At Techweek‘18 the people leading New Zealand’s innovation and technological revolution share their secrets. We asked the experts for their festival recommendations. The description of Techweek‘18 as a festival of the future is perfect. The pace that science and technology is reshaping our society and economy is often alarming and overwhelming. Techweek’18 is a diverse … Read more
If a fuel tax is the best way to fund Auckland’s development, Councillor Efeso Collins asks that the benefits be invested in the people the tax will affect most – those in his Manukau ward. My parents worked on factory floors at NZ Forest Products in Penrose, cleaning operating theatres of Middlemore Hospital, and driving … Read more
Planned and implemented in the right way, these projects can lead to the creation of high quality urban places at the same time as reducing the need for travel, writes urban designer Alistair Ray. Patterns and modes of transportation shapes cities. Types and intensity of land use are directly linked to the types and methods … Read more
If you’ve ever caught one of Auckland’s Link buses, you’ve probably spent a good chunk of the ride sitting at a bus stop, not moving. But why? On Monday morning I got on the Inner Link bus at Victoria Park on the way into Britomart at 9.21am. It had just stopped for a driver changeover. … Read more
Commute week: Statistics released under official information legislation reveal a tiny group of 100 Supergold card holders hoover up over $200,000 worth of free trips to Waiheke Island every year. If you were looking out at a map of New Zealand and wondering where its most privileged citizens lived, it’s likely that Waiheke would be … Read more
Trams are almost certainly returning to Auckland, backed by the government, the council, and now even the Super Fund eager to invest. But is it really the answer to the city’s transport challenges, asks former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp There are four key elements in the government’s new transport plan for Auckland. They … Read more
Matt Lowrie thinks and writes about transport in Auckland a lot. Here the Greater Auckland director describes a daily commute that takes him from West Auckland to Takapuna, and looks to the direction of travel for public transport in NZ’s biggest city. As Auckland continues to grow and options for getting around the city without … Read more
Commute Week: Musician Anthonie Tonnon spends a lot of time on the road – his latest tour finished up just last night – so he knows a thing or two about travelling smarter. Here he shares one of his favourite money-saving hacks. After seven years spent in Auckland, I realised only last year that you … Read more
As we grapple with futuristic questions about driverless cars, mobility on demand, and end-to-end trips, is the two-wheeled answer right under our noses? Jolisa Gracewood and Sam Finnemore of Bike Auckland make the case Faster than walking and peak hour driving, cheaper than a private car or a taxi or Zoomy or Uber, the bicycle joins … Read more
Commute Week: The many failings of my daily bus commute experience show that money alone will not prise Aucklanders out of cars, writes Todd Niall in an article first published on RNZ. Like many Aucklanders, I want to believe that a “world-class” transport system is do-able with the proposed $28 billion budget, over the next … Read more
This morning the government and Auckland Council announced a record $30b investment in solving Auckland’s transport crisis. Don Rowe reports. Atop a broken escalator the two Phils stood shoulder to shoulder, sharing a vision of a better Auckland, a cleaner Auckland; a Greater Auckland, if you will. The Government and Auckland Council together will embark … Read more
The announcement that Auckland University’s arts school is to close its library speaks volumes about the value we place on art in New Zealand, argues Reilly Hodson. The Elam School of Fine Arts is the pre-eminent art school in the country, and has produced “important” and well-known artists like Michael Parekowhai, Rita Angus, James Lowe … Read more
Illustrator and writer Toby Morris checks in with five Auckland residents to get their reactions to last night’s storm. Geoff Tonkins, 28, St Heliers Geoff was up reading up all this bloody hoo-ha about Taika saying New Zealand was racist. Racist!? Pfft. He had a real zinger of a comment lined up about the Maoris … Read more
With 120,00 Auckland homes still without power after last night’s monster storm, and many expected to be waiting days for its restoration, here are some tips for carrying on without wattage. Instead of breaking down the couch for firewood and conceding that bugs might be an efficient source of protein after all, there are ways … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Toby Morris casts a critical eye over Remuera street Peach Parade. In the great cosmic list of pleasurable ways to spend time, ‘driving to the eastern suburbs of Auckland’ isn’t that highly ranked. But, it has to be said, … Read more
A diorama of Auckland dating to the 1930s was lost for decades, and shows in stunning detail the central city with light rail right through it, and before huge chunks of it were demolished. By Duncan Greive, images by Joel Thomas. Who ruined central Auckland? As we contemplate a decades-long healing process – building the … Read more
Auckland’s long battle with Wellington for the cultural capital crown will be lost once and for all if the council insists on leaving arts and culture out of its 10-year plan, argues the Basement Theatre’s Elise Sterback. In an effort to erase all memory of his predecessor, Auckland mayor Phil Goff is swapping out the … Read more
Where better to grill the government’s transport ministers on their plans for improving Aucklanders’ commute than at MOTAT, the inner-suburb museum dedicated to the history and potential future of transport. I didn’t spend my primary school years in Auckland, so I missed out on the annual class trip to the Museum of Transport and Technology … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, Simon Pound of Ingrid Starnes writes about putting fashion on the street and the community it takes to make it happen. Last year, on a late March night, with dusk landing just … Read more
The team behind the Daisy apartment building respond to the fury it unleashed from Mike Hosking. Daisy exists because Ockham Residential set a goal of building an international best practice sustainable urban residence. Tāmaki Makaurau is maturing into the South Pacific’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan city. Across many sectors there is a collective transformational spirit … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, iconic shoe store owner Pat Menzies recalls the era when flares and platforms graced the nightclubs of Queen St, and how that history has kept his store relevant in 2018. One day … Read more
Think your voice doesn’t count? The chair of Henderson-Massey’s local board begs to differ, calling on all young people to have their say on Auckland Council’s 10-year plan. Calling all young people in Auckland, your city needs you. The long-term future of Auckland depends on what is adopted in the Auckland Council’s 10-year long-term plan. As … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, founder of the New Zealand Fashion Museum Doris de Pont celebrates the legacy of Bruce Papas. Fashion is synonymous with change and while the 4 Days of Fashion in the City is providing … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Madeleine Chapman winces while watching cycleway protester Lisa Prager swing a hammer. As Lisa Prager diligently swung her sledgehammer over and over again in an attempt to break a concrete block, my back started to hurt. She was side … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, Barkers’ managing director Jamie Whiting, discusses the changes technology has brought to bricks and mortar retail. The changes for fashion retailers in the last decade, but particularly the last three to … Read more
A furious Mike Hosking has written a column decrying the construction of 33 new apartments with not a single carpark between them. Duncan Greive responds. There are few tasks more Sisyphean than responding to Hosking’s takes. One of the requirements of his job is to write a daily editorial, delivered from his radio pulpit: a … Read more
Eighteen months after David Farrier first reported on the strange antics of Bashford Antiques, he returns a final time to bid it farewell. Catch up on parts one, two, and three of the Bashford Antiques saga. It was shocking, seeing that removal truck in the driveway. I pulled over immediately and hopped out of my … Read more
The Race is an original piece of theatre about those marginalised by society, created by those who have been marginalised themselves. Simon Day spoke to some of the cast about the role acting has in their lives. His gappy grin beaming across the street, Rawiri Sears Ngatai was waiting at the top of the stone … Read more
The future of Auckland Art Gallery’s funding is in the hands of the council as it divides up its 10-year budget. Viv Beck, Heart of the City chief executive, wants them to fix the funding gap for the sake of Auckland’s cultural soul. Our mayor recently made a bold step to declare his support for allocating more money … Read more