The felling of a historic Macrocarpa tree in Avondale at the start of 2021 saw heated protest action, which got nationwide media coverage. It felt like a step forward had been taken in tree protection, despite the felling of Big Mac. Elivra Twowbridge decided to make this the subject of her art project.
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She writes: “I was a first-year student at Unitec when I created The People of Big Mac. I wanted to memorialise the existence of Big Mac while also celebrating the people who came together to protect him for as long as they could. Big Mac is still part of the conversation about the importance of mature tree cover in Auckland, even if he is no longer with us. One of these days, there will be legislation to protect them, and I really look forward to when that happens”. 

Recently the Government announced the Three Waters proposals. I have been following this government approach and listening carefully to what is being proposed. I have also listened to other mayors and seen what other cities have done in their approach.  This opinion piece is a personal view after considering ‘what is on the table’.

While it appears some councillors support the government’s objectives in seeking to reform New Zealand’s three waters system, I don’t believe that this proposal should be at the expense of democracy and accountability to the people of Auckland. The matters at hand are about the accountability to our communities and those who have contributed to the existing system.

I have been contacted by constituents across Auckland with real concerns about the governance structure that is proposed by the government. The proposal would remove processes and systems that are in place now whereby Watercare is accountable via Council as a CCO to Aucklanders. That includes board appointments, structures, responsiveness, and reporting.  Watercare has to respond to Council’s Long-term Plans and the strategic direction approved by councillors.  Watercare reports to us, the people, and it should stay that way. After all, we own it; it is a public entity. Watercare’s board are accountable to the people of Auckland through the governance of elected representatives. ‘It should stay that way,’ is what I am hearing from constituents.

The proposed reform by government effectively removes Aucklanders’ governance authority and that is something that our community might like to consider as an option.  As quoted by the mayor, “Despite the fact that 92 per cent of the assets of the new entity would come from Auckland, and Auckland would have approximately 90 per cent of the population served by the new entity, Auckland Council could have just 35 per cent of the representation in the governance of the new entity and would have no direct input into appointing its board.”

Is this acceptable to our communities and our locals? I am being told ‘no’ by many. 

If a new entity is created and it doesn’t respond to the communities that it is meant to serve, and removes a mandate that we currently have to ensure our needs as Aucklanders are put first, then we need to question the process and change. 

Whilst some level of reform is needed, the current proposal needs more work and consultation. As stated by a number of constituents, ‘If this is so important, then let’s have a referendum’. 
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As your Whau Ward Councillor, I am interested in hearing from you about your opinion.

West Auckland is in a privileged position by being asked to think about possible change. In weighing up the decision to vote to remove the monopoly rights or not, the West Auckland community needs to understand what happens now and what a change would lead to.

Under the current settings, we have a community-controlled model for the responsible sale of alcohol in off-licence retail outlets and under tavern licences. A wide range of other providers can sell alcohol as well, including online retailers, breweries, cellar doors, bar restaurants, clubs, and cafes. We have the flexibility to introduce more choice in the current model.

We recently announced a partnership with Liquorland that will see four Liquorland outlets open and operate with Liquorland’s national promotional pricing and its core product range. This will give our customers even greater choice and introduce New Zealand’s number one Flybuys and Airpoints loyalty programmes to the stores. We can also upgrade, change, and improve hospitality offerings that we operate under tavern licences.

In the next 12 months we will significantly upgrade three venues, and there is a longer-term refurbishment plan in place for the rest of the hospitality portfolio. We are also actively pursuing new opportunities to increase our hospitality portfolio with modern pubs that are firmly focused on the future. We can work to control our operating costs to increase the profit we use to support community initiatives, which we are also doing.

It is easy to claim this debate is just about changing what happens. But it is really about choosing the kind of community we want to live in, and whether or not we want to create wider social benefits from our local businesses.

In the current model, what we are striving to deliver is a community where people can access alcohol for their enjoyment, but with some safeguards in place so that we don’t create, or exacerbate, alcohol-related problems. And we also share the surplus profits generated in our businesses back to the community.

So, what would change look like? You would be likely to see alcohol in supermarkets, and maybe some hospitality operators would explore the viability of new tavern-licenced venues in the community.
What you would also see is an explosion in standalone bottle stores.

A recent Radio New Zealand interview with Alcohol Health Watch noted that over 80% of alcohol in New Zealand is purchased from off-licences. Licence data shows that just under half of the 965 off-licences in the Auckland district licensing region are bottle stores.

In my previous role at Masterton Licensing Trust, I was informed by the then long-standing CEO and President of the impact from the loss of the region’s monopoly rights. Practically overnight, there was a significant increase in bottle stores and all supermarkets in the area applied for liquor licences which were approved by council. The profit from the new venues that opened went straight back to the large companies and owner/operators involved. Masterton outlets experienced a significant decline in sales and in the value that it could deliver back to the community.

There is nothing in the current debate, and nothing about West Auckland, that suggests we would experience a different outcome. In a climate where more questions are being asked than they ever have before about whether New Zealand’s alcohol sales regulatory settings are fit for purpose - to the point where the Minister of Justice himself has indicated the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 needs review - it certainly seems out of step to be calling for a more relaxed approach in West Auckland.

Removing the licensing trust model is an irreversible choice with long term consequences around access to alcohol and community benefits. It is a big decision, and one that we encourage the citizens of West Auckland to consider carefully, by listening to all sides of the arguments.

The current model is not perfect, but we are working hard to improve, and we remain steadfastly committed to our reason for being, which is to ensure the responsible sale of alcohol in West Auckland on behalf of the community, and the return of surplus profit back into the community.
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Allan Pollard, C.E.O. West Auckland Trust Services

The beating heart of the Whau arts scene is set to get a fresh injection of energy following the appointment of Janet Lilo and Jody Yawa McMillan to the Whau Arts Broker role.

Previously held by Melissa Laing for the past seven years, the role plays a crucial part in developing and funding arts programmes in the Whau, and is funded by Whau Local Board.

Janet and Jody are familiar faces in the Whau arts scene and have a wealth of experience, including Whau the People, a grassroots community organisation established to work with creatives in our backyard. They value the connections, creativity, and deep store of knowledge present in the Whau community.

Whau Local Board Deputy Chair Fasitua Amosa welcomes the appointment. “The arts broker role plays a significant role in the vibrant arts scene in Whau and has become something of an institution,” he says.
“So many amazing projects that give so much to the community have come about as a direct result of the broker position; the board knows how valuable it is. So, our thanks and best wishes go to Melissa for the wonderful work she has done, and congratulations to Janet and Jody; we can’t wait to see you get started!”

The new brokers are already in the role and are looking forward to the new adventure.

“We are both passionate about arts and have really seen the benefit that the broker role has brought to the area. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in and getting exciting projects off the ground!” says Janet.
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Jody agrees. “It’s a really exciting time for arts in the Whau, so many creative projects and groups are everywhere and it’s brilliant that we will be in a position to help facilitate those projects and programmes.”
Visit artswhau.org.nz to find out more about the broker role and how to get your arts project off the ground in the Whau.

The Whau River Catchment Trust (WRCT) needs your help with planting native plants when we hit Level 2. Are you up for it?

We got off to a great start and managed to plant several thousand plants before lockdown. But we still have 15,000 to plant, and depending on rainfall, planting season finishes late October/early November. Planting too late can lead to heavy losses of young plants as they will not have had sufficient time to develop good root systems before summer.

Once we are at Alert Level 2, we will hold a community volunteer planting day each Saturday from 10am to 12pm, until the planting season ends. If you miss one event there is always another opportunity to join on another Saturday.

Every plant that you put in the ground plays an important role in the wildlife ecosystem. Whether providing food, shelter or even leaf litter, native birds, reptiles, and insects will all thrive with the habitats created by the plants.

Not only will you be helping nature, but you will also benefit from the outdoor activity. Fresh air and exercise are good for our wellbeing, physically, emotionally, and by lifting our spirits; just the therapy we need at times like these.

If you are keen to help, please email us at info@whauriver.org.nz and leave an expression of interest.
Stay safe and we hope to see you at Level 2.
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Justine Newnham
Whau River Catchment Trust

Have you ever broken your jaw?  If so, we know you went through a tough time as it healed. Eating would have been a challenge!

Imagine how a broken jaw in a bird must feel. Eating is impossible and unless the bird is admitted into a rehabilitation facility, it would not survive.

Thankfully, when a kererū arrived recently with just such an injury, our team knew just what to do. Its upper and lower jaw bones were broken on one side, probably from flying into a window or being hit by a car.  

The BirdCare Aotearoa team swung into action and performed surgery to help this beautiful bird. First an oesophageal tube was inserted into its stomach through an incision in its neck, allowing food and medications to be gently put directly into the bird’s stomach while letting the fractures heal. Next, the beak was taped together, helping the bones to heal in the proper position, just as a cast on your arm would. ​

Now we wait. Within a week, this bird’s fractures will have formed a solid callus that means we can remove the tube and tape. In the meantime, the kererū is resting comfortably in one of two beautiful incubators which were gratefully purchased with funds raised at an event at the Titirangi Theatre.

Here at the centre, we never know what will come in, and even through lockdown we have received between 10 and 20 birds daily. Our facility has undergone significant changes to make it a professional bird hospital, meaning our team is able to cope with most mishaps that befall our wonderful, feathered neighbours.

Baby Birds
During lockdown we have been preparing for spring and the influx of hundreds of baby birds. We do hope they can stay with their own parents as they really do the best job; however, if that is not possible, we are able to care for them here. If you find a baby bird and cannot see where it came from, please keep it warm and bring it to BirdCare Aotearoa. If you need to hold it overnight, do NOT feed it; instead, keep it warm, quiet, and comfy in a box lined with towelling, in your hot water closet. Bring it in as soon as possible in the morning, or take it to the nearest emergency vet clinic. 

Lynn Miller, CWR PhD
General Manager,
BirdCare Aotearoa

A review panel was established in response to public disquiet about the performance and accountability of Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs). The CCOs are Auckland Transport, Auckland Unlimited (formerly ATEED and Regional Facilities), Eke Panuku Development Auckland, and Watercare. The independent panel reported back in 2020 and all 64 recommendations were adopted.

This has now come down to an engagement plan with each of the 21 local boards, to promote better communication between the boards and each of the CCOs. This is intended to help CCOs have more regard to local boards’ plan outcomes, improve communications, and keep up to date with intended work programs.
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In return, the CCOs get a ‘no surprises’ agreement, where any local body concerns must be addressed through agreed single point of contact managers and advise if they are planning to speak to the media on a CCO related matter. This also means that local boards must direct questions about a CCO’s activities to either a local area manager or to the CCO’s elected member liaison so that consistent responses are given.
With the vast communications and PR resources available to Council and CCOs, this appears to be another move to tighten up on the flow of information and to control the narrative about council activity, even down to local board level.

All 21 local boards were requested to agree to and sign up to the engagement plan. Whau Local Board voted unanimously to agree and signed off on this at their July business meeting. 

New Lynn has very little built heritage left standing. Currently, there are a few houses that have a planning overlay of historical heritage. Now a developer wants to build on one of these sites, treating it much like any other.

The circa early 1920s brick bungalow at 12 Hutchinson Ave is under threat from a redevelopment of the section to accommodate four new townhouses. Despite Council’s advice at a preliminary meeting that the scale of the development was inappropriate for a heritage site and recommending only two to three townhouses, the developer has gone ahead with an application to build four townhouses behind the existing house.

12 Hutchinson is one of six dwellings surviving from Hetana Hamlet. This was an early council attempt to subdivide the land and attract workers away from the rather squalid conditions of the central city in 1902. All six remaining houses and their entire sections have a historical heritage overlay. However, this has not deterred the applicant from seeking to subdivide the 1012m2 site into five lots.

One positive is the developer’s willingness to do a proper conservation restoration of the exterior of the original house before starting work on the townhouses. A negative is moving the driveway, which involves removing part of the heritage-scheduled brick front wall.

Rebecca Fox, Team Leader, Built Heritage Implementation Team at Auckland Council, discussed the proposal. Her preliminary advice was as follows:

“The new townhouses impact not only the historic house but also neighbours, especially those who will lose sunlight from the non-complying buildings one metre from their northern boundary.
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“From a heritage perspective, this is too much development for the site. The new four-unit development overwhelms the heritage building and detracts from its heritage values. I would not be able to support it in its current form”.

Submissions to the notified resource closed in August, and a decision is pending.

Constable Sam Holland has been a Community Constable based in the local New Lynn community station for the last year and a half. His role is to be visible, accessible, and familiar to the community and to focus on problem-solving and crime prevention at a local level.

He is part of a local policing strategy that includes a three-person Community Policing Team – or in older language, a ‘beat team’ who do foot patrols in the New Lynn town centre. They also cover other local shopping centres such as Titirangi, Green Bay and Glen Eden.

For more intensive issues, the Area Prevention Unit (APU), based in Henderson, can intervene. This high visibility unit can work at a household level and be part of the solution where social issues are evident. The APU is a proactive policing unit who target problem hot spots crime and focus their work around prevention policing activity in West Auckland. The unit was re-established after a recess during the first Covid crisis.

Local people can also help with community safety. Māori and Pacific Wardens help with events and sports fixtures, as well as patrolling town centres.
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Community Patrol New Zealand (CPNZ) is another volunteer group active in parts of the Whau. They are trained to be observers who conduct mobile patrols of known risk areas. They report any issues to the police for further action. More volunteers are needed to make these patrols more frequent and effective. To find out more, go to www.cpnz.org.nz

Grace Nweke’s latest milestone on her meteoric rise was her first game as a Silver Fern. With a loss to England of 55-45, it was not the spectacular debut that many were hoping for. Grace came on in the second half, just as England’s Roses were ascending, playing a tight disciplined game. Simultaneously, the Silver Ferns had lost momentum and were becoming more disjointed. The passes to Grace were often too short or too deep, so she didn’t get as much ball as she could have done. Despite that, she got 16 goals out of 20 shots. That 80% rate reflected some nervousness at the step up to international competition. It is lower than her success rate in the ANZ Premiership which was 90% and 852 goals.

Grace and her twin brother were born in NZ. She is one of six children, including two sets of twins. Her Nigerian parents, Fortune and Chidinma, immigrated here, via South Korea. “My dad always tells me they were living in South Korea the year Helen Clark came for a visit. He saw pictures of New Zealand in the newspaper and thought ‘Wow, what a beautiful place to raise a family’,” Grace Nweke says. “Before they knew it, they were on a plane to New Zealand.”

Grace Got an Aspire Scholarship for years 9 & 10 for AGC Sunderland in Henderson. Other than that, she did all her education in the Whau. Starting at New Lynn Kindergarten she went on to New Lynn Primary School. Then it was onto Blockhouse Bay Intermediate, ACG Sunderland and finally Avondale College.
After making a start playing netball in Y4 at New Lynn Primary, Grace went on to make the top team at Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School. In Y8, she missed out on the top netball team. At Avondale College in year 11, she gave basketball a go. That didn’t work out so well when she played like it was netball, stopping and standing under the hoop to shoot. In year 12 she was in AvCol’s premier team, being coached by Racheal Rasmussen. Racheal was a NZ U21 world champion.

At only 16 years old and a student at Avondale, Grace was spotted by Helene Wilson at the national U17 tournament and later at the North Island School championship.  “I saw her holding and creating space for herself to catch the ball,” Wilson says. “And I could see she had a really long arm span, that she could jump, and catch the ball at the height of the hoop. “Those are things you can’t coach a player to do; she does them instinctively. I knew I could work with that and make her into a high-performance netball player.”

After consultation with her parents, teachers and coaches, Grace was invited to become a Mystics training partner. That is when she really came into the public eye. At 16, she was nervous on her first day with the Mystics. “I’ve always struggled coming into new team environments, not knowing anyone,” Grace says. “I was dropping all the balls and stepping. I couldn’t pass properly. I was second-guessing myself.”

Grace met her idol, Irene van Dyke, at a national development camp. “She’s gorgeous and so humble,” van Dyk said at the time. “She’s honestly like a sponge – everything you ask her to try, she gives 100 percent. She needs to stay grounded and do a lot of shooting so it becomes comfortable, and work on her range and movement in the circle. She has so much to learn about, but with her pure natural ability, she’s carving it up already. The sky is the limit for this chick!”

This year saw Grace dominate at the ANZ Premiership, helping propel the Mystics to the grand final win. She made 58 out of 62 shots. Then she got the rebound three of the four times she missed. Her coach, Helene Wilson says, “In the two and a half to three years that we've had her, to come from being someone who didn't feel like they belonged in this high-performance environment to where she was today, I just think that is a testament to her ability to learn, but also her maturity to have performance conversations with the girls.”
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Now Grace is with the Silver Ferns, we can look forward to her really finding her feet after the nervous start, and successfully growing into her role in the team. Her dad and family are very proud of her as she represents well the community that she grew up in.