Media Release: EDS welcomes draft Auckland Unitary Plan

The Environmental Defence Society has welcomed the release of the draft Auckland Unitary Plan.

“Auckland Council has passed two key tests with this draft,” said EDS Chairman Gary Taylor.

“First, it has reduced a pile of plans that stood more than two metres high to a much shorter, simpler and integrated document. That will make it easier for plan users.

“Secondly, the Council has nailed the issues of urban form and growth. Auckland’s future will be a sensible balance of infill development (avoiding heritage areas) and greenfield expansion. It has provided for 7 years forward land supply in this draft with the expectation that by the time of formal notification in September, it will have provided more.

“This should get the Government off Auckland’s back and remove the need for the extreme and undemocratic intervention powers contained in the recently proposed changes to the Resource Management Act.

“The plan appears to tackle natural resource management issues well. It has permissive zoning for development areas and restrictive zoning for conservation areas. This clarity and precision will give everyone more certainty and is a change from the woolly language and provisions that characterised the legacy plans it replaces.

“There are some omissions that will need fixing. These include inadequate provisions relating to the marine area. Auckland’s marine space is larger than its land area and contains critically threatened species including Maui’s dolphin and Bryde’s whale. These have not been adequately addressed in the draft Unitary Plan. Council will need to considerably beef up its marine management provisions.

“There will undoubtedly be other omissions, inadequacies and technical errors that will need to be fixed and the public will want to have proper input into the substantive proposals. We have a good six months to do that - which is a lot longer than the Government is giving New Zealanders to comment on the currently proposed RMA reforms. Then there will be further opportunities for input when the formal hearing process starts.

“EDS will be completing a thorough analysis of the environmental management provisions in the Unitary Plan and will be hosting a one day workshop on them next month.

“Overall, the draft Unitary Plan is a major step forward for Auckland and should stimulate a healthy and constructive debate about the region’s future,” Mr Taylor concluded.

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Mighty River: 'Mum And Dad’ Investors Myth Busted

Green Party research, confirmed by Treasury, shows that half of the shares in Mighty River Power that National sold to retail investors went to just 13,000 people and that 10 percent of the retail shares went to just 400 wealthy people and organisations, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

The sale of Mighty River Power saw 113,000 retail investors, referred to as ‘mum and dad’ investors by the National Government, buy 26.9 percent of the company. Analysis by the Greens and Treasury shows that half of those shares were, in fact, purchased by fewer than 13,000 people who bought an average of nearly $35,000 worth of shares...

“The truth is that 98 percent of New Zealanders bought no shares at all. Half the retail shares went to just 0.3 percent of the population, and a tiny group of just 400 wealthy individuals and organisations got 10 percent of the retail shares. More>>