The Ross Report – March 2005
Cr Jami-Lee Ross – Manukau City Councillor
Lower Rates Petition:
The Manukau City Council is currently going through its annual planning process and has just spent the past 2 days
discussing a range of options to be included in the draft Annual Plan. Last month it was reported in this newsletter
that rates increases for the 2005/06 year were looking to be around the 5.9 percent mark and that Councillors had a big,
yet relatively easy task, of reducing the Annual Plan budget to honour promises made before the last election.
The elections held in October 2004 had a common theme that many candidates followed and that was to cap future rates
increases to the rate of inflation. 91 percent of people in Manukau voted for a mayoral candidate that promised to
support this position, including the incumbent. Over 70,000 votes were cast in the direction of these candidates and
that is an overwhelming message from the people of Manukau. The Council hasn’t lived up to public expectation so far and
assurances around rating levels have almost been forgotten.
To combat this situation I have launched a protest petition calling on the Manukau City Council to set any future rates
increases no higher than the rate of inflation. It is time for the Council to bite the bullet and show some integrity.
There are literally millions of dollars wasted every year and we have to realise that every activity we go into comes at
a high cost and the ratepayers of this city have to foot the bill. I’m urging every concerned person in Manukau City to
sign the Lower Rates Petition to call on the Council to do the right thing. I, and other Councillors, have tried for
months to reverse the rating situation without any luck.
Only a call from the public body can keep the Council honest and by signing the Lower Rates Petition, ratepayers and
residents will send a clear message to the Council that they are not happy. As a Councillor, I’m angry over some
colleagues’ unwillingness to stick to their word and I am sure there are thousands of people out there that feel the
same way.
Petition forms can be downloaded from http://www.lower-rates.co.nz
High Rise in Howick
In March 2003, Vector Holdings Limited was granted resource consents by the Manukau City Council to demolish and build a
new complex on land at 16 Fencible Drive, the site of the old Howick Library. The overall height of the planned building
was to be 18m high and twice the height of the publicly consulted and agreed upon limit of only 9m. Of course, this
decision attracted a lot of criticism as the Howick community felt outraged at the betrayal by both the Council and
developers. Howick has made loud and clear its dislike of any sort of high-rise developments and the passage of this
particular resource consent spelt disaster for Howick’s treasured history and heritage.
The Howick Ratepayers and Residents Association, lead by Russell Wylie, took the only course of action available and
successfully challenged the decision through the Environment Court. The Environment Court’s decision revealed gaping
holes in Council’s consent processes and Judge C J Thompson expressed concern over the Council’s rather distorted
perception:
“We are a little concerned that what we clearly see about this proposal is so different from what the Council seemed to
see. But this building appears to us to be, in almost every way, totally out of scale and out of sympathy with its
surroundings. Particularly its height, but also its bulk, gives it a dominance that overwhelms and threatens the amenity
of the relatively low scale of what it surrounds.”
The thrust of the argument by the ratepayers’ association was that the Council had ignored specific policies which had
been put in place to protect Howick’s special character and to ensure that developments are in unison with the rest of
the Howick village. Judge Thompson agreed with that view and made the following comments:
“In our view, the effects of the building in those terms are incompatible with [the relative objectives and policies] .
. .The height of the building is quite incompatible with the height and visual character of the surrounding area and
that anticipated by the Plan.”
There is not point having policies, particularly planning ones, if they are to be completely overlooked when put into
practice. Discretion does exist, of course, but the extent to which such discretion is used must be carefully
considered. The ratepayers’ association is still very concerned with the Council’s handling of height and special
character issues in Howick and those concerns have been more than justified by the Environment Court. Mr Wylie will be
making a deputation to the Environment and Urban Design Committee on 17 March at 5pm seeking steps to ensure competent
planning decisions in future cases.
Future of the Garden of Memories:
On Sunday 24 December last year, a fire started in the Torere at the historic Emilia Maud Nixon Garden of Memories. The
Torere was very badly damaged in the fire, although some valuable artefacts were able to be saved. The question now
facing both the Howick community and Council is what steps are to be taken to restore Miss Nixon’s garden and in what
shape or form.
Miss Nixon’s Garden of Memories has a very long history which stretches back for many decades and it is very important
that this history and the wishes of Miss Nixon are taken into account. Before Miss Nixon passed away in 1962, she set
out to create a bicultural heritage facility for the Howick community to enjoy. With both the Torere and Fencible
Cottage (in memory of early pioneers) linked by a Friendship Bridge, her vision was to join two races together on equal
terms.
We now find ourselves at the start of 2005, more than half a century since Miss Nixon’s garden was first foreseen, with
an opportunity to ensure that her vision continues to survive for the benefit of Howick. There are no easy solutions to
this widely debated issue, but the best option for the garden appears to be that the Torere be rebuilt within the same
footprint as before. While some people may wish to see the Torere moved to another location, that option wouldn’t be
inline with Miss Nixon’s intentions. In the same respects, rebuilding the Torere much bigger than before would also be
detrimental to the principle of “two races together on equal terms”.
The fire has been a tragedy for Howick and everybody involved. Now is the time for us to pull together as a community,
put aside racial differences, and work to restore the Emilia Maud Nixon Garden of Memories for future generations to
enjoy.
City Manager’s Pay Increase
A significant decision that was recently debated was the call to adjust City Manager Colin Dale’s level of remuneration
and increase his salary by $36,752. This was to be a very contentious issue especially after the fallout from last year
building consents audit which readers will no doubt be aware of. The 14.7 percent increase brings the City Managers
total fixed remuneration package up to $286,345 (excluding superannuation).
Immediately after the Audit NZ report was presented to the Council in September last year, several Councillors made
moves to censure the City Manager due to the significant deficiencies that the report highlighted. At the time, the
censure motions were defeated as they appeared only as a means of electioneering, but they did point out the fact that
the City Manager is the only council officer that is directly accountable to the elected Council. He has sole discretion
over the employment of Manukau City’s 974 fulltime equivalent staff (up 27 percent since 1999).
Even though the City Manager is charged with so much responsibility and is the only real point of contact for the
elected council, not all Councillors have an automatic right to be involved in matters to do with his employment and
remuneration. Manukau City uses a system where this authority is given to only a select few who comprise the “Executive
Review Panel”, currently Councillors Anne Candy, Neil Morrison, Bob Wichman and Mayor Curtis. This number is less than a
quarter of the full council and some would feel that matters to do with the City Manager should be open for debate and
resolution by all councillors.
The Council did make the decision to re-establish the panel back in November 2004, but it is timely given Colin Dale’s
impending retirement to open this important review panel up to more, if not all Councillors. They have a responsibility
to be accountable to their communities and without input into the executive review club they are reduced to mere rubber
stampers in this area.
In the Council Pipeline…
• Airport signals dividend of up to $28.8million
• Pacific Event Centre opens April 2005
• Manukau Water review – large potential savings for ratepayers
• Council farewells Dr Kathy Garden, Director Strategic Development
• Swimming Pools considered for user charges
• Draft Annual Plan to be adopted 23 March 2005