May 26, 2004

Spoilt for choice

Ranging from funding growth to acquiring parkland to parking in Takapuna, the North Shore City Council has heard 179 submissions on its draft 2004-2014 City Plan (long term council community plan).

Mayor George Wood says almost 3,000 people and organisations have shared their views and concerns on 2035 different subjects.

Mr Wood says councillors will carefully consider all the submissions.

"We have a wide range of worthwhile projects to choose from but it never gets any easier to prioritise and balance projects and services against the cost of providing them.

"Our community has told us which areas are most important. These core programmes include improving beach water quality, creating better transport choices to move people around our city and providing green open space.

"These programmes are included to some extent in the proposed 2.9 per cent average rates increase for North Shore City for each of the next three years.

"But because we live in an ambitious, fast-growing and successful city we have many other projects that our community would also like included.

"These all come at a cost and we need to take into account people's ability and willingness to pay for the many services that the council provides them," he says. The council will consider the amended City Plan for adoption at a special meeting on June 30.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>