Every day we hear from people who are frustrated with the inefficiencies of local government. Everything from mindless bureaucracy to rate increases that appear like clockwork without any significant increase in services. What's your story? Share it with us, so we can demonstrate to all Aucklanders why our city needs fixing now.
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Posted by Brooke, on 05-05-2009 12:05, IP 166.179.28.207,
1. Enough is enough
I'm at my rope's end with councils these days. The building control officers think they're gods with no ounce of humanity or common sense left in them. I deal with councils throughout NZ all the time as a designer/draughtsman, and 90% of them have this higher than thou attitute, i.e., if you try to discuss the building code they will just tell you, "well we won't accept it even if it complies because we don't agree with it". I am dealing with Auckland City at present and the building control officer I am dealing with came back with a list of queries 3 pages long. Most of the queries cleary indicated that he had not even read the plans and specifications. To me this is a clearcut case of creating work when there is none. How can we fix this? Well I'm starting here then I'm going to the Mayor and then I'm going to the Minister of Local Government; enough is enough.
Posted by Philip Goddard, on 14-09-2007 12:47, IP ,
2. Ridculous consent stories
North Shore City Council building consent stories: a) A company wanted to erect pallet racking. The council charged them $4000 for a building consent - this, inside their own building. b) Erection of a marquee. The council was there for an erection fee + a demolition fee. There are endless ridiculous stories.
Posted by Jesus H Corbett, on 29-08-2007 16:09, IP ,
3. Public transport governance a joke
Let’s face it, Auckland’s public transport system is a complete joke, but what else would you expect for a service that’s planned, funded and provided by a multitude of different organisations? The fact is public transport should be owned and operated by one publicly owned and accountable corporation, not by a three ringed circus. If we want to get anywhere in public transport it must have one body responsible for it, not numerous sub-contracting organisations. That kind of management can only lead to the sorts of problems we have now. This stupid regional transport authority (ARTA) is yet another paper shuffling bureaucracy because all it does is produce screeds of paper, and shuffles it from one desk to the next. ARTA actually doesn’t do anything at all that is noteworthy. The sooner we get rid of false token gestures such as ARTA the better. The rail system, so called saviour of Auckland’s commuters - but is it really? The fact is that Auckland as a region has for 50 years been planned around roads. As such, rail has no hope of being able to even cater for a quarter of Auckland’s commuters’ needs, because it only operates on three solitary routes, and doesn’t go where the people - as in, us ratepayers - want to go. As such the urban rail investment is simply one great rort put onto us forcibly by a council and government that are pandering to trade unionist railway workers and immigrants - the later group of whom figure highly in the number of people employed on the trains in Auckland.
Why does the council allow dangerous trees to be protected to the point of the ruining people's enjoyment of their homes and putting health and saftey at risk? If the current tree laws were in a workplace OSH would be called in. Someone will be killed soon if this obsession with saving old and past-it trees doesn't stop, you can't have a privit bush on your section in case the neighbours sneeze but you can squash their house with a giant tree and there is no recourse for the rate payer effected.
