After 44 days in lockdown, I hope this finds you still coping in your bubbles. No doubt like you, I’m waiting with bated breath to see what will be decided on Monday regarding Auckland Covid levels. While we all wish to keep safe, I do feel for business during this time as so many have been significantly impacted in different ways. I’m hoping for a shift to Alert Level 2 if it’s possible to do so safely.
If there has been one silver lining from these very challenging past 18 months, it has been our recent end of year results. On Tuesday this week, Auckland Council released its Annual Report to the New Zealand stock exchange. It showed an unprecedented level of savings ($126.4 million against our savings target of $120 million), a huge level of capital investment in infrastructure ($2.5 billion which is just $110 million short of our highest ever spend), and an operating budget some $50 million down on the past year. It also showed a reduction of staff across the board in all but two of our CCOs, Watercare and Auckland Transport. The Watercare increase was associated with delivering $1 billion of new water infrastructure, and AT in delivering $1.1 billion in new roads and public transport.
This was all wrapped up with us achieving debt at 17% of the value of our assets – a decrease of 1% compared to the prior year (even though we had a moderate increase in net borrowings) and a credit rating of AA and Aa2 with S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investor Services respectively. It is worth noting that the Council has one of the highest credit ratings in New Zealand.
In summary, we have done what we said we would do, became more efficient and delivered more for less. If you want to read all this in more detail the full report is available on the Auckland Council website
In other news, I know that the government’s proposed Three Waters Reform is receiving a lot of media coverage and continues to be front of mind for a lot of people. I have had countless emails expressing serious concern around the government’s direction on this. I absolutely share those concerns and to be clear, I DO NOT support the government’s direction on Three Waters.
It’s important to note that we haven’t been asked to make an opt-in or opt-out decision at this stage. Councils are currently only being asked for initial feedback on the government’s proposal, to identify areas of concern and suggest ways to improve what has been proposed. Unfortunately, we have not been given a ‘status quo’ option, as a water regulator has already been established.
As part of Auckland Council’s formal INITIAL feedback, on Thursday September 23 we agreed in principle with the outcomes being sought nationally in terms of economies of scale, alternative funding arrangements, and the introduction of an economic regulator. We did not agree with the governance structure.
I am very concerned that the Minister may mandate this, so was keen to keep our discussion going with central government on important issues such as representation from and on behalf of mana whenua.
It is important for you to know that I am absolutely committed to asking Aucklanders for their views on the final Three Waters Reform proposal. To that end, I asked the mayor to amend the draft recommendations at our Governing Body meeting last week to reflect that, and he did. Consultation has come through as a major theme in a lot of the feedback I have received. I really feel very strongly that, given the implications of this reform, we must give our communities an opportunity to have their say. You can read more about my views on this, and decisions made to date here. I’ll keep you posted as to next steps.
Finally, I’m excited to share that our next major regionally funded environmental project has started in Portland Reserve in Remuera. This project was delayed due to COVID, but works have now commenced. The flood-prone stream is being desilted, a new stormwater pipe will be added to the end of Standen Ave, and 15,000 native plants will significantly improve the ecology of the area. In addition, we are planting 26 feature trees to replace the willows which are nearing their end of life and are now regularly taking down power lines when storms come through. Instead of removing the stream silt to landfill as usual, we will be using it to create a land feature in Waitaramoa Reserve, complete with a path and some educational material about the area and local climate matters 💚
As we enter our seventh week in lockdown, I know people are really feeling the impact. Be sure to look out for your bubble’s wellbeing, get out for some fresh air when you can, and please continue to support our local businesses during what is hopefully our last week at Level 3.
Be safe, stay cautious, and let’s support local.
Desley