Category: Public Media

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Kiwi company T&G fights to get illegal orchards torn down in China

Source: Radio New Zealand

Illegal Scilate apple trees have been destroyed in a Gansu province orchard. Supplied

Illegal apple orchards in China have been torn down after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of New Zealand horticulture company T&G.

T&G owns the IP rights to its Scilate apple variety, which is marketed as ENVY – it’s grown both here and through a licensed grower in China.

But a company in the Shandong Province, China’s main apple growing region, grew and sold the variety using similar markings to T&G’s ENVY.

The Supreme People’s Court has issued a final judgment in favour of T&G in the dispute with a Chinese defendant.

The court has ordered the defendant to pay significant damages to T&G and to stop all infringement of the company’s Scilate plant variety rights.

The court has also supervised the destruction of a large number of illegally planted trees in the Gansu province.

T&G chief executive Gareth Edgecomb said this is a significant win for the company.

“We welcome this ruling by the Supreme People’s Court and the commitment it shows under China’s strengthened Seed Law to safeguard plant variety rights and put a stop to illegitimate production and infringement.

“With it being the second ruling in T&G’s favour, by China’s highest court, it establishes a strong judicial precedent for the handling of similar infringement disputes in China,”

Edgecomb said over the last 20 years T&G had invested significantly in the research and development of new varieties.

“The Court’s judgment, as well as the recent Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties, which give the authorities strong powers to investigate and enforce infringement of plant intellectual property rights, will benefit plant breeders, growers, customers and the horticulture sector.

“It provides T&G with further confidence to continue investing in China knowing our intellectual property is well protected.”

Kiwifruit marketer Zespri has also been plagued by illegal plantings in China and has had successful prosecutions.

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Super Bowl LX live: New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks

Source: Radio New Zealand

The New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Six-time Grammy winner Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show.

Kick off for the Super Bowl is approximately 12.30pm NZT.

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Kick off for the Super Bowl is approximately 12.30pm NZT. Todd Rosenberg

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How you can buy a house in Herne Bay for less than $940,000

Source: Radio New Zealand

Herne Bay is usually the country’s most expensive area. Supplied/ CC BY 2.0 – GPS 56

Townhouses are giving buyers a cheaper way in to even some of the country’s priciest suburbs.

There has been a boom in townhouse construction over recent years, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch. In the past five years there have been a total of just over 48,000 townhouses, flats and units – not including apartments and units in retirement villages – consented in Auckland.

But the cheaper price point of townhouses has made some suburbs accessible to first-home buyers who might previously have been priced out.

Cotality head of research Nick Goodall said the cheapest townhouses in the country compared to the median value of standalone houses were in Herne Bay, usually the country’s most expensive area.

There, townhouses cost a median $936,000 and houses $3.03 million.

That was followed by St Mary’s Bay, at $852,000 and $2.87m and Parnell at $886,000 and $2.87m.

Mt Eden was fourth, with a median townhouse value of $703,000 compared to a median value of $2.13m for houses.

Goodall said the data probably reflected how expensive houses were in those suburbs.

Cotality head of research Nick Goodall. Supplied / Cotality

“It’s also reflective of how expensive the land is in those suburbs because they’re close to town and land is more expensive the closer you get to town.

“So that gap widens for a townhouse which doesn’t necessarily get any or much use of land, it’s more about the structure itself. That’s why generally speaking you see a cap on the value of a townhouse.”

He said town houses had been staying on the market for longer and owners and developers had been having to drop their price more to sell during the period that the market had been softer.

Over the past 12 months, standalone houses had seen value falls of -0.7 percent, with -1.7 percent for townhouses, and -4.1 percent for apartments. But since the peak, the price of houses in Auckland was down 23.5 percent compared to 22.2 percent for townhouses and flats.

He said townhouses were a good option for people who wanted to get into the central suburbs and could not otherwise afford it.

“If a buyer is looking at their list of wants and needs and location is on there and that’s more important for a period of time, whether that’s five, seven, 10 years, until you might be thinking about having children or you need a bigger space … even for a young child it’s probably fine, it’s when you get to a bit older you might start thinking about [moving]. It’s all about age and stage and using it to build equity and all those things.”

While apartment values have tended to lag houses, Goodall said that would be less true of townhouses.

“They still seem to be doing pretty well through the cycle whereas with apartments it’s a bit different … you really have no apportionment of land … when you look at the 10 or 20 year performance apartments just do not see that same growth that houses would … with townhouses the difference is much less.”

He said the difference in price movement would be less in a “normal” period where there had not been so much building. “I think you will probably see houses perform better because they have more land and a lot of value is in the land … but townhouses are not completely devoid of it.”

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub.

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub agreed the difference was the land. “When you buy houses in New Zealand you’re buying the land. It’ s a land speculation engine, right? When you’ve got townhouses you don’t have a lot of land and also it comes with issues of shared title and whatnot.”

He said there would also be a price difference but it provided options and choices.

“Would I expect those prices to just converge to standalone house prices? No. Will the gap fluctuate over time? Of course.”

He said there could also be a range of quality within the townhouse market. “The concern I have is around the lowest cost to build, the designs are often not good for things like ventilation, noise – a lot of the houses built during the Covid period where inspections weren’t able to be done physically. We don’t know what kind of problems might be stored up there.

“The liveability and reliability are the two things that I worry a little bit about … a lot of that can be fixed by design which I think we will get to but there’ll be a cohort of people who will be in houses that are cheap to buy but uncomfortable to live in.”

The areas with the biggest decline in town house prices the past year were Omokoroa, Western Bay of Plenty, down 17.9 percent to $711,000; Whalers Gate New Plymouth, down 15.3 percent to $437,000; and Waihi Beach, down 14.7 percent to $782,000.

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Do teens need to learn to type for online exams?

Source: Radio New Zealand

With changes to the assessments students face, do schools need to include typing lessons to give them all a fair start? Unsplash / Thomas Park

Should primary and intermediate schools teach children to type so they are ready for online exams at high school?

A Qualifications Authority report shows the Minister of Education Erica Stanford last year pondered whether to include touch-typing in the school curriculum because of the rise of digital tests and other forms of assessment.

“Does the description in the English learning area between years 4 and 8 give enough emphasis, direction, and detail to support students with the skills they need to type fluently in an online assessment? Should we be teaching students to touch type?” the document said she had asked.

The authority did not provide a direct answer, but its response appeared to be ‘no’ – sort of.

It advised the minister that students needed to be competent at using a keyboard, but they also needed “social emotional” as well as cognitive and technical skills.

“…students are likely to benefit from understanding and utilising basic computer skills, such as using software, browsing the web, and creating digital content,” it said.

It said key skills and knowledge included “competent keyboarding skills” and the ability to construct tables and spreadsheets, including simple formulas.

It also said students need to know how to use AI appropriately and effectively.

The report said key “digital fluency” areas included higher-order thinking skills, collaboration and communication, digital citizenship including cultural and global awareness, and adaptability and lifelong learning.

NZQA is increasingly making exams available in digital form, and the critical NCEA reading, writing and maths tests are offered online.

Principals have warned some students from poor communities are not as computer-literate as other students and struggle with online exams.

NZQA said just 293 secondary school students achieved the most basic unit standard in typing last year and 317 completed the next level up.

Teenagers spoken to by RNZ said they did a lot of their school work and assessments on computers and felt they had good keyboard skills.

They said they had not had formal typing lessons but such lessons might be useful for students before they reached secondary school.

Hutt Valley High School principal Denise Johnson said teenagers developed good keyboard skills through frequent use of computers.

She said many were a lot faster than adults who had formal typing lessons when they were at school.

Whangaparāoa College principal Steve McCracken said the ability to type quickly and accurately was a definite advantage for students sitting online tests.

“Exams and assessments are about the students’ ability to display their knowledge and what they’ve learned. So those students who are able to type… do have an advantage over those who are unable to type or who have never been taught to type properly,” he said.

Schools did not commonly teach typing, and it was assumed students would figure out for themselves how to use a keyboard competently, he said.

“Schools have kind of relinquished the typing classes that I was subjected to as a student back in the day. The curriculum’s so full that schools just don’t have the ability to teach the actual skills and fundamentals of the ability to type,” he said.

“It is assumed that it is done kind of naturally through other curriculum areas and particularly around the computing and technology curriculum area, but I don’t think it’s probably sufficient… particularly as we’re moving into high-stakes assessments.”

McCracken said it might be time to rethink how teens learned to type, but schools would need to drop things from their curriculum in order to make room for typing lessons.

He said he recently spoke to parents who arranged online typing courses for their children, which was a good idea, but it raised equity issues for those who could not afford to do the same.

Ultimately, however, exams should not be a test of students’ ability to type, McCracken said.

“We’re getting right down into the purpose of assessments and the ability to actually assess knowledge, rather than the skill of being able to type at pace whilst under that exam or pressure situation,” he said.

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Zoi Sadowski-Synnott hits the front in Olympic Big Air qualifying

Source: Radio New Zealand

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott competes in the snowboard women’s big air qualification at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. AFP

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has made an imposing start to her Winter Olympic campaign, leading after the first qualifying run in the women’s Snowboard Big Air.

The three-time Olympic medallist flexed her muscles at Livigno Snow Park in Northern Italy, unleashing a score of 90.0 in a superbly-executed switchback 1260, which included three-and-a-half rotations.

Sadowski-Synnott appeared relaxed and happy as all six judges scored the run 90.0, leaving the Kiwi well clear of the 29-woman field early on.

The second best opening score went to Japan’s Murase Kokomo on 86.25, with Australia’s Ally Hickman third (85.25).

New Zealand’s Lucia Georgalli was 11th after scoring 78.25 in her opening run.

The top 12 qualifiers will contest the final on Tuesday morning, based on their combined score – from the best two out of three qualifying runs.

New Zealand snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. PHOTOSPORT

Wānaka’s Sadowski-Synnott is competing in her third Olympics and is chasing her first Big Air gold.

She competed in her first Big Air World Cup in 2016 at the age of 15 and made her mark in 2017 with a World Championship silver medal in slopestyle.

A year later, she competed at the Pyeongchang Olympics, claiming a bronze medal in the Big Air.

In Beijing 2022, she made history as the first Kiwi to ever win a Winter Olympic gold medal when she won the snowboard slopestyle title. She followed that up just days later with a silver medal in the Big Air.

On Saturday, Sadowski-Synnott and freeski athlete Ben Barclay were the New Zealand flagbearers at the opening ceremony.

NZ Team Ngā Pou Hāpai (flag bearers) snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (L) and freeski athlete Ben Barclay (R). Supplied / New Zealand Olympic Committee

The pair were formally announced as Ngā Pou Hāpai Tāne and Wahine (male and female flagbearers) during a special team gathering at New Zealand Lodge in the Italian town of Livigno.

Sadowski-Synnott said she felt “very honoured” to be selected.

“To share this with Beano (Ben) who I’ve spent a lot of my career with, not only on my snowboard but off it too, is special. He’s just an all-round great human being and I’m proud to be sharing this moment with him,” she said.

“I just hope to lead the NZ Team in a way that can make everyone proud, it means a lot to me,” she said.

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Woman found dead at Kāpiti Coast home, man arrested

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have launched a homicide investigation. 123RF

A woman has been found dead at a house on the Kāpiti Coast and a man has been charged.

Police were called to the Matatua Road address in the community of Raumati Beach about 1.15am on Monday.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested, and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was due to appear in the Porirua District Court on Monday.

A scene guard was in place overnight.

A homicide investigation is underway and forensic examination will be carried out at the property on Monday.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact 105 and quote the reference number 260209/8606.

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Toilet equity: Fighting for the right to pee

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s an experience almost every woman has had: standing in a queue at a concert, sporting event or public building, waiting to use the toilet. Sometimes, while we wait, we might be able to view the entrance to the men’s toilet, from which men happily come and go, queue free. This happened to me recently, at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre, where, by the end of the intermission, the queue for the ladies’ still hadn’t cleared.

This experience is so common; so apparently normal – most of us probably consider it just part of life. But why is it?

It’s been established via international research that women take between three and four times longer to use the toilet facilities than men (that’s not counting queuing time, which for women is on average more than two minutes. Men, if they have to queue at all, wait 40 seconds). This is what’s known as ‘flow rate’ – meaning the rate at which people flow through the facilities. Contrary to gender stereotypes suggesting the extra time is because women are applying lipstick and fixing our hair, there are far more practical reasons:

Are these the worst wellness trends of the year?

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Biology. At any one time, 10 to 25 precent of women will be menstruating. This means extra time dealing with tampons, pads or menstrual cups.

Caregiving. Women are far more likely to be looking after the toileting of small children. This takes, as any parent knows, more time.

Clothing. While men can usually get down to business by undoing a single zip, women need to navigate the removal of multiple garments and then re-dress.

Mechanics. Unlike men, women need to sit or squat to use the loo. That means individual toilets are needed: one woman, one toilet.

Zoe George is familiar with flow rate. The sports journalist and broadcaster became a toilet equity expert a few years back through frustration, after experiencing first hand a serious issue with the women’s toilets at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. After standing in a queue for half an hour, she made it her mission to get to the bottom of it (“You can’t talk about the dunny without being punny”, she laughs).

Thanks to George’s advocacy, the Basin’s outdated facilities were revamped in time to avoid the embarrassment and queues associated with the dire lack of womens’ and accessible toilets previously, for the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022.

Toilet inequity is not just about pelvic-floor-challenging inconvenience, George stresses. She cites research that has found that when people don’t think they will be able to access toilets in public spaces, they avoid those spaces.

The loos at Basin Reserve were revamped in time for the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022.

PHOTOSPORT

“Lack of toilets acts as a ‘loo leash’,” she explains.

“And it prevents one in five of us from leaving our homes to engage in public life, including going to the theater or sporting events. So that’s the entire population of Auckland or the South Island not leaving their homes to participate and engage in public life.”

This was echoed in a survey earlier this year prepared by WSE NZ, commissioned by the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) which they termed a ‘loo review’.

One in five of the 3000 respondents said public bathrooms don’t meet their needs. This figure jumped to nearly half for those with a disability. A third said they often have to wait to use the bathroom – especially women, parents, and people with disabilities. One in five also reported feeling unsafe using public facilities, an issue particularly affecting trans and non-binary people.

A contributing factor here is that toilet standards for buildings – which set how many of which loos should be provided – are not up-to-date with modern society. The standards set by MBIE – including a ‘toilet calculator’ for buildings – haven’t been updated in 30 years. They don’t consider the changes in diversity in workplaces and in society at large that have happened since the 1990s. They are partly the reason why some public buildings have proportionally more male toilets than female, and few or no all-gender toilets. Cue the queues. The BRANZ report recommends changes to the standards for toilets in buildings including updates to the toilet calculator.

Daniel Thompson is an architect with Warren and Mahoney and the co-author of a New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Practice Note Beyond the Binary Bathroom: A Guide for All-Gender Bathroom Facilities.

Thompson says he can see how a situation like the Basin Reserve could have happened back when the buildings were being designed. “You can imagine… they would have just said ‘oh well, there won’t be women here, so forget about [women’s toilets].”

The situation of an intermission at a show or sports game is, Thompson notes, “the toughest ask of toilets, because in all other situations it’s much more random when people use the bathroom”.

He believes having mostly all-gender toilets is a solution to a lot of the inequity.

“It would mean, in the case of a theatre for example, the line would be shorter and it would contain both men and women, and they could use the next toilet that was free…. and any toilet that is free is free. None are hidden in the men’s and not being used.”

This would also mean, potentially, the phasing out of the traditional urinal. It’s something Thompson sees naturally happening anyway.

Could we see the end of the traditional urinal situation?

123rf

“There’s kind of a generational change in the use of urinals”, he explains. “It’s anecdotal… but these days people want a bit more privacy. As generations come through as you might find more men using cubicles just because it’s a bit more private.”

An all-gender toilet cubicle is a fully self-contained room, with full-height walls, basin and sanitary disposal included. It’s a practical solution which means that potentially fewer all-gender bathrooms are needed, compared to gendered toilets, reducing the floor area required. And it improves inclusivity and safety for trans and non-binary people.

In the case of a theatre like the Bruce Mason Centre, this would mean quite an overhaul though. Thompson runs through the numbers.

“If it was fully unisex, you would need 27 individual toilets, which is a lot. That would almost not really be possible.”

All-gender toilet cubicles would requite some major overhauls.

Unsplash/ Jonathan Taylor

It could happen, though. Female punters will need to cross their legs a bit longer, but Tātaki Auckland Unlimited – part of Auckland Council which runs many of the city’s theatres – is planning an upgrade of the Bruce Mason Centre in 2027/28.

Chief Operating Officer Justine White says while it’s too early to confirm exact details, “we can share that the plans include additional toilets including all-gender facilities to cater to the evolving demographics of both patrons and staff”.

Before that though, the Aotea Centre – another toilet queue hot spot – is set for an imminent glow-up. Over the Christmas-New Year break, there’ll be “a significant upgrade” to the Centre’s Limelight toilets on Levels 2 and 3, that’s set to put a relieved smile on female theatre-goers faces.

“This refurbishment will increase the number of toilets in this area from nine to 32,” says White, “including a family room with changing facilities and two additional accessibility bathrooms. The new facilities will be gender-neutral, reflecting our commitment to meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse audience and eliminating long queues at events.”

The entrance to the Aotea Centre in Auckland, looking out towards Aotea Square.

Supplied

Zoe George is a big fan of all-gender toilets. But she reckons we still need some gendered ones as well.

“We need women’s toilets for religious and cultural and safety reasons, and we need more toilets accessible to women than we do for men.”

She refers back to that ‘flow rate’.

“The flow rate needs to be three to one: three toilets accessible to women for every one toilet accessible to a man, including a urinal. And in some places – for example certain areas in New York – this has been legislated. A three-to-one flow rate or, in some cases a four-to-one flow rate to make access to toilets equitable.”

Thompson agrees that some gender-specific toilets are a good idea in certain situations. With all-gender toilets only, he points out, you can easily allocate some for specific genders simply by changing signage, rather than having to do a major building overhaul. Thoughtfully designed toilets can make a big difference to the overall enjoyment of a public building.

“I recently did a library building in Hawera in south Taranaki. We put all unisex toilets, and we put baby changes in every single accessible toilet, so that anyone can use them. And a caregiver’s room for people to breastfeed.”

It’s been well-received by the local community, he reports.

“You want people to go to your facility and just go, oh, I don’t have to worry about this. I can just go into this room and shut the door and, you know, it’s fine.”

George is keen for all of us to think about toilets more.

“Access to toilets is a fundamental, basic human right. Everybody goes, and it’s not something that we talk about because it’s such a very private thing that we do. But everyone does it. So we need to talk about toilets.”

Zoe George.

Supplied

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Southland man Donald Woodford tried to dispose of the explosives that caused his death

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Defence Force bomb squad ensured the remaining explosives were safely detonated (file image). Supplied / NZ Defence Force

A Southland man died trying to destroy old commercial explosives that he had not been able to safely dispose of elsewhere, a coroner has found.

Donald Woodford tried to return the Powergel to the manufacturer and then hand it to police after years storing the explosives in a shed on his Mossburn property.

In findings released on Monday, Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame said the manufacturer and police refused to take the Powergel and neither told him that he needed to contact the Defence Force to safely dispose of it.

Woodford died on his 79th birthday from blast and shrapnel injuries while trying to detonate the explosives near a remote hut on 1 February 2024.

The coroner said he had previously used the Powergel to blow up rocks in the ground while working as a fencing contractor.

“After he upgraded his equipment and no longer needed explosives, Mr Woodford stored the Powergel in a shed for many years,” she said.

When Woodford and his wife decided to relocate the shed to store firewood, they discussed a plan to move the explosives.

“As a child Mr Woodford had helped his father build a hut at Waterloo Station. The family had been going there ever since. Although they did not discuss it explicitly, Mrs Woodford understood that was where Mr Woodford planned to deal with the explosives from the shed,” she said.

Woodford left home on 31 January and planned to return the following day after 1pm, the coroner said.

When he did not return as expected, Woodford’s brother drove to the station where he found him lying a metre-and-a-half from a large hole in the ground.

“Most of the injuries were concentrated on the head and chest and the front of the thighs suggesting that Mr Woodford had the explosive in front of his chest while he was crouching down or sitting. Injuries to the left hand suggested that he was holding the explosive in that hand,” the coroner said.

The Defence Force bomb squad ensured the remaining explosives were safely detonated.

They told police that explosives deteriorate over time, becoming less stable and more volatile and more sensitive to heat, shock and friction as they age.

“Had he taken advice from the NZDF Mr Woodford would not have tried to detonate the Powergel himself and the tragic consequence could have been avoided,” the coroner said.

Cunninghame said Woodford’s family wanted others to learn from the tragedy to prevent it happening again.

She wanted police staff to be reminded of the correct procedure for unused explosives.

When a member of the public sought advice on how to dispose of explosives, the Defence Force’s explosive ordnance disposal squadron should be contacted, she said.

Cunninghame said police advised they were developing all-staff guidance on police-issued devices, with an advisory notice also shared on the police intranet.

She commended the proactive approach.

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Taupō school fire: Pair face arson charges after huge blaze

Source: Radio New Zealand

The fire broke out on Sunday afternoon. SUPPLIED

Two young people have been charged with arson over the large fire at Taupō’s biggest school.

Crews contained the blaze at Taupō-nui-a-Tia College that broke out on Sunday afternoon.

Police closed surrounding roads for approximately four hours while Fire and Emergency New Zealand worked to contain the blaze at the school on Spa Road.

“The block of classrooms was destroyed, along with everything inside,” Detective Sergeant Allan Humphries said.

“We acknowledge this will be devastating for college teachers, students and families.”

He said the two youths were due to appear in Taupō Youth Court this week.

The school will be closed on Monday.

Local MP Louise Upston said the school and the Ministry of Education would minimise the disruption to students.

The ministry will meet with school staff today to assess the damage.

Board chairperson Michelle Barnett said the building houses several classrooms.

Fire and Emergency NZ said scene guards have been in place overnight and crews will be returning during daylight hours.

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Uncertainty for Auckland amid housing rule changes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland is left wondering about the future of housing intensification plans after another potential u-turn in rules from central government. RNZ/Calvin Samuel

Government interference in planning rules for Auckland housing has reached new heights with another u-turn frustrating the council

Sandringham residents Kristin De Monchy and Philip Bradley are walking around sodden, empty sections in their neighbourhood, wondering if the next homes to be built here will be swept away – again.

De Monchy’s home flooded in the 2023 anniversary weekend storms, and the impact on the suburb was severe. Since then both have been active trying to get better infrastructure in place so it doesn’t happen again.

“We made it clear right from the outset that this wasn’t about intensity,” says Bradley.

“In fact within the community we’ve been working with there seems to be a high level of support for intensification. But not when the infrastructure’s not there to support it. In our case the stormwater infrastructure is basically non-existent.”

Sandringham is a quick trip from the city and would be a great place to build up – if the pipes were in place. The government’s first attempt to force councils nationwide to increase housing options, the 2021 Medium Density Residential Standards, would have run over those objections.

“There’s never been a stormwater system built here,” says Bradley. “The system that exists, the piping under the streets around us now, is basically around delivering water to houses, and taking wastewater away, and maybe a little bit of stormwater into it where they can.”

There’s a massive infrastructure project being built practically under their feet – the central intercepter. But it’s for sewage, not stormwater.

“We do have a combined wastewater and stormwater system in our neighbourhood,” says De Monchy, “but what happens is once the flows get over much higher than a one in 10 year event they shut off connection to the wastewater network which means stormwater’s got to go somewhere – so it goes on the streets.”

Both say there’s no lack of knowledge on this issue – “there are hundreds of papers on this … dozens of studies,” says Bradley. “But they just seem to be reluctant to try and find a solution that doesn’t just involve people accepting that flooding happens.”

But the council is up against central government rules when it comes to rebuilding on those empty sections.

Richard Hills chairs the council’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee and deals with a slew of plans overlapping Auckland.

Lately those plans have been turned upside down by the government, as its quest to force councils to make way for more housing is pushed through in haste – failing to take into account issues such as the type of flooding the city experienced in January 2023, or where the most suitable place is for high-rise flats and intensity.

Now there’s another potential u-turn in the rules imposed by central lawmakers, the third in recent times. So far the chopping and changing has cost the council $13 million in wasted work, not including staff time, and it still doesn’t know where it stands.

This at a time when the government is lambasting councils for overspending, and plans to introduce a rates cap.

Meanwhile the council continues to work on the last iteration of the government’s law changes, because it has to – it’s the law.

At the moment “we’ve got hearings panel members already appointed with the government, they’re all raring to go and I’m not sure … do we change the direction? If it goes out to consultation again what does that even look like? Will people even engage because they just thought they engaged three months ago, four months ago? And a lot of people spend money on those submissions too, and time.”

“The frustration is I think we just need to stick on one path, understand what’s going on and then continue to address it.

“The other thing would just be nice if government worked with us before they jumped into new policies, new plan changes, new local government requirements.”

Aucklanders also seem to be hung up on a figure of two million more homes.

The number reflects capacity, not buildings.

“It would take every single person or property owner in Auckland to develop their property to the maximum possible available capacity on every single site in Auckland. Which we know that most people won’t. A lot of people will stay in their homes forever, a lot of people won’t sell, and there’s not the development community or the population that would build out every single property in Auckland,” says Hills.

The council’s data suggests Auckland can expect 300,000 to 400,000 new homes in the next 30 – 40 years, no matter what the plan is.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand