Category: Waitakere Ranges
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Auckland’s impending environmental crisis
I am not breaking any secrets by saying that Auckland’s environment is going backwards at an alarming rate, and that we are facing a crisis. The subject was discussed at a recent Waitakere Ranges Local Board meeting. From the Wester Leader report on the meeting: Auckland faces a loss of biodiversity “at a cataclysmic level” unless…
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August Chair’s report – Kauri Dieback is getting worse
Through the vagaries of timing and the loss of a meeting I did not present a Chair’s report during July. This was not a reflection that nothing was happening. A number of important issues continue to attract the attention of the Board. Draft local board plan The consultation round about the Draft Local Board plan…
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ACT wants to subdivide the Waitakere Ranges (or at least the foothills)
There was a great deal of attention on the policy announcements of the major parties this weekend. One announcement was forward looking and a firm statement that business as usual was not working. The other was somewhat ho hum and involved an extension to Auckland’s electrified rail network that Labour started as well as the…
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Chair’s Report April 2017 – Water water everywhere …
Text of my April 2017 Chairperson’s report to the Waitakere Ranges Local Board The environment, particularly water, is again dominating local news. A couple of recent storm events indicate to me very clearly that climate change is occurring and it is likely that these events will become more and more frequent. The first storm a…
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Kauri Dieback needs urgent attention
Kauri dieback is a scourge of the Waitakere Ranges. The disease is widespread throughout the west, particularly in Titirangi. Council has been identifying where it is located and has just completed the second intensive monitoring exercise. The first was conducted five years ago. I am afraid that the news is not good. The rate of infection in…