Pippa Coom, Author at Pippa Coom

As cities across the world adopt safer speeds, Auckland is alone in abandoning them

Media release

28 May 2025

As cities across the world adopt safer speeds, Auckland is alone in abandoning them

An international road safety expert based in Auckland condemns the city’s move to raise speed limits across over a thousand residential streets, town centres, and major public transport hubs.

“No other city in the world is ignoring the evidence and changing speed limits like this, let alone spending millions of dollars to make streets deliberately more dangerous and less efficient,” says Lennart Nout, director of Mobycon Pacific and international expert on street design. “Auckland Transport’s rush to reverse safe speeds at this scale is unprecedented in a global setting. It goes against not only many of Auckland’s own plans and policies, but against international trends and the huge body of evidence confirming the benefits of reduced speed limits on residential streets.”

Mr Nout joins a growing alliance of leading road safety experts and transport advocates who are calling on Auckland’s Mayor to urgently intervene and halt any further speed limit reversals. This will prevent Auckland Transport wasting millions of dollars on making Auckland’s streets less safe, less healthy, and less efficient. In addition over 400 people have signed an open letter to the Minister and Auckland Transport to let Aucklanders keep safe speeds.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Pippa Coom, All Aboard Aotearoa adviser and former Auckland Councillor, says “Auckland’s leaders have a responsibility to urgently call a halt on the speed raises. This will allow time for a full assessment of the safety implications and impact on communities, and will give Auckland Transport the opportunity to apply the safer NZTA-approved approach used by other cities to keep their people safe.”

Upside down variable speed sign and a 50kmh sign on the approach to a school crossing in the Pt Chevalier

“For months, we have been alerting AT’s Board and CEO to multiple red flags that show their approach to the Speed Rule makes no sense. With incoherent and incomprehensible signage now appearing on our streets, everyone can see an urgent halt is needed before it is too late. Only today a sign has been installed upside down amid a mix of contradictory speed limits around a school in the suburb of Pt Chevalier.”

“There is no doubt that AT’s actions will lead to increased road trauma, as the safer speeds currently being removed were forecast to avoid 564 Deaths and Serious Injuries (DSI) over 10 years. Other cities have found a pragmatic and sensible approach to the Speed Rule – what’s Auckland Transport’s excuse?” says Ms Coom.

“By rushing through reversions to higher speeds in our neighbourhoods, around our schools, transport hubs and town centres, AT’s leadership and their traffic engineers are directly contravening their statutory responsibilities and ethical duty to maintain a safe transport network and to reduce risks,” says Greater Auckland’s Connor Sharp. “Instead, AT is creating a Kafkaesque road safety nightmare.”

“Moreover, this is very publicly sabotaging major new investment in City Rail Link, public transport and cycling infrastructure, by raising speeds in large swathes of Meadowbank, Maungawhau, Pt Chevalier, Avondale, Homai, Te Atatū South and elsewhere [as covered in detail here by Greater Auckland]. This will produce worse urban environments with deadly consequences,” says Mr Sharp.

Mr Nout notes that Auckland is completely alone in its policy of raising speed limits. “No other city in the world is actively working on making vehicle traffic go faster, specifically targeting residential streets. Quite the opposite: cities around the world, like Paris, London and Toronto are choosing to calm traffic, not just to reduce injuries and deaths, but to create healthier, more pleasant neighbourhoods. These cities are finding that there are no downsides to reducing the speed limit. Traffic flows just as well, quality of life improves and more people choose to walk and ride. In London for example, on the streets in areas where the speed limit was reduced, the number of deaths and serious injuries dropped by a staggering 34%. That makes these measures extremely cost-effective.”

“The current trajectory is not just dangerous, it’s internationally embarrassing. A swift and sensible solution is needed before our city becomes a global laughing stock,” says Ms Coom. “Those who are responsible for Auckland’s roads must step away from this sorry path, which will harm people who live here and people who visit here. We call on the Mayor, AT and the Minister to take immediate restorative action to keep our streets safe and welcoming for all.”

ENDS

Contacts

Lennart Nout – Director of Mobycon Pacific – 028 8514 8050
Pippa Coom, All Aboard Aotearoa Adviser and former Auckland Councillor – 022 3938763
Connor Sharp, Greater Auckland spokesperson – 021 179 5729

Incoherent variable speed sign, Avondale

The Great North Road upgrade project is underway after a 10 year saga

First published in The Spinoff (NOTE: this is the Spinoff’s heading and the image used by the Spinoff is of the community-led vision commissioned by the Grey Lynn Residents Association and not the final design which is available on the AT website.)

The Great North Road upgrade is a triumph for AT – whether the mayor likes it or not

A small stretch of road has come to define the struggle for control between Wayne Brown and Auckland Transport. With work on the upgrade project finally under way, former councillor Pippa Coom looks back at the contentious 10-year saga.

A roadside karakia blessing last Monday marked the official start of the long-delayed Great North Road improvement project . For many of us assembled at dawn, the overwhelming emotion was relief that the wrangling was finally over. After years of delay, Aucklanders are getting an exemplary design that delivers multiple upgrades for the price of one. Even better, it tackles head-on the various grumbles floating around regarding transport in Auckland, by leveraging existing budgets to get bang for AT’s buck while delivering a project which is what the community actually wants.

And yet, the mayor wasn’t there at the photo op to wish Great North Road well. Why not? To explain that, we need to zoom out. The mayor ended 2024 on a high note by delivering on his campaign promise of “Auckland taking back control”. Transport minister Simeon Brown confirmed legislative support for ending the statutory independence of AT, and councillors have unanimously backed the mayor to start the structural changes needed to regain control of this council-controlled organisation.

The Great North Road upgrade has long been one of the mayor’s favourite punching bags, Last year he said it was an example of AT’s stubborn refusal to listen to reason on the vexed issue of raised crossings; in 2023, he called the road’s cycleway “the worst waste of money I have ever seen”.

He got it wrong. In fact, the Great North Road upgrade shows AT at its best, responding to community needs and interests while cleverly leveraging a tight budget and planning for a more resilient future – exactly as directed by council. At the same time, the project has been beset by shameful delays due to political meddling and the undue influence of a handful of vocal opponents.

It’s taken 10 years for this project to even make it to the starting line. In 2015, prime minister John Key’s Urban Cycleway Programme funded a redesign of Great North Road as part of a package of Inner West improvements. Work was finally set to commence in late 2022, when the mayor and councillor Mike Lee (backed by Communities & Residents, aka C&R) attempted to bypass lawful council processes. Against the wishes of the community, they directed AT to halt the projects.

Their last-ditch opposition ran roughshod over a decade of planning and repeated supportive public consultations. The mayor appears to have formed his position based on the feedback of cycleway “saboteurs”, along with his preference for riding on the footpath when he doesn’t feel safe on the road.

He’s not wrong to worry about safety. In early 2023, shortly after the mayor was photographed cycling on the footpath past St Joseph’s School on Great North Road, an errant driver crashed into the bus shelter, taking out a section of school fence and two nearby trees.

Everyone who travels this stretch of road deserves to arrive in one piece. So, while it was a relief to attend the dawn karakia marking the start of the improvements at last, it was a shame the mayor didn’t make it, nor the local ward councillor and C&R reps.

AT CEO Dean Kimpton speaks after the karakia blessing led by Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei’s CeeJ Gilbert and Mervyn Kerehoma (Photo: Pippa Coom)

Had the mayor been there, he might finally have been convinced to stop beating AT up about this long-awaited project and others like it. The Great North Road upgrade represents great value for money, using a “dig once” approach to leverage the regular maintenance budget. Century-old water pipes have already been replaced as part of the enabling work. Next comes the repair of the crumbling road surface (sections of which are old enough to vote), during which AT’s contractor will take the opportunity to install dynamic bus lanes and add 200 trees.

In an ideal world, transport planning and street design help guide how the surrounding land is developed, who lives there, and how they get around. Unfortunately, this project is playing very belated catch-up – finally creating a smart and efficient boulevard fit for the thousands of people who live on the ridge, and the many more set to join them.

Once the project is completed, the transporter trucks that serve Great North Road’s remaining car yards will finally be able to operate legally, taking advantage of new loading zones rather than parking across bus stops or on the flush median. Children at local schools will gain safer crossings, and dedicated bike lanes will enable more to bike-commute from the Inner West. Everyone, including drivers, will benefit from better street design, with raised tables across side streets boosting visibility and accessibility for all.

It shouldn’t have been so hard to get to this point, given the strong community support. Over 50 organisations, including the Grey Lynn Residents’ Association, three local business associations, seven local schools, and other groups, have begged AT to get on with it – with delegations from the schools pleading the case again and again.

Having made their needs and interests crystal clear, all these Aucklanders deserved enthusiastic political backing that directed AT towards fuss-free delivery. Instead, the Grey Lynn community faced years of exhausting campaigning to keep the project alive – through deliberations by the local board, council, the AT board, and repeated attempts by the mayor to defund the project right up to the 11th hour.

In this context, AT’s board and its CEO Dean Kimpton deserve congratulations for delivering the promised project, and for not allowing political interference to override expert design and community will. They should be applauded for their tenacity. The mayor and the ward councillor should have been at the dawn blessing, with smiles and handshakes all round.

As the AT reforms roll out and Auckland gears up for the local government election this year, let’s keep the saga of Great North Road in mind. More direct political accountability and more local decision-making sounds great. But being “back in local control” of transport must lead to confident, timely delivery of real wins for all Aucklanders – not a hollowed-out organisation that succumbs to the ideological whims and dictates of the mayor and minister of the day

Submission in opposition to the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill 2024

UPDATED AND SENT 4 JANUARY 2025

Submissions can be made on the Bill until 11.59pm on 7 January 2025.

My submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill 2024

Introduction

I have read the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill 2024 (the Bill). I oppose the Bill.

The Bill has been promoted as an opportunity to have a “national conversation” on the place of the principles in our constitutional arrangements. I agree that public debate is needed and a shared understanding of why The Treaty of Waitangi/ Te Tiriti is a significant foundational document of Aotearoa New Zealand. That debate must start with and be informed by Te Tiriti. It needs to be a debate based on good faith, with accurate information and undertaken with the full involvement of Māori.

The Bill’s principles as drafted bear no resemblance to Te Tiriti and is an attempt to rewrite the Treaty articles. The promoters of the Bill have deliberately skewered the debate. Te Tiriti is not a threat to the basic rights enjoyed by all New Zealanders. Equality is already safeguarded in New Zealand law, including through the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The Bill of Rights makes clear in s 19(2) that sometimes people need to be treated differently in order to achieve equality.

All New Zealanders benefit from Te Tiriti as it provides a place for everyone to belong, allows for respectful relationships to flourish and ensures a strong and just foundation for lasting decision making.

My Background

I am making this submission in my personal capacity. I immigrated to Aotearoa from the UK with my family at the age of 14. I consider myself to be Tangata Tiriti. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to study The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi first at Auckland Girls’ Grammar School in history classes and then as part of my law degree from the University of Otago. As a solicitor at the Ministry of Fisheries (now part of MPI) I was responsible for delivering staff “Treaty Training” led by the late Sir Wira Gardiner. I attended Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi in 2018 for the first time. I would recommend this amazing experience of kotahitanga to all New Zealanders.

I have found that non-Māori often lack basic knowledge about Aotearoa New Zealand’s history and are not familiar with the articles or principles of the Treaty or how it came to be signed. Promoters of the Bill are exploiting this information gap to stir up baseless anxiety and fear about the status of Te Tiriti and a distorted view of the benefits and rights provided by Te Tiriti.

There is also a lack of understanding regarding the harm caused since 1840 as a result of the Crown breaching Te Tiriti and the huge loss that has been suffered by Māori, including land confiscation, disruption of their social structures, and erosion of their culture.

I took part in the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti in Tāmaki Makarau because I am deeply concerned with the lasting damage the Bill will cause and the escalating attacks on Te Tiriti and the undermining of indigenous rights. I saw this in action first hand as co-chair of the Hauraki Gulf Forum (2020-2022) when individuals associated with Hobson Pledge and Democracy Now mounted a misinformation campaign via an astro-turf group (Gulf Users Group) set up by Franks Oglivie. This group made baseless and harmful claims that the Forum’s co-governance advocacy would result in a loss of rights to access the Gulf. Supporters and funders of the Treaty Principles Bill are using many of the same tactics to create fear and division in the name of “equality”.

As I have experienced as a former Auckland Councillor, Te Tiriti relationships are in fact a source of strength and lasting decision making that requires the parties to keep working together with respect and in good faith.

Reasons to oppose the Bill

There are many reasons to condemn and reject the Bill. It has followed a fundamentally flawed process and seeks to negatively undermine in the most damaging way our constitutional document. It is being promoted as providing “equality” when in fact Te Tiriti is not a threat to the basic rights enjoyed by all New Zealanders. The Bill will create uncertainty, result in unnecessary cost and undermine social cohesion. The Bill has multiple substantive problems that have been well canvassed by a wide range of experts.

In summary I strongly oppose the Bill for the following reasons:

The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a binding agreement between the Crown and Māori which is fundamental to New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.
It is undermining to NZ’s democracy for a government to unilaterally alter a binding agreement especially without the agreement of Māori as the Treaty partner. The approach that has been taken to the Bill offends against justice, and is deliberately inflammatory. As Dame Jenny Shipley has said this is irresponsible politics, and extremely divisive.
The existing “Treaty Principles” have been developed and applied by the Courts over the past 50 years in particular the principle of partnership.
By progressing the Bill the Crown is breaching the Treaty Principles of partnership and reciprocity, active protection, good government, equity, redress, and the Article 2 guarantee of rangatiratanga.
The Bill has come about through an incredibly poor process. It has been drafted without any consultation with the original parties to the agreement. That’s fundamentally unjust, as 42 King’s Counsel have warned.
The Bill does not reflect any credible interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, or the principles based on either text.
The new Treaty Principles are purported to reflect the three Articles of Te Tiriti but do not do that at all. By imposing a contested definition of the three articles, the Bill seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself.
The Bill’s undermining of Article 2, which affirms the continuing exercise of tino rangatiratanga is particularly concerning. An interpretation of Article 2 that does not recognise the collective rights held by iwi and hapū, or the distinct status of Māori as the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, calls into question the very purpose of the Treaty and its status in our constitutional arrangements.
The Bill is divisive and harmful. It will reduce the constitutional status of the Treaty/Te Tiriti, remove its effect in law as currently recognised in Treaty clauses, limit Māori rights and Crown obligations, hinder Māori access to justice, impact Treaty settlements, and undermine social cohesion in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
The Bill will remove controls on privatisation and environmental degradation.
In addition, rather than providing certainty and clarity as claimed the Bill will result in protracted litigation and cost.

I agree with the Treaty Principles Regulatory Impact Statement recommendation to stay with the status quo – the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal should continue to articulate the meaning of the Treaty principles in line with existing practice.

In drafting my submission I referred to many resources in particular the letter from 42 Kings Counsel expressing grave concerns about the Bill and outlining why it should be abandoned.

Conclusion

There is no place for the Bill in our constitutional arrangements and it should be firmly opposed. The Government should instead take steps to urgently repair Māori–Crown relationship and strengthen Te Tiriti for the benefit of all.

To safeguard Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the select committee must condemn and reject this indefensible Bill.

I wish to speak to my submission.

Further resources I have found useful in making my submission

The Treaty Principles Bill

Together for Te Tiriti

Amnesty International submission guide

Dame Anne Salmond writing for Newsroom

Honor the Treaty website

Submission of Barrister Max Harris

The real reason behind Act’s push to redefine the Treaty principles, Rupert O’Brien in The Spinoff

Greg Presland submission guide

Ngā mihi nui Thank you

A huge thank you to everyone who stood up in all the various ways to support the More for You, Better for Auckland campaign. Unfortunately we were not successful.

Our positive and energising volunteer-led campaign came together in an super short timeframe. We went into it knowing this is an incredibly difficult election to contest as the incumbents control the election rules. However, we felt the energy threats and opportunities are too great not to have contested the election for NZ’s largest energy consumer trust after 3 decades of C&R control.

The result is not unexpected but still a shock that voter turnout fell to just 9.36% (down from 9.64% in 2021). Unfortunately the hurdles to democracy are just too great in NZ’s most undemocratic election. (our final campaign media release)

With more future-focused strategic leadership of Vector, Aucklanders could continue to enjoy the annual dividend plus solar-powered resilient community hubs, cheaper power, and reduced levels of energy poverty. Above all, Aucklanders deserve an Entrust that runs transparent and fair elections, and that is accountable to the community. We are now considering the options for next steps.

Thank you everyone who gave us their support and took the time to vote – we know it is not easy!

We are really heartened to have gathered so much support across a wide network and to have shone a light on what’s possible for Tāmaki Makaurau.

It’s now in C&R’s hands to run an election that makes this a fair and honest contest of ideas.

Why new leadership is needed on Entrust.

Hurdles to democracy too great in NZ’s most undemocratic election

More for you, Better for Auckland Media release: 30 October 2024

Following a record low turnout of 9.39% of eligible voters, the leadership of Entrust, New Zealand’s largest community energy trust, will once again remain unchanged. This confirms the incumbents repeatedly choose to run the elections to benefit themselves, not Aucklanders, say challengers from the independent More for You, Better for Auckland ticket.

This was, once again, a short postal election, minimally advertised, and characterised by multiple barriers to voting and a lack of coverage of the critical election issues.

“We knew challenging National party backed C&R for the Entrust leadership would be difficult, given the low turnout and the timing of the Entrust dividend payout just before the election started. However, the hurdles to democracy were just too great – and the extent to which C&R control the election process to their advantage was even more shocking than we’d imagined,” says Patrick Reynolds, spokesperson for the independent progressive group who came together to challenge C&R’s three-decade grip on Entrust.

The result is not unexpected but should alarm everyone who cares about democracy, the cost of power, and the energy independence and resilience of our largest city. We will, therefore, be considering what legal and legislative options are available to modernise the election” said Mr Reynolds

Voter turnout this year fell to just 9.39%, even lower than the previous record low turnout of 9.64% in 2021. C&R has known for many decades that the voting system they run is not fit for purpose. And yet, they have taken no steps to update the 1993 Entrust Trust Deed, ensuring they continue to “win” New Zealand’s least democratic election.

Entrust is the only community energy trust using a postal vote for its triennial election of trustees. It’s also the only one that pays a dividend just before voting gets underway. Moreover:

C&R allocates zero budget to promote or advertise the Entrust Election.

C&R provides no visible information about the Election on the Entrust website – only a link that is hidden behind a screen-sized advertisement for the Entrust dividend.

C&R allocates over $1.3m to distributing and advertising this dividend, just before voting starts – and only advertise their candidacy in the context of the dividend.
C&R has maintained a 16-day postal voting period, despite shrinking postal services – resulting in voting papers not arriving until up to 6 days after voting started.
C&R held the 2024 Entrust AGM 2 hours after the cut-off for posting votes, ensuring the electorate was not fully informed about a number of serious issues that were raised at Entrust’s only public meeting.

The one “innovation” C&R introduced this year was “rubbish bin” ballot boxes, made available at 10 Woolworth supermarkets for the entire Entrust District. As candidate Paul Young said as voting got underway “When I was first sent a photo of the ballot box in a Woolworth supermarket, I thought it must be a joke to use an orange rubbish bin. The Aucklanders I am speaking to are very surprised that Entrust would be so disrespectful to democracy. This is yet another disincentive to vote, if the ballot box doesn’t look like an official drop-off point for important voting documents.

“They are also hard to find, as there are only 10 ballot boxes for the whole of the Entrust district – and no Entrust map of the locations.”

Despite the many hurdles to participating in the Entrust election, including the cost of campaigning across such a large area with 323,000 voters, More for You, Better for Auckland was determined to offer Aucklanders a positive alternative with fresh leadership.

“I’m really proud of More for You, Better for Auckland’s campaign,” says Patrick Reynolds. “Within a very short timeframe, we brought together a strong line-up of candidates. We presented voters with future-focused and expert-backed policies that respond to all the energy threats and opportunities of our age. The response to our volunteer-led campaign was positive and energising.”

“You have to ask: how pathetic would the turnout have been, had we not publicised the election and the issues?

“With more future-focused strategic leadership of Vector, as envisioned by More for You, Better for Auckland, Aucklanders could continue to enjoy the annual dividend plus solar-powered resilient community hubs, cheaper power, and reduced levels of energy poverty. Above all, Aucklanders deserve an Entrust that runs transparent and fair elections, and that is accountable to the community.”

A huge thank you to everyone who stood up in all the various ways to support the More for You, Better for Auckland campaign. We are really heartened to have gathered so much support across a wide network and to have shone a light on what’s possible for Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s now in C&R’s hands to run an election that makes this a fair and honest contest of ideas.

Electric Waiheke: Vote in the Entrust election for cheaper, cleaner and more resilient power

A feature for Gulf News on the Electric Waiheke! event held at the WRT Sustainability Centre on 10 October

The demand for community generated electricity came through strongly at an Electric Waiheke public meeting last week at the Sustainability Centre, hosted by More for You, Better for Auckland on the first day of voting for the leadership of New Zealand’s largest community energy asset owner, Entrust.

Guest speaker Dr David Hall, Rewiring Aotearoa’s co-founder gave a compelling presentation based on Rewiring Aotearoa’s research into the multitude of benefits for communities from investing in roof top solar and batteries.

“The cost of solar systems have come down so far in price – and increasingly batteries too – that it makes economic sense to invest in rooftop systems to provide security of supply and guaranteed lower power bills. Our research shows that, as a national average, households can expect an average saving of $4,500 p/a (based on low cost finance now available or $1,500 if finance is at today’s standard interest rates) says Dr David Hall. “Electrifying homes and private vehicles in communities like Waiheke and all of Aotearoa we estimate will result in $10bn cost savings by 2040, lower emissions, massive efficiency gains in addition to improved well-being for households and whānau”

More for You, Better for Auckland, the independent team running in the election for the 5 Trustees of Entrust, plan to work with Vector to accelerate the rollout of solar and batteries across the city to unlock a low-cost source of power and deliver resilience for communities like Waiheke.

“Islands, like Waiheke are the perfect place to develop community electricity resources, solar and battery hubs, because upgrading the grid there is very expensive for the number of residents, so the economics are even more favourable. An island is ideal for building community structures and systems with new cheaper distributed technologies. An excellent example of the kind of change Entrust needs to be leading but currently isn’t.” says Patrick Reynolds, spokesperson for More for You, Better for Auckland.

Entrust should be supporting the development of a local community group to work through the options, discover their issues like continuity of supply, direct Vector to provide technical advice, and commission external expertise. It is likely there are way better and more cost effective options than simply continuing to expensively super-size the network and doubling down on keeping the island dependent on the national grid with a massive new undersea cable.

Furthermore Waiheke, is a microcosm of Aotearoa New Zealand, which is a similarly isolated system, working through all the issues for the island of distributed networks with an engaged community, provides for mutual benefit.

Waiheke experiences frequent power outages relying on one cable from the mainland to deliver energy to 5,900 households on the island. Jason Bryant who attended the meeting recorded 16 power cuts in the last year. “Our community of Orapiu at the far end of the island has just over 100 dwellings. A community grid would give Orapiu grid stability, and be cheaper for Vector to put in place than rewire the area and bring in a new cable from Onetangi. With close to 10% of houses already with rooftop solar, and many having storage capacity, it would make sense to offer the residents low cost energy certainty and resilience”. says Mr Bryant

Lindsay Jeffs, from Carbon Neutral Waiheke, facilitated the meeting. “If 1000 properties on Waiheke installed rooftop solar Waiheke would produce enough electricity to meet all its energy and light transport needs. To achieve this by 2030 requires Vector, a community owned energy trust, to fully embrace and support this achievable sustainable and cost saving goal. We as a community can do this and be leaders in the field.” summed up Mr Jeffs to the meeting.

After 30 years of National party aligned C&R controlling Entrust, this election offers the chance to vote for new leadership to bring focus on affordable, resilient and future-focused electricity system

“The C&R ticket that has controlled Entrust for three decades has resisted innovation and under-invested while overseeing rising energy bills and a dividend that is declining in real terms. In short, the incumbent leadership has dropped the ball, and it is time for visionary leadership.” says Mr Reynolds

More for You, Better for Auckland plans for a widespread rollout of rooftop solar will unlock a low-cost source of power that will boost competition and resilience. “The Australians have figured this out; 35 percent of their rooftops have solar panels,” says Reynolds. “In Auckland, it’s just two percent. If we followed their example and adopted solar panels and batteries at scale we would tap into a source of cheap, renewable power at zero transmission costs.” We’re exciting about what is possible with Entrust working directly for communities like Waiheke.

Former Waitematā & Gulf ward Councillor Pippa Coom is one of the 5 More for You, Better for Auckland candidates. She asked the meeting to help raise awareness about the opportunity to vote. “The incumbents on Entrust control the rules of the election because it is not subject to the Electoral Act. Despite turnout falling to an all time low of 9.6% in 2021 they have failed to modernise the election or extend the short two week postal voting period. C&R Trustees benefit from an expensive Entrust dividend advertising campaign just before voting starts but ensure Entrust has no budget towards promoting the election.

“We therefore felt it was extra important to host the Electric Waiheke public meeting to raise awareness of the Entrust election. I’m delighted that on the first day of voting we were able to bring Dr David Hall over to Waiheke for such a well attended meeting at the Sustainability Centre” said Pippa

The Entrust elections are held by postal vote. More for You, Better for Auckland recommends posting voting papers in the self-addressed envelop by Monday, 21 October to arrive on time. Alternatively, you can drop your ballot in the orange ballot bins at 10 Woolworths supermarkets across the city including the Woolworths in Ostend right up until 5pm on election day, Friday 25 October.

Time for a new generation: why I’m running in Aotearoa’s most undemocratic election

Power in the hands of one party for 30 years – that doesn’t sound very democratic, does it? And yet that’s the situation Entrust has found itself in, ever since its origins as the Auckland Consumer Energy Trust. Since day one, the C&R ticket has controlled Entrust as its own fiefdom, hanging onto all five trustee positions every three years.

In 2009, in hopes of being a trustee, I stood as an independent. I thought I had a fair chance, and I knew I had something to offer. As a former Vector lawyer I understood the field, and I wanted to serve in the interests of the community.

I quickly discovered this was a contest that was stacked against newcomers, the normal democratic process heavily distorted in favour of the incumbents by a well-feathered campaign, low turnout and a cumbersome postal voting system.

Afterwards, I wrote about that experience and how a lack of voter awareness combined with media incuriosity to essentially hand the trust to one party. I ventured a prediction: “It will be interesting to see what the media and electricity consumers make in future of power cuts, under-investment in energy infrastructure, rising energy bills, excessive Trustee fees, unsustainable dividend payments, a lack of community engagement by the Trust or any of the range of issues facing Vector and the AECT.”

These issues, already visible on the horizon in 2009, can no longer be ignored. For decades, C&R has failed to tackle them, leaving Auckland households worse off as a result. Worse, C&R dominance of the Trust gifts them two trustees on the board of Vector (each receiving an extra $107,000 pa director fee), where they also hold back innovation. They show no ambition to support consumers beyond doling out an annual dividend that continues to shrink in value.

And over the years, the Entrust election has become even less democratic. In 2021, the late Rod Oram wrote of the 2018 election “C&R made it a real turnoff, hence only 12.44 percent of voters cast their ballots” (Chance to clean out an Auckland shambles). Incredibly, 2021 turnout plummeted even further than that record low, to a mere 9.5%.

You would think that as trustees, C&R would be concerned about this. Surely they would want a proper mandate. Instead, they’ve done next to nothing to reverse the decline in voting. This is shocking. It is completely within their power to modernise the two-week postal voting system, which is no longer fit for purpose, with fewer post boxes, and far less frequent mail deliveries.

It seems it suits the incumbents that the voting system they control creates multiple hurdles to participation. This isn’t just about remembering to post a ballot. Just one example of the many barriers: in 2018, the City Vision team discovered that the C&R Entrust Trustees had actually banned the independent Electoral Officer from promoting the Entrust election turnout!

The way C&R runs the election is even more of a barrier for apartment dwellers and renters, which includes many young people. Only the person whose name is on the power account receives the voting papers. (They’re also the person who receives the annual dividend, conveniently timed to arrive just before the election.)

In an apartment building, it is often the body corporate on behalf of all the residents who gets the voting papers. In a flat, it could be the landlord, or a person who doesn’t live there, or a flatmate who quietly pockets the dividend and bins the ballot without the other flatmates knowing.

And forget it if you need to cast a special vote from out of town or overseas – because there is only a two-week voting window. (This year, the Electoral Officer recommends posting voting papers by 21st October to arrive in time for election day on 25th October.)

In 2024, there will be the option to use ballot boxes located at 10 Woolworth supermarkets across the Entrust district, up until election day. But this overdue “innovation” has come too little, too late – and there’s no information yet about which supermarkets, and where (as at 4 October the Entrust “election resource” page is empty and there has been zero promotion of the election coming up in less than a week).

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the election is the timing of the annual dividend just before voting starts. It’s cunning stuff: the dividend lands in voters’ accounts just ahead of the election period, is misleadingly mentioned in electioneering, and trustees’ names and faces are all over the official messages about the dividend and benefit from extensive advertisements paid for by Entrust. This muddying of the field is not allowed in local government elections, and for good reason.The Parliamentary Justice Committee inquiry into the Entrust Election in 2021 found that “payouts made just prior to an energy trust election could be seen as influencing voters in favour of the existing board”.

The Entrust election can’t be approached as if it is a normal democratic election. C&R candidates don’t even bother to campaign in person, or attend public meetings to defend their policies or record, and as the election fast approaches we are seeing this same lazy approach in 2024. This is terrible for Auckland and for democracy. Luckily, there’s a better option.

That’s why I’m running for the Entrust board on an independent ticket called More for You, Better for Auckland. It’s time for a proper 21st C approach to our city’s power needs.

We have a great team that promises fresh leadership, expertise in innovation, and a vision for more affordable power and a more resilient system.

We’re motivated to run because there is so much at stake, and now’s the time to seize the opportunities the incumbents have been sitting on all this time. Entrust controls a $2.8 bn asset on behalf of the community. With visionary leadership and smart investment, there is so much potential to lower power bills, secure the energy supply and build community resilience.

More for You, Better for Auckland will deliver the innovation, diversity, transparency and accountability that Entrust needs. We have the fresh skills, experience, and solutions-focused policies to take Entrust forward for Auckland. You might have seen our colourful billboards. Check us out – we’re up for the challenge.

Voting starts Thursday 10 October, and 364,000 households will have the opportunity to ensure Entrust does more for you, and is better for Auckland. Look out for the Entrust voting papers in your letterbox. Do whatever it takes to get them in the mail by Monday 21 October, or into a supermarket ballot box near you before election day Friday 25 October.

The power is yours!

First published in Indian Newslink 5 October 2024

How to fix Auckland

Sir Bob Harvey asked me to contribute to a Metro magazine feature “How To Fix Auckland”. The brief: 250 words on a “wild crazy and if necessary wise take on vision and dreams for our future”

Bob and Hayden Donnell have brought together “22 of Auckland’s opinion leaders to share ideas for reshaping the future (and adding their own 2 cents, too)”

Here is my contribution

Freedom and adventure for Auckland’s children on a connected city network

I’ve heard Bob Harvey tell the story of when as a teenager he first rode his bike from Newton Gully all the way out to Karekare, the beginning of a lifelong love affair with his favourite place. His bicycle gave him the keys to the city, and a freedom he could take for granted.

My “wild and crazy” idea is that this should be an everyday reality for every child and young person in Tāmaki Makaurau right now, rather than a fond memory or a future dream. They deserve what young Bob enjoyed: the sheer joy of jumping on a bike and pedalling until you find a beach.

And when our youth can just as easily ride to kura, the playground, local shops and after-school jobs, we’ll have fixed Auckland in a multitude of ways.

The good news: we have the blueprint, knowledge and resources to make this vision a reality. We also have the public support. In every survey ever done, two out of three Aucklanders back a bikeable city, and with deeper discussion – as in a recent Koi Tū citizens’ assembly – it rises to 85%!

As every place where youngsters bike in large numbers has discovered, the deciding factor isn’t hills or weather. The not-so-secret sauce is simply a connected citywide network, just like the one drivers enjoy, and yes including the Auckland Harbour Bridge!

This dream is achievable today, if three key players play along:

Auckland Transport acts on the Mayor’s direction to find low-cost opportunities to complete the cycling network.
Councillors hold firm on their unanimous commitments to “supercharge walking and cycling” and build a city children can independently get around.
Government gets “back to basics” by investing in affordable active transport.

The rewards go far beyond empowering our kids. We’ll also solve congestion, improve health and well-being, ensure greater equity and access, and lock in cleaner air and fewer emissions. To me, what’s wild and crazy is that anyone’s still dithering on this great deal!

Illustration: James Stewart

Auckland Conservation Board update

Auckland Conservation Board members with Te Kawerau a Maki representatives CEO Edward Ashby and Environment Officer Mihi McMahon for the meeting held at Arataki Visitor Centre on 10 April

I was appointed to Te Runanga Papa Atawhai o Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland Conservation Board (ACB) in August 2023. The Board has an advisory and community liaison role in the conservation of the Auckland region. As part of my role I am the liaison with Te Rūnanga Papa Atawhai o Te Tai Tokerau Northland Conservation Board. My liaison report to their May meeting was a good opportunity to provide an update on what the Board has been up to so far this year.

Highlights

The year started for ACB with a field trip in February to Ōtata, The Noises a chain of islands, rock stacks and reefs, lying within the inner Hauraki Gulf Marine Park / Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi. One of the islands’ owners, Sue Neureuter (in the photo right with board members and DOC’s John Galilee), guided our members around the largest island, Ōtata. The tour included seeing wētāpunga, which had been bred by Auckland Zoo, who hold wētāpunga from their source population on Hauturu/Little Barrier. We support the Neureuter family’s proposal for a High Protection Area around the islands to restore the marine ecosystem.

The Board attended a joint formal meeting with the Waikato Conservation Board in mid-March 2024 in Hamilton. A number of shared issues were discussed including advocacy goals to support the work of the Northern NZ Seabirds Trust (Sentinel – Seabirds of Aotearoa exhibition has just opened at New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui a Tangaroa with the support of the Trust. On until 27 October) .

Our recent advocacy has included:

presenting our submission to the Environment Select Committee on Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill with several recommendations on how best to support a partnership approach with mana whenua that will help ensure the continued health of the Hauraki Gulf for everyone’s benefit. The Board strongly supports the need for Marine Protected Areas because they work!
presenting our submission to Auckland Council’s draft Long Term Plan. We called on the Mayor and Councillors to restore the NETR (Natural Environmental Targeted Rate) and the WQTR (Water Quality Targeted Rate) to their past levels and adjust them for inflation. Both rates were established 6 years ago to address the underinvestment in the environment in the Auckland Region after amalgamation and ongoing declines in the natural environment on land and in the sea. It is the right thing to do to stop the further degradation of harbours and freshwater and to prevent loss of species from predation and invasive pests such as Caulerpa.
preparing a joint submission with Te Hiku o Te Ika Conservation Board and Te Rūnanga Papa o Te Tai Tokerau / Northland Conservation Board in opposition to the government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill

Our strategic priority areas are:

Addressing the crisis of Auckland’s declining indigenous biodiversity, particularly in the marine and freshwater environments.
Enhancing relationships with Treaty partners by supporting the implementation of Treaty of Waitangi partnerships and the requirements of section 4 of the Conservation Act.
Supporting the transition to a lower-carbon conservation delivery model, having regard to the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019 and reducing the Board’s own carbon emissions.

Relevant on-going issues top of mind for ACB:

the spread of caulerpa
impact of the wreck of the “Niagara”
fairy tern habitat
sand mining off Pakiri
kauri dieback
impacts of severe weather on walking tracks
understanding the implications for the Auckland Region of the 6.5% cut to the Department’s budget

In addition, monitoring implementation of the Auckland Conservation Management Strategy (CMS) 2014-2024 is a priority for the Board. Resourcing issues have delayed work on the review of the CMS. Reporting to the board by DOC on key milestones in the CMS is expected through 2024.

Acknowledgements

Andrew Baucke with Chair Nicola MacDonald, and members Kate Waterhouse, Gael Ogilvie, Pippa Coom and Rahul Chopra

Board members attended the recent retirement function for Andrew Baucke, Director Operations for the Auckland Region. We welcome new director Alex Rogers on 20 May.

Chair, Nicola presented Andrew with a stunning taonga carved by Ngāti Manuhiri and gifted by Ngāti Manuhiri and Te Papa Runanga o Papa ki Tāmaki Makaurau / The Auckland Conservation Board.

The name of the taonga, Te Tohu can simply mean, The Mark or The Sign and aptly signifies the significant contribution of service that Andrew has made to conservation and Te Taiao.

Nicola MacDonald Environmental Hero of the year award winner

We are all extremely proud of ACB Chair Nicola MacDonald for winning Kiwibank’s Environmental Hero of the Year from a very strong field of nominations and finalists. Nicola ended our April meeting at Arataki Visitor Centre in the Waitākere Ranges as she addressed the audience in accepting her award at the New Zealander of the year awards night on 27 March:

Hei tiaki i te whenua

Hei tiaki i te moana

Hei tiaki i nga tamariki, mokopuna

He kaitiaki koe

He kaitiaki au

Mauri ora!

More about the Board here

Beyond Bikelash: Building and maintaining momentum

How do we move beyond “Bikelash” and the stoking of a harmful culture war against active transport? This is what Sara Templeton and I considered in our presentation to the 2Walk and Cycle Conference in Wellington 17-18 March. We teamed up to share our political and personal experiences of involvement in our cities’ cycleway programmes and of the bikelash that accompanies them.

We then joined a panel discussion Overcoming resistance: the politics of change with keynote speakers Janette Sadik-Khan (link to the Frocks on Bikes ride with JSK on her visit to Auckland ) and Salvador Rueda, and Wellington City Council Deputy Mayor, Laurie Foon with Session Chair Joel MacManus.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to give my presentation to the Women in Urbanism Aotearoa (WiUA) AGM on 22 April.

Low traffic neighbourhood pilot Freyberg Street

On Saturday, before the conference, for the first time I experienced the city on a bike, my ebike I brought down with me on the train. Thanks to Patrick and Beth for the tour. It really felt like the city is making progress – not just for riders but for everyone. New crossings, safer walking routes, improved bus stops raised tables, a real low traffic neighbourhood. All important ingredients for a people friendly and liveable city.

I was impressed with the momentum underway in Wellington. Just as Sara mentioned in her presentation councils can keep delivering and we must support our council leaders to do just that (submitting on plan, presenting at council, emailing decision makers).

I was really delighted to be a speaker at the conference. I’ve been attending 2 Walk and Cycle since my first conference in Taranaki in 2009 originally as an advocate and then as an elected member over my 12 years on Auckland Council. I always learn a lot and feel energised by the people power in the room.

Headline in the Press following the Asia Pacific Cycle Conference 2017

I first met Sara at the Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress in Otautahi in 2017 when it felt like the sting was coming out of “Bikelash” for both of our cities. As it was reported from the Congress “A national rash of cycleway projects is making some motorists grumpy. But the cycle lobby seems to have its strategy sorted” .

It goes on “But now – impossible to believe, she (referring to me) agrees – Auckland is in the middle of a $200 million investment in 52km of dedicated cycleways. “There’s been a radical realignment of our cycling universe. One of Auckland’s political advantages is that the cycleways are an Auckland Transport-run programme and so less susceptible to rate-payer pressure, she says.” (ha!)

Incredibly those projects in 2017 I said where “safely in place” are still not delivered 7 years later, 6 years behind schedule. At the 2Walk and cycling 2021 I asked the question Why is it taking so long to deliver an urban cycling network? Leadership, sexism, the claylayer, the overplaying of community opposition were all factors and continue to be barriers.

Meola Road, Pt Chev to Westmere, under construction March 2024

What I would call a “bikelash” local government election in 2022 and budget cuts further threatened the programme in particular three routes covering the inner west of Auckland including this one in the photo.

It took an exhausting campaign by a well resourced community – 7 schools, 50 organisation, local residents associations, 3 business associations all in support- has got AT back on track but only just.

Stop de Kindermood protest in the Netherlands in response to rising road fatalities in the 1970’s

I often look at this photo – its on the wall of the Big Street Bikers office – and wonder what it will take in Aotearoa to really push through on delivery after so many delays. What will be the NZ version of the Netherland’s stop de kindermoord (stop child murder) protest movement. Do we need direct action to turn government policy and force delivery by agencies like Auckland Transport.? Does every lever possible need to be activated?

Clearly it is not just bikelash we need to move beyond but a full on culture war.

Community advocates
Radha Patel, Western Springs College student leader, Newtown School parents presenting to Auckland Council, Boopie Moran presenting to the AT Board

From my time council I know the importance of playing the council influence game – present, lobby, submit. Showimg elected representatives the evidence and support should be enough.

Boopsie Moran, extraordinary community advocate taking the time to present to the Auckland Transport Board on Katoa, Ka Ora Auckland’s speed management programme

Mums who just want their kids to get to school safely fronting up to speak at council

Students like Radha who petitioned for a safe crossing to school and advocated for the project . It should not be this hard and exhausting for volunteers but we know how essential it is.

What I think is going to have the biggest impact on the decision makers as Sara covered is from the momentum gathering pace around the country of people taking advantage of safe infrastructure and jumping on active transport. The majority of households have a bike- increasingly an e-bike, the majority want to be able to walk, scoot, wheel and cycle. (Waka Kotahi, NZTA Understanding attitudes and perceptions of walking and cycling survey 2023)

Politicians cutting the ribbon on cycling projects Top Left Glenn Innes to Tamaki stage 1; Bottom left Te ara i whiti Lightpath. Right Quay Street temporary cycleway opening with John Key, Simon Bridges and Len Brown

Famously it was the feedback the focus group from boomers who had experienced the Otago Rail Trail that convinced John Key to invest in urban cycling back in 2014 ( and if you look carefully from these cycleway opening pics the common denominator is a Minister of Transport and now Waka Kotahi board chair Simon Bridges). This is normal transmission and it needs to resume.

Mayor Wayne Brown riding on the footpath, ACT leader David Seymour with his e-bike; Quote from Richard Prebble

The decision makers (and in the case of the quote our elder statesmen) are so close to getting it!

I want to end on a positive note. This is a giltch .

It is not normal for the Minister of Transport to decline to attend the conference,

It is not normal for senior agency leaders to not attend. It is not normal to be “othered” when active transport is just what everyone does at some point on every journey and kids want to be able to get to kura safely.

It is not normal for leaders to pivot to road building priorities so readily (and change course off the back of media releases ) but not to have provided the same service for active transport – in the case of Auckland over 12 years of a progressive, supportive council!

Cover of the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024

It is not normal during a climate emergency for a GPS that is so ill-informed, incoherent and lacking in any credibility. Whatever your political persuasion the draft GPS (consultation closed on 2 April) Zealand’s transport system and the communities it serves, now or in the future.

We can bring the discussion back on track and continue building momentum using every lever in our powers – I am sure this will happen including judicial review of the decision makers. This is our street fight. We know that it is the right thing for the health, well-being and freedom of current and future generations.

Reimaging the GPS as Transport for Life. Illustration by Carol Green

I ended by joining the call to attend the Transport for Life rally after the conference calling for a safe, fair and clean transport system and an evidence-based pathway to a healthy transport future for everyone in Aotearoa.

Submit for a healthy transport future for everyone in Aotearoa

I’m making a submission on the Draft Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024-34 (GPS) by the cut off midday on Tuesday 2 April. The GPS sets the funding priorities for land transport for the next 1o years so is hugely important for delivering an efficient, safe, accessible, healthy and affordable transport system for all.

Unfortunately the draft GPS is not informed by evidence, ignores the fundamental reasons why people travel and will not deliver on the government’s strategic priorities. The GPS starkly deviates from sensible transport policy, value-for-money investment decisions, and best-practice transport planning seen in other countries around the world.

For Aucklanders the GPS will result in more congestion, higher travels costs, poorer heath outcomes from increased pollution and reduced access to active travel options.

It completely ignores the needs of the 30% of New Zealanders who cannot or do not drive. More people, especially the most vulnerable road users like children and elderly, will die or be seriously injured on our streets and roads if the GPS is allowed to progress as drafted.

The GPS will not enhance economic growth and activity in urban centres like Auckland. Our transport challenges can not be met by building more roads as proposed by the GPS – the Roads of National Significance (RONS) make up only 1% of Auckland’s road network and according to Waka Kotahi’s own studies have Benefit-to-cost ratios of 1 or less. The RONS are not a good use of public money and are inefficient.

Leveraging every opportunity to get more out of the existing network, providing more efficient ways to move goods and people and encouraging mode shift will have the greatest positive impact for the city. The rapid transit network (and cycling network) can be completed by making use of existing road space. It makes no sense for the GPS to ban the current approach of funding improvements to local roads from a single funding source. Requiring walking and cycling investment from only one activity class will be inefficient and expensive for councils and create additional administrative costs. It also makes no sense for the GPS to direct that investment is only to be made “where demonstrated volumes of pedestrians and cyclists already exist.” The Auckland Harbour Bridge would never have been built if the same criteria had been applied.

As a former Auckland Councillor and Local Board member I know from experience that people want safer streets, want more transport options especially for local trips, and support investment in walking and cycling infrastructure. This is not based on “ideology” but on the feedback from countless public consultation processes and Waka Kotahi’s own surveying.

It also concerns me that there is no mention of engagement with Māori and improving outcomes for Māori. Again, from my experience on council I know that when engagement happens properly and respectfully with Māori the outcome is improved and of a higher quality for everyone.

There are a lot more points to cover about what needs to be ditched and improved in the GPS. Fortunately, smart and informed people have put together a submission guide Transport 4 all to assist with feedback on the main issues. Auckland Council also gave astute feedback on the GPS

Further reading

The GPS is a disaster for local government

Submission from a group of academics specialising in transport systems, public health, urban development, and geography

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ submission

The draft GPS cover reimagined as Transport for Life by Carol Green

What a difference a year can make

A reflection on the Mayor of Auckland to end 2023 posted on facebook and LinkedIn (please head there for any comments)

At the Helen Clark Foundation Christmas drinks last week I joked with Mayor Wayne Brown that a year ago, at the same event, hardly anyone wanted to talk to the presumed “worst ever” Mayor of Auckland so he didn’t stick around- one year on he is heartily welcomed as the Mayor to defend the city from the new government (or more specifically Simeon Brown)!

Wayne definitely rates himself as a much better Mayor than people give him credit for. It turns out his politics are quite good. It helped a lot that he quickly discovered that the councillors who he thought were his natural allies and backed him because he was ABC (Anybody But Collins) were not the ones who could be relied upon to constructively work to fix anything (the “furious few” who just say no to everything as Simon Wilson calls them). The progressive grouping of councillors have had an extremely tough year but as they’ve gotten used to a very different style of leadership they’ve achieved the wins and taken control of key positions (yay for them!). Hayden Donnell has captured the shift in power in his piece for Metro Has Wayne Brown gone Woke?

I have to credit the Mayor for his ability to change his mind once properly briefed (a trait unfortunately lacking in many politicians). He changed his view on the Te Hā Noa upgrade of Victoria St and didn’t chop Eke Panuku as he originally threatened. He hasn’t caved into Herald headlines over decisions like the Downtown Carpark redevelopment or reducing greenfields sprawl.

He has moved away from taking soundings from the “saboteurs” and discovered a much wider community of “urbanist” support (he didn’t back the Great North Road or the Pt Chev to Westmere upgrades but he didn’t block them either as the saboteurs and Mike Lee unsuccessfully attempted against the wishes of the community).

Of course I don’t support all his decisions (he was on the wrong side of history with Māori wards when leadership was needed and withdrawing membership from LGNZ was petty point scoring) and especially his plan to privatise the Ports of Auckland but there’s some surprisingly positive things coming in the draft Long Term Plan out for consultation next year like the proposal for a $50/week cap on PT fares. I’ll be cheering on if he really can deliver on “fixing” transport cheaply and quickly especially “low cost opportunities” to deliver the Auckland cycle network as AT has been directed.

None of which is to excuse the Mayor’s problematic behaviour. He has a terrible habit of blurting out inappropriate comments and offensive remarks. Sometimes it can be funny and I don’t think he intends to cause harm (mostly) but unfortunately his un-PC style has resulted in a culture from the top that has unleashed the worst from some councillors and seen excellent council staff leave. There are really decent and smart people in the Mayor’s office who must be hoping for a fresh approach in 2024.