to participate in. The format will be a relaxed informal discussion involving the relevant Ward Councillors and subject matter experts. You can submit questions when you register or during the event itself. These will be moderated and put to elected members and subject matter experts by our MC for the evening.
The Central Auckland event is on Tuesday 9th June 6.30-8pm
The session on Rates Postponements is on Monday 8th June 6.30-8pm
The session on the Accommodation Provider Targeted Rate is on Tuesday 16th June 6.30-8pm
Further details and timings of all the events are available here.
I would urge you to take part and submit your feedback online. It’s so important that we get this right which is why we are asking communities across the Auckland region to let us know what is most important to them.
We know many challenges lie ahead of us. But we want to tackle them together, as a city unified. We came together to face the risk COVID-19 posed to the health of our loved ones. Now we must come together to face this resultant economic uncertainty.
As more and more people return to work, those who travel along Tamaki Drive particularly by bus or car will be impacted by the ongoing works on Tamaki Drive. I have received an update on the situation regarding the next stage of works- placement of the rig required to extend the width of the road on the causeway. This was initially going to be placed on Point Resolution Bridge itself but AT have now found that the bridge is unable to support the load. The option of placing the rig on a lane of traffic was not considered as this would require closing Tamaki Drive in one direction which would be unacceptable. Instead, the rig will operate from a barge in the sea.
Staff will be onsite full-time and will monitor traffic flows. They cannot guarantee two lanes in peak hours for the next few weeks. However there is flexibility to open a third lane if unacceptable traffic delays arise as a result of the works. A full update can be viewed here.
On a more positive note, I’m sure you’re all looking forward to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend now that we’re able to get out and about with our friends and families.
The following is a list of things you can do here in Auckland this weekend at venues which have been able to re-open and some links to info on how you can visit them safely at Alert Level 2:
· MOTAT – 50% off entry prices during level 2 - details here
· Auckland Museum – currently hosting the World Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition. The museum will be lit up at night to celebrate Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa (Samoan Language Week)! Details here
· Rainbow’s End is now open with reduced capacity under level 2 – details here.
· Auckland Zoo is open but you MUST book online here
· ASB Showgrounds are hosting a series of Drive-in Movies to give people the cinema experience from the safety of their own vehicles – showings here
· The Maritime Museum is open – details here
· Auckland Art Gallery will re-open its doors on Saturday 13th June. Until then, you can visit Te Uru Art Gallery in Titirangi
· Pools and Leisure Centres – a list of which of council’s pools and leisure centres are able to re-open and when is available here
· A list of which of council’s libraries are able to re-open and when is available here
· Playgrounds across the region are all now open!
Finally despite all this wet weather we’ve been having, staff at Watercare have advised that the levels in our reservoirs have only improved by a few percent over the last week. This means we all need to continue to play our part in conserving water: keep showers under 4 minutes, turn off taps when brushing your teeth, fully load up dishwashers and washing machines and remember not to use outdoor hoses or water-blasters.
Despite all that please, keep smiling and have a safe and relaxing long weekend
Desley