COVID update. After a few days of no new cases in the community, we will know on Monday 21 September whether the Government will move Auckland from Alert Level 2.5 down to Alert Level 2 from 11:59pm on Wednesday 23 September. The significance of this move would be that restrictions on gatherings (10 people) and funerals (50 people) would be lifted.
As always, the latest information can be found on the government’s COVID-19 website.
This week (14-20th September) is Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week. In this week’s meetings, I have endeavoured to use as much Te Reo Māori as I can. I know I used to feel unsure about speaking it as I wasn’t confident in my pronunciation – but this week has been a great time to give it a go!
As some of you will have read on my facebook page, I’ve been doing some research into the origins of Ōrākei place names. It’s a fascinating way to explore our area’s rich history. Look out for some more examples like the one below on my social media over the next few weeks.
What local bay has Ōrākei Ward’s longest name? It’s Whakatakataka Bay. The Māori name is even longer: Onepuwhakatakataka, which means ‘the beach where one slipped or lost footing’. Apparently (c. 1680) a Ngāti Whātua taua (war party) under Kawharu attacked the associated paa of Pokanoa overlooking what is now known as Hobson Bay. Several escapees slipped onto the beach at this place and were caught in an ambuscade of the foreshore, hence the name.
In previous newsletters, I have spoken about the Emergency Budget 2020/2021, passed at the end of July, which sought to address the half-a-billion dollar funding shortfall resulting from COVID-19 and the lockdown, while ensuring Auckland Council could continue to operate and provide important services to the region and its residents. As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, the full impacts on council are not certain. Council staff are carefully monitoring progress and reporting monthly to my Finance and Performance Committee.
Yesterday we received the August update including progress against our savings target and our Value for Money programme. We continue to make good progress towards Councils highest ever savings target of $120million – in the month of August a further $14million was saved bringing us to $69million so far. Some of these savings include organisational design changes; reduced spending on outsourcing and professional services and staff reduction initiatives.
The Value for Money Programme focusses on being more efficient, cutting costs by removing duplication, improving processes, investing in technologies and employing smarter ways of working. Currently realisation is sitting at just over $90million.
As of Monday 14th September, requirements to observe physical distancing on public transport will be relaxed, which will allow buses and trains to run at capacity. Passengers are asked to continue boarding buses from the rear door to reduce contact with the driver. Stickers and posters may still be present in some instances – please be patient with the operators as they remove these.
Remember that wearing a mask or face covering remains mandatory on all buses, trains, ferries and domestic flights and also that off-peak travel continues to receive 30% discounts. Further details of the current public transport rules and the off-peak discount are available here.
As I’ve mentioned in the last few newsletters, KiwiRail is undertaking urgent rail repair and replacement on the Auckland network, and for the past month the Eastern Line has been closed to trains. Over this time, they have made steady progress with nearly 17km of new rail laid and 19,000 sleepers replaced. The good news is – the Eastern Line will reopen to trains on Monday 21st!
However, from Monday 21st September the Southern Line will be closed between Penrose and Newmarket for four weeks. KiwiRail are currently developing a programme that will see the work progressively move along the Southern Line over the next three months, before moving to the Western Line. KiwiRail have acknowledged the impact this has on public transport users and are working closely with Auckland Transport to manage this work to minimise overall disruption to rail passengers. I will continue to share updates with you as the project progresses.
Quay Street’s eastbound lane between Lower Hobson Street and Queens Wharf remains closed to traffic, in order to speed up progress of the Downtown Programme. Despite delays caused by COVID-19, the programme is currently around 65 per cent complete with the seven projects being completed progressively through the final quarter of 2020 and the first half of 2021. Orakei Ward commuters can still come into city centre using Quay Street but need to use Customs Street (or another Eastern route) to get home. Hope you have google maps, it’s all a bit chaotic.
Stay safe out there.
Desley