Category: Greg Presland
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Will Auckland become like Tokyo, and would that be a bad thing?
For the Easter Holidays I decided to visit Tokyo. This is the first time that I have been to Japan and while some of my preconceptions have been confirmed I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the city works. And as Auckland faces the problem of predicted significant growth rates for the next few decades…
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Government plans RMA power grab
The Government is proposing sweeping changes to the Resource Management Act. They had planned for even more radical change but the support parties refused to commit so the proposal to weaken the goal of environmental protection by merging sections 5 and 6 of the RMA was removed. The currently proposed changes include one which would give the relevant Minister…
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The Unitary Plan problem
Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan has been in the news lately. Although I have some sympathy for Council’s position announced in December 2015 I think the process could and should have been handled better. Some historical context is important. As part of the amalgamation process the Government decided that the new Council should have a super duper new plan…
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Government U turn on inner city rail link
Reprinted from the Standard. As had been widely anticipated the Government has performed a U turn on Auckland’s inner city rail link and has agreed to bring forward funding. Instead of it starting in 2020 it will now start in 2018 and match Auckland Council’s planned start date. Can I praise the Government for having the intelligence to…