True life – stranger than fiction
True life can be sometimes stranger than fiction can’t it? Who would have dreamed that I would be back as the councillor for Waitematā & Gulf only a few months ago? Certainly not me....
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‘Revitalising the Gulf’ – our Friends of the Hauraki Gulf submission
Submission on ‘Revitalising the Gulf’ & proposed Hauraki Gulf Protection Bill Introduction The Friends of the Hauraki Gulf Inc (FoHG) is a Waiheke-based conservation organisation with members on Aotea / Great Barrier and Rakino islands...
Turn off AT’s money tap: my letter to Mayor Wayne Brown
19 October 2022 Wayne Brown Mayor-elect of Auckland. Level 27, 135 Albert Street Auckland Central Dear Mr Mayor, As discussed with Mr Matthews am writing in regard to Auckland Transport (AT). Specifically the Inner...
AT – the unaccountable empire at the heart of the Super City
The following article is taken from my speech notes that I gave in introducing the recent mayoral candidates debate on transport organised by PTUA, CBT & NZ Transport 2050.. Transport and the way it...
Fellow Aucklanders. It’s time to take a stand
Many ‘Ponsonby News’ readers like me will have found themselves affected, perhaps surprisingly so, by the news of the passing of the Queen. Affected too by nostalgic memories of her long reign playing on our...
O tempora! O mores! What times! What customs!
If this applied to the Rome of Cicero’s time, it’s even more apt for the Auckland of today. Strange times we live in. Most readers will know by now, I’ve been asked to stand...
Answering the call
Dear ‘Ponsonby News’ readers. I have agreed to come out of retirement to stand again for council. This in response to repeated requests over the last five months from concerned local residents who are...
Auckland’s past and future – well worth fighting for
Auckland Council is currently processing a change to the Unitary Plan, ‘Plan Change 26’. This is especially relevant for the historic townscapes (‘heritage zones’) of Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Herne Bay and Parnell. The plan...
Civic Administration Building fire sale: lose-lose for ratepayers
I guess nothing sums up the incompetence and waste of the Super City than the sorry tale of the Civic Administration Building. Auckland Council’s fire sale of the Civic Administration Building (CAB), 22 levels,...
High-handed Council alienating too many people
What a gorgeous summer it’s been – the ‘Auckland Dream’, the pursuit of which brought me from Wellington when I was 21. Unfortunately it’s not been the happiest summer for everyone in Waitematā. From...