Finding yourself homeless is terrible at any age – but it’s even worse for those under 18, who are routinely turned away by emergency housing providers, writes Aaron Hendry. “Our response to Covid, on the face of it, had a very simple premise: stay home, save lives. That simple requirement forced all of us as … Read more
Today marks one year since police evicted mana whenua and members of the Protect Ihumātao campaign from land at Ihumātao, South Auckland. Justin Latif looks back at the standoff, the eviction, and what’s happened since. Has it really been a year?! Yes it really has. On July 23 2019, police descended on Ihumātao in South … Read more
In less than a week, Auckland Council will vote on an emergency budget that looks set to deliver severe cuts to facilities and services across the city. And still pleas for a commitment on shovel ready projects go unheeded by government, writes councillor Desley Simpson. As a country we can feel proud of our success … Read more
They might sound like the same thing, but light rail is quite different from light metro – the system that transport minister Phil Twyford now favours for Auckland. Katy Wakefield and Emma McInnes of Women in Urbanism explain why the metro option is a poor substitute for LRT. Transport is a feminist issue. The issue … Read more
South Auckland’s multimillion-dollar bike paths set a new gold standard, but getting locals on track with council’s grand plan has proved an uphill battle. A scene from the 1962 film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner often plays through my mind as I ride along the relatively new multimillion-dollar award-winning cycleways around Māngere. The … Read more
Plans for a modern, efficient light rail network have taken an unexpected detour. Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie recounts the brief history of how we got here, and how there may still be light at the end of the tunnel. The good news is we’re not going to be sending billions of dollars offshore to … Read more
Auckland has made painstaking progress toward becoming a functioning modern city. Now its councillors may put that in jeopardy for a proposal that will save ratepayers an average of 47 cents a week. Hayden Donnell reports. In the depths of the Covid-19 lockdown, Auckland’s councillors started coming under pressure from a familiar antagonist. It was … Read more
How come New Zealand’s transport planning isn’t keeping up with the ideas now transforming the cities of the world? Not radical ideas, just orthodox planning ideas. Like: banning cars from the middle of town. This article was originally published in April 2017. Here’s a pretty good list of cities. Madrid, Paris, Vancouver, New York, Oslo, … Read more
The much-awaited downtown retail and hospitality precinct finally opened its doors last week. The hospo offerings have been hyped for years – so where should you head first? It’s been a bit of a construction eyesore for a while now, but downtown Auckland’s waterfront area finally has its new shiny toy: Commercial Bay. Slats of … Read more
A severe drought has forced Auckland Council to impose water restrictions for the first time in 25 years. Simon Day spoke to Watercare CEO Raveen Jaduram about why saving water this winter is essential. Over the past five months, when I pause on my (almost) daily run with my dog to take in the view … Read more
While it sounds like something a movie bad guy might hatch, Auckland Council’s updated ‘Masterplan’ to make the city centre liveable isn’t too villainous, unless you think road cones are evil. What’s the plan? It’s not so much a plan as a vision of how Auckland might look in 20 years. Under the City Centre … Read more
Twenty years ago, Auckland’s streets were ruled by diesel-hating narcs. Josie Adams looks back at the short-lived 0800 SMOKEY campaign. For five chaotic weeks in 2000, the Auckland Regional Council experimented with extreme, multi-level peer pressure. The goal: to get cleaner-burning fuel into Auckland cars. The method: turning citizens against each other in a whistle-blowing … Read more
Auckland Council recently announced a citywide food scrap collection scheme that will be kicking off in 2021. Most of us already know the main gist of composting, but what’s happening to this waste? What will I have to pay? And can I opt out if I don’t need it? New Zealanders waste enough food every … Read more
Everything you need to know about the suspension of buses in Auckland and the industrial action standoff that it springs from. What’s going on? Yesterday saw the cancellation of thousands of bus trips and a lot of people standing around at Auckland bus stops looking puzzled after services operated by NZ Bus – Auckland’s biggest … Read more
In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Photographer Brendan Kitto shares his images from the 2016 exhibition Redevelop which explored housing changes in … Read more
In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Hayden Donnell looks for inspiration and innovation on how to house the city’s future. Auckland Council’s Unitary … Read more
In a powerful rebuff to critics who question whether the prime minister is willing to use her political capital, this morning she powerfully demonstrated her commitment to New Zealand culture. For two years, my professional life has been devoted to winning respect for the lowbrow, beaten-up, off-brand artefacts that truly define New Zealand. Things like … Read more
Rather than get distracted by the stadium debate, we need to urgently acknowledge that unlocking this land now for future integration into the CBD is critical for Auckland’s future, argues Paul Winstanley. Don’t be fooled. This is not just another story about the waterfront stadium. Well, not really. Like the mayor has said, there are … Read more
A protest against the felling of non-native trees on one of Auckland’s maunga has erupted this week. Ben Thomas says they’re behaving like brats and ignoring the rights of iwi. Letting go can be hard, even if it’s for the best. This is not to say that a few dozen angry residents of Mt Albert, … Read more
In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Throughout its history, Glen Innes has had the highest density of state housing in New … Read more
It was supposed to be Auckland’s answer to Melbourne’s laneways or New York’s Chelsea Market, but the empty sites at Queen’s Rise paint a very different picture. Alice Neville reports. In June 2018, to much hype, a new “laneway-style dining destination” opened in downtown Auckland. Housed behind the historic facade of the QBE Centre building … Read more
Smoke continues to billow in downtown Auckland 24 hours after fire broke out in the incomplete complex. Shortly after 1pm yesterday came the first reports of a fire on the site of the SkyCity New Zealand International Convention Centre in central Auckland. That brought a massive mobilisation of emergency services, evacuations of surrounding buildings and … Read more
Surrounding sites evacuated and one reported hospitalised in serious condition as blaze rips through two floors of the under-construction building in the Auckland CBD. Last updated: 9pm Much of central Auckland was brought to a standstill this afternoon after a major fire broke out shortly after 1pm at the SkyCity Convention Centre. SkyCity evacuated the … Read more
From declaring a climate emergency to setting a 1.5 degree regional target, Auckland Council has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to doing its bit to tackle climate change. The question is, how exactly does it plan to do that? Acting chief sustainability officer Alec Tang explains. The Spinoff: Tell me about the key areas Auckland Council … Read more
On the good days, riding a bike is the best. But in Auckland there aren’t nearly enough of those days, and unless decision makers take urgent action, that’s not going to change. This piece originally appeared on Bike Auckland My first bike crash in central Auckland happened on Symonds Street. I was biking downhill towards … Read more
A couple of months ago Hayden Donnell wrote a scathing, sardonic opinion piece about the newly launched lobby group OpenTheBooks. It was a ghastly and unfair misrepresentation of a noble campaign for an inquiry into Auckland Transport, ripostes Clive Matthew-Wilson. I’ve been an active supporter of environmental causes for 45 years, from organising Greenpeace concerts … Read more
For Auckland is a Spinoff podcast of civic conversations with people working to create and sustain a better Auckland for all. In episode seven, host Timothy Giles speaks to Penny Hulse, longtime Auckland councillor and former deputy mayor, about her time in council, why she’s stepping down and her hopes for the future. There’s never … Read more
For Auckland is a new Spinoff podcast of civic conversations with people working to create and sustain a better Auckland for all. In episode three, host Timothy Giles speaks to Grace Stratton about accessibility, in fashion and in Auckland. She’s launched a groundbreaking fashion business, been nominated for Young New Zealander of the Year, profiled … Read more
The Hurricanes’ and All Blacks’ talismanic No 10 is heading north to Auckland in the biggest Super Rugby shift for a long time. Hurricanes true believer and NZ’s leading rugby fraternity authority Jamie Wall does his best to hold it together to analyse the move. They say the first stage of grief is denial. That’s … Read more