We are celebrating all the positive things going on in our community with a week long programme of events.  Regular Grey Lynn features such as the Farmers Market and Green Screen are included together with exciting new activities and a local approach to marking the international World Water Day and Earth Hour. A highlight of the week is the West Lynn Street Party & Twilight Market on Thursday 25th March.

Check out the full schedule of events here.

There is something for everyone – all happening locally.

• Bring the kids along after school to a tour of Kelmarna Organic City Farm or Lynda Hallinan’s local urban garden
• Mark World Water Day with a special showing of Tapped the movie at TAPAC
• Try something new with an introduction to meditation
• Celebrate the Autumn Equinox
• Treat yourself to a tour of local artist studios
• Find out how to raise chooks in your own backgarden
• Learn how to save money and water with Laurie Dee
• Visit local community gardens
• Enjoy the last of our summer evenings with family and friends at the West Lynn Street Party & Twilight Market

During the week why not take the Grey Lynn 2030 pledge to go low carbon:

• Leave the car at home
• Walk/cycle to school & work and for all local trips
• Compost (Waste Away can show you how)
• Check out further actions you can take here

And if you are driving in residential zones we like to think Grey Lynn is 20-30kms!

Want to get involved?

Volunteers & event listings: Contact Pippa (pippacoom@gmail.com/mob 021 926 618)

Twilight Market: Contact Paul (bellaespressonz@gmail.com)

Musicians and performers for the Street Party: Contact Sam (sambenge@hotmail.com)

Grey Lynn 2030 Waste Away group: greylynn2030wasteaway@gmail.com

General  enquiries: Greylynn2030@gmail.com

Grey Lynn 2030 Week on Facebook

At tonight’s monthly meeting the Local Government Group invite you to join a round table discussion of the latest Super City developments and the proposed role of Grey Lynn 2030 in the lead up to the October elections.  All Welcome

Time: 7.30pm

Date: Wednesday 3 March

Place: Grey Lynn Community Centre, Richmond Road

Contact: pippacoom@gmail.com

The event enables the public to bring along their appliances for recycling at no cost.

Items accepted are any brand of :

Refrigerator, Freezer, Washer, Dryer, Dishwasher, Overn, Cooktop, Rangehood, Waste Disposal Unit, Microwave.

www.fisherpaykel.co.nz

We have serious concerns  regarding the third and final of the Super City Bills.  Here is our submission to the Select Committee on Auckland Governance. We will be appearing before the Committee on Wednesday 3rd March

Grey Lynn 2030’s submission to the Select Committee on Auckland Governance Legislation on the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill

1.         Submission

Grey Lynn 2030 has serious concerns regarding the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill (the “Bill).   The key issues of concern are outlined in Section 3 of this submission.  More detailed submissions setting out our opposition to specific clauses of the Bill are contained in section 4.

2.         About Grey Lynn 2030

Grey Lynn 2030 (GL2030) is a participatory community organisation aimed at facilitating and supporting focus groups working towards creating a positive, connected, sustainable, resilient community through practical action.

We take our terms of reference from the international Transition Town movement which encourages local communities to respond to current environmental and economic challenges with positive solutions that tap into the skills and innovation available in our community. There are currently 55 Transition Town groups throughout New Zealand.

GL2030 includes over 800 direct subscribers to our regular updates, monthly meetings and active focus groups promoting community gardens, traffic calming, waste reduction, regeneration of local streams and a range of innovative activities that contribute to the community. Our steering committee is run by 5 volunteers.

GL2030 is based in Grey Lynn, Auckland, encompassing the surrounding neighbourhoods that form part of the Western Bays Community Board area (including Westmere, Ponsonby, Freeman’s Bay, Herne Bay and St Mary’s Bay).

We wish to speak to the committee in person in support of this submission

3.         Why Grey Lynn 2030 opposes the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill.

As a grassroots community group we value our community voice and the opportunity to actively participate, influence and engage in local decision making. We are deeply concerned that the Bill is a direct assault on local democracy and fails to put in place a model of governance that provides for effective community participation in local government.  We are particularly concerned with the failure of the Bill to clarify the important roles the new Local Boards will fulfil or to even clarify the principles and criteria for deciding on these roles. For the Local Boards to truly engage in local democracy at a grassroots level it is vitally important that the functions are clearly defined, substantive and meaningful.

We would like to see experienced and suitable individuals on our Local Board. Candidates must therefore be able to make informed decisions about whether they have the skills, interests and time commitment required to fill the boards’ roles.

We believe that the Bill undermines democratic control of local Government in Auckland by transferring power and decision-making in many areas to unelected Ministerial appointees.  It also paves the way for the privatisation of assets that will be transferred to the Auckland Council.  The Bill introduces measures not recommended or supported by the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance.

We further oppose measures contained in the Bill for the following reasons:

• The Minister of Local Government, rather than democratically elected local politicians, will decide what Council Controlled Organisations to establish and appoint their initial directors.
• The new Council Controlled Organisation “Auckland Transport” will have between 6 and 8 voting directors, but only 2 of them can be elected members of the Auckland Council.  This transfers effective control of transport-related powers and functions from elected councillors to unelected Ministerial appointees.
• Elected councillors will be prohibited from being directors of all other Council Controlled Organisations, again transferring effective control of vast areas of Auckland’s governance from elected councillors to unelected Ministerial appointees.
• Watercare Services Limited’s water pricing will not be subject to Auckland Council policy or direction from mid-2015, and the Auckland Council will be permitted to privatise it from that date.
• The Auckland Council will be permitted to sell strategic assets from mid-2012, meaning that privatisation plans can be completed before voters get a chance to have a say on them at the 2013  local elections.
• The Auckland Council will have no obligation to follow the advice of the statutory board for mana whenua proposed in the Bill.
• Two clauses in the Bill could gut the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act and see Aucklanders lose control over Waitakare’s prized Centennial Park.

In addition we strongly object to the inadequate and rushed legislative process, the lack of consultation and the unnecessary stream roller of changes to Auckland’s governance driven by Rodney Hide without any consensus or mandate from the many diverse communities of Auckland.

4.         GL2030’s specific submissions to the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill

Powers of Local Boards (clause 17)

We support the principle of strong Local Boards with the ability to make decisions on local issues that will act as an effective counter-balance to the powers of the Auckland Council. We submit that the Local Boards be given significant powers, otherwise local communities will lose their voice, and result in the total centralization of power in the 20-member Auckland Council.  The Government indicated that this Bill would set out the powers and responsibilities of the local boards.  However, the Bill as proposed passes the initial allocation of powers to the Auckland Transition Authority (ATA).

We submit that more detail relating to the powers of the Local Boards is required to ensure that the boards will have the ability to control local issues.   We oppose the provision that shifts responsibility to the Transition Authority and call on the Government to clarify the powers and responsibilities of Local Boards.

We submit that Clause 17 Section 19(1A)(a) should require the allocation of decision-making responsibilities for the boards and the Council to be done in consultation with existing Auckland local authorities and community boards.

Ethnic Advisory Boards (clauses 11 and 24)

Under the Bill as proposed, the Mayor alone will control the establishment of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel and the Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel.  GL2030 submits that the elected Council should have some input into this process. We also advocate for the consultation of the existing Pasifika boards in the establishment of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel.

Staff Transition (clause 24)

We oppose the provisions of this clause whereby the Transition Authority is not required to provide staff with their existing conditions when they are transferred to another job within the city as promised by. Rodney Hide. We submit that these protections be included in the Bill.

Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) (clauses 24 and 45)

We oppose the provisions of these clauses that establish Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) as being removed from the control of the elected representatives of the Auckland Council. We are not opposed to the establishment of CCOS per se however we submit that the ATA should act in a “caretaker” role in the establishment of the CCOs, leaving the elected members of the Auckland Council to fill the board positions including the positions of directors of the CCOs.

The structure as proposed, will allow Rodney Hide, and not the elected members of the Auckland Council, to have the power to decide what functions are carried out by CCOs, and the power to make the initial appointment of directors for all CCOs, including Auckland Transport which will control all transport-related powers. Important areas like the transport agency, waterfront development, economic development, tourism and events are of interest to our community and should be subject to the democratic process which will be denied under the proposed CCO model.

We oppose sections 35H and 35I of Clause 24 and supports caretaker roles for the ATA until there are elected members of the Auckland Council.

We oppose Clause 45, new section 76 which prohibits councillors from being directors of CCOs and effectively removes any possibility of elected representatives exercising any democratic control over CCOs. We support a majority of CCO board members being elected councillors.

We oppose Clause 45, new Section 45 and support the majority of Auckland Transport Board members being elected councillors. Transport, in particular, is a very important priority to our community and should not be run as a profit making enterprise. We therefore submit that the transport agency be run as an in-house business unit of the Auckland Council and that the elected representatives be held accountable for transport decisions.

We submit that the proposed (1)(b) of Clause 45 Section 37 definition of the Auckland Transport System be amended to take out of the definition things that should be done not by Auckland Transport but by the Council or, preferably, Local Boards e.g. footpaths, berms, those parts of road reserves not used as road, street vegetation, street furniture and utilities buried in or otherwise utilizing road reserve space.

In addition we submit that the objective of Auckland Transport should be expanded to include the integration of transport and land use and to provide for an energy efficient, people friendly, efficient, minimally polluting land transport system. Transport should also be obliged to contribute to the economic, environmental, cultural and social wellbeing of Auckland

We submit that Clause 45, Section 47(2) must be amended so that all of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act must apply to all aspects of Auckland Transport and to all the other CCOs. LGOIMA already exempts commercial secrecy and personal privacy and that is the only exemption required.

Maori Representation (clause 45, new part 7)

GL2030 opposes the provisions of this clause that propose a statutory board for mana whenua and instead support the inclusion of Maori seats on the Auckland Council. The Minister of Maori Affairs approves a selection body who then select the members of the board – an undemocratic appointment process for a local government body.  The board is purely advisory and has no real power.

Ports of Auckland (clause 49)

GL2030 opposes the provisions of this clause on the grounds that our community has been very clear about its desire to see Auckland assets remain in public ownership.  We believe that this Bill opens the way for the privatisation of the Ports of Auckland by removing existing protections that require an Auckland-wide referendum before the Ports can be sold.

We oppose clause 49 as it repeals the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Act 2004, including section 28 of that Act, which currently imposes restrictions on any proposed sale by Auckland Regional Holdings of its shareholding in the Ports of Auckland.  This will facilitate the privatisation of Ports of Auckland.   We support a savings provision to retain section 28 of the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Act 2004.

Campaign spending limits (Schedule 3)

We oppose the proposal in Schedule 3 that pushes campaign spending limits up from $70,000 for a population over 250,000 to $100,000 + 50c for each registered voter in constituencies exceeding one million.  This would allow Super City mayoral candidates (with 960,000 voters) to spend $580,000 in the last three months.  This is a very significant increase that would benefit wealthy candidates and those with big business backing.  Limiting the ability of candidates to stand, undermines the principles of the democratic process.

We therefore support a formula based on either an amalgamation of the spending limits of the current councils, or one based on the parliamentary limits.

First Past Post (clause 60)

The Bill requires that as well as the 2010 council election, the 2013 election also be held under the First Past Post system and denies Aucklanders the democratic right under the Local Electoral Act 2001 to opt for a more proportional system. We therefore oppose clause 60.

Ward Boundaries (clause 45, new section 83)

We oppose the provisions of this clause preventing Aucklanders from making any changes to the current ward boundaries, number of ward representatives, and local board boundaries until after the 2013 election on the grounds that this is undemocratic.  We submit that our community should be able to make changes it sees as appropriate.

Watercare Provisions (clauses 65 – 74)

Grey Lynn 2030 opposes the provisions that reduce the transparency of decision-making at Watercare after June 2012 and provide that Watercare will not be subject to Auckland Council policies or directions in setting prices for water after 30 June 2015.

We submit that existing privatisation protections promised by the government still apply to Watercare.

We oppose clause 67 as the information provisions of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 must continue to apply to Watercare Services Limited after  30 June 2012 so that the decision-making about water services and pricing is not able to be made in secret.

We oppose clause 71 as it provides that Watercare Services Limited not be subject to Auckland Council policies or directions in setting prices for water after 30 June 2015, thereby removing water pricing from democratic oversight.

We oppose clause 72 as it  provides that no member of the Auckland Council can be a director of Watercare Services Limited – effectively removing it from any semblance of democratic oversight.

We oppose Clause 73 as it opens up the possibility of privatisation of Watercare Services Limited by the Auckland Council from 1 July 2015.

Spatial plans (clause 45)

GL2030 supports the introduction of spatial planning for Auckland under the proposed Part 6. However, we submit that the purpose of the spatial plan must be strengthened so that the planning process facilitates growth and development in a manner that is sustainable and sensitive to Auckland’s cultural, environmental and historic heritage. The proposal for a Spatial Plan must also state the time frame for setting it up.

We submit that the following provisions should be added:

• The specific requirement that spatial planning be sustainable just as is in the Local Government Act and RMA.
• Powers to delegate appropriate functions under the RMA and the spatial plan to the Maori board and to the Local Boards.
• Powers with respect to the co-ordination of utilities like broadband, electric power, gas and telcos
• A reference to recreational activities and open space in Subsection (3)(h) and these should be protected as are ecological areas in 3i.

The CCO’s must be required to give effect to the spatial plan which will undermine a coherent Auckland region. We propose that a sub clause be inserted into Section 45, Clause 66 in relation to CCOs.

Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area

We oppose the provisons of the bill that remove the Ranges Heritage Area from any protection under the proposed Spatial Plan.  Schedule 3 of the bill repeals s77 in the Local Government Act which vests ownership of Centennial Park in the Auckland Regional Council instead of simply switching the ownership to the new Auckland Council. This could open the door for nationalisation of the Park as has been advocated by National MPs, and the loss of local control.  We support the ongoing and permanent protection of the Ranges Heritage Area which was fought for by Aucklanders and submit that the ownership should be transferred to the new council.

5.         Submission Summary

The new Auckland Council is an excellent opportunity to develop strategies, policy, plans and processes for the effective service delivery of an integrated region at the same time as recognising and supporting our individual communities.

We therefore ask the Select Committee to fully consider the implications of the Bill as currently drafted that has the potential to shut the community out of local decision making and lead to the disengagement in the affairs of local government.  The Bill is an anachronism in the face of a worldwide trend for community engagement and participation through strengthened localised structures.

Happy New Year Welcome to our first update of 2010. It looks like it is going to be an exciting, action- packed year as we work towards our vision of a self-reliant, vibrant, connected, positive and sustainable community. We extend a warm invitation to our first gathering of the year on Wednesday 10th  (details below). We thought an informal social evening would be a great way to kick off the year and an opportunity to gather together people working on our behalf in the community who would like to meet you. We look forward to seeing you there.

As a grass roots, community organisation we are particularly concerned about the Bill’s failure to determine the powers and functions of the Local Boards. There is a real danger that we are heading towards a flawed and centralised system that takes alway the voice of local communities.

Grey Lynn 2030 is currently working on a submission which is due by 12 February. We encourage everyone to make a submission to highlight the many issues with the Bill.  Useful templates for a submission can be found on both the Greens and Labour websites.

Auckland Central public meeting
Speakers: David Clendon, Jacinda Ardern and Phil Twyford
Location: Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn
Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm, Thursday 4th February Grey Lynn 2030 first gathering of the year
Wednesday 10 February at 7.30pm.
“Meet your Community” Drinks and Nibbles

Our first meeting of the year is a social gathering to welcome in the year. Come along to share ideas, hear what our focus groups have planned for the year and meet the people who work in the community for you.

Members of the Western Bays Community Board, CAB, Grey Lynn Neighbour Law Office, the Community Constable, and the Council’s Community Services Advisor will be there.

Special guest Mayor Len Brown (coming along to check out what we are up to in our community).

Garden Room and Patio (if it is a warm evening we will be outside), Grey Lynn Community Centre.

Drinks and canapes will be provided. Please RSVP to greylynn2030@gmail.com

Entry by koha Grey Lynn Farmers Market
Scarecrow Competition 7th February 2010

The  Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market is judging the Scarecrow Competition of the School Holiday Programme at the next market, Sunday 7th. Come along and cast your vote!

With the remaining stallholders returning from their holidays, the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market will be bigger and better than ever. As always, you’ll find lots of fresh summer produce and quality foods to stock up for the week ahead. And have you tried the authentic french crepes yet?

Remember to bring along your surplus fruit and vegetables to the innovative Ooooby stall to sell or swap with other home garden suppliers! Even better, bring it pre-bagged in the quantities you want to sell and with your name and price attached.

Membership costs $30 for the year and gives you a 10% discount on your purchases, plus voting rights on how the market is run. Traffic Calming If you ran out of time to do the Traffic survey at the end of last year it is not too late.  It really only takes 3 minutes!
if you  work, live, or play in Grey Lynn please take a couple of minutes to do this survey so we have a better idea about traffic issues and concerns

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SkrjyANkggFt1GYZyC2ePA_3d_3d Please also forward on the link to your networks.

West Lynn Parking Issues

West Lynn residents have already been busy this year looking at solutions to deal with traffic issues. In late 2009 the Auckland City Council responded to residents’ concerns about traffic flow and parking access in and around Francis Street by prosing a P120 parking permit restriction to one side of Francis Street and giving residents, who have no parking on their property, the option to buy a permit for exemption @ $150 each permit. Council distributed a survey to Francis St residents indicating that if 50% of residents agreed to the introduction of the P120 it would be implemented.

Concerned residents responded to the Council’s survey by calling a residents meeting earlier in January attended by residents of Francis, Wilton, Wellpark Streets, Kate Stanton and Bruce Kilminster from the Western Bays Community Board and Pippa Coom representing Grey Lynn 2030. A working group then presented to the Western Bays Community Board January meeting to voice opposition to implementing the P120 propose and to highlight other areas of concern discussed at the residents meeting such as footpath upgrades and better tree management in Francis Street.

The Community Board has formally requested officials to investigate issues which were raised and will report back. Residents have found the process so far very positive and have enjoyed the opportunity to meet new neighbours. The residents group intends to work with Grey Lynn 2030 to find longer term solutions that will reduce traffic and promote more sustainable transport options.

Contact: Jude Graveson Waste Away
Happy New Year to you, from the Grey Lynn 2030 Waste Away Group!
After a great 2009, the group have been active during summer with regular food waste collections from local cafes with one café diverting well over 1 tonne of  foodwaste, coffee grounds and paper serviettes so far! Well done to the  Grey Lynn community for making a difference!

You may have been along to the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market on a Sunday morning and seen us there selling and talking to people from the community about keeping worms and using the bokashi system for food waste diversion from landfill.. Many  people are keen to keep food waste out of landfill and these systems also  produce useful products for the garden. Some feedback has been that through  having a worm farm one person has discovered the pleasure and benefits in  growing some of their own food. This has spread to other members of the family  and they have a lovely time discussing their worms!

Waste Away is working hard and committed to taking action about waste in our community.

If you would like to participate or have some ideas to share, come along to our first meeting of the year on Wednesday 3rd February 7pm at the office of Waste Not  Consulting, Williamson Ave. New people  are very welcome.
For more info email: greylynn2030wasteaway@gmail.com or  phone Lynn 3766376 or 0273406911 Wilton Street Community Garden update

The Garden finished 2009 with a fabulous spud party, cooking and eating our first crop on site.  In one year the site has been transformed from weed infested “waste ground” to a productive and exciting shared garden – of which we are very proud!! The main problem we face on the site now is water.  We recently met to discuss plans for this year and have decided that due to the logistics of establishing a water collection system on site we will take a different and more sustainable approach to the development of the garden.  We will continue to grow low-water requiring crops and focus on the composting initiative. We are planning to replace the water dependant veges with a comfrey crop and to then make comfrey fertiliser in our smaller water tank – the other will still be required for water storage.  Ideally we would be able to produce enough liquid fertiliser and compost to return to community (possibly generating a small income to return to the garden ). We have begun collecting pallets in order to build a set of compost bins with the intention of establishing a local composting depot (we would love to work in with the GL2030 Waste Away group on this!). Any free pallets or plumbing assistance welcome. Contact Mandy

Grey Lynn 2030 “sustainability” week

Plans are underway for a week to highlight all the amazing things going on in our community that are consistent with our vision.

It will include our regular events – the Grey Lynn Farmers Market and Green Screen – plus a whole lot of new, exciting intiatives.

Ideas for the programme so far:
- West Lynn shopping centre street party and evening market
- tours of local gardens with bee hives and chooks
- gardening workshops
- awards for local sustainable businesses
- Transition Town Expo
- traffic calming installations

If you like to organise an event during the week or get involved in any way then please contact  Pippa Auckland Permaculture Workshop Courses

The Transition Town movement has its origins in permaculture and Gary Marshall, tutor for the Auckland Permaculture Workshop Courses was on the Steering Committee of Grey Lynn 2030 until the end of last year. Here is information we have been asked to circulate to our networks about the first four workshops of the year which are all foundation courses for completing a Permaculture Design Certificate and they all explore fundamental areas of sustainable design and living. The APW programme has been designed specifically to explore ecological design solutions for living sustainably in the Auckland bioregion.

Philosophy and Design              - 13th February 2010
Tutors -Gary Marshall and Finn Mackesy

Landscape Design                   – 27th February 2010
Tutors -Gary Marshall and Finn Mackesy

Building Design                    – 13th March 2010
Tutors -Johann Bernhardt and Gary Marshall

Living Communities                 – 27th March 2010
Tutors – Gary Marshall and Finn Mackesy

For more information or to register see our new websiteh: www.aucklandpermacultureworkshop.co.nz. Alternatively, email us at info@aucklandpermacultureworkshop.co.nz Grey Lynn 2030 in 2010
Was one of your new year’s resolutions to get more involved in your community at the same time walking the talk of sustainability?

Grey Lynn 2030 provides an ideal opportunity to indulge your interests, learn new skills, be part of positive solutions and actually see things happen that make a difference.

Positions we would like to fill this year:
Webmaster – take responsibility for keeping the website up to date
Web designer – give our website a spruce up
Publicity – help us spread the word via posters and email communications
Funding – take pleasure at filling in an application form? There is funding out there we would like to tap into to develop Grey lynn 2030 projects

And of course you there are our focus groups to get involved with OR start a new focus group if you see a gap

Contact greylynn2030@gmail.com ]]> http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/2010/02/01/grey-lynn-2030-first-update-for-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/2010/02/01/grey-lynn-2030-last-update-for-2009/ http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/2010/02/01/grey-lynn-2030-last-update-for-2009/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:30:01 +0000 Pippa http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/?p=671

10 December 2009 In This Issue: Think Global Act Local – Hopenhagen Festive Season events Grey Lynn Farmers Market Traffic Calming Waste Away Wilton Street Community Gardens update Greenscreen Grey Lynn 2030 in 2010

Welcome to our last update of 2009. It has been huge year for Grey Lynn 2030 as we have grown to a community of almost 800 supporters (over 500 friends on Facebook!), with regular meetings, active focus groups, a strong vision and above all lots of practical action. Even with the end of the year in sight we are still being kept busy with submissions due this Friday on the Local Government Commission proposals for wards, local boards and boundaries and huge concerns about the  farming practices being proposed in the Mackenzie Basin (the Greens website has information on the  factory farming proposal including advice on how to submit). It is not all hard work though. Details of the festive season events that the Grey Lynn 2030 community has been invited to are below. It will also be a really social time at the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market special Twilight Market to be held on Saturday 19th 6-9pm so we hope to see you there. A BIG thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last year. Wishing you a happy and sustainable festive season.

Think Global Act Local – Hopenhagen

Age of Stupid

For one of our movie fundraisers this year we were really lucky to screen  Age of Stupid. Since then we have been super impressed with director Franny Armstrong’s continuing campaign for action on climate change.  You can read Franny and her team’s latest – often very funny -exploits in the lead up to Copenhagen on our website.

Climate Action Vigils This weekend people in communities all over the world will light candles at  climate vigils with one united message – The World Wants a Real Deal. Join the vigil for the Climate. Friday 11th, 9pm Queens warf, by the ferry building. Bring warm dark clothes and a candle Vigils can be found on the 350, TckTckTck, or AVAAZ websites or register your own one.

Festive Season Events

Friday December 11th from 6pm

Transition Pt Chev Christmas get together Southern end of Pt Chev Beach – that is the Harbour View Rd end, NOT the Coyle Park end. Bring food to share, your own plates, cutlery and drinks – and if you have a guitar bring that along too. Everyone welcome

Sunday 13th December @ 2pm Celebrating our Summer Christmas with carols and strawberries St Columba Church gardens, 92 Surrey Crescent. Decorate your hat and enter the competition. Prizes for best adult hat and best Childs hat. Bring Strawberries to share Join the singing; listen to City Songbirds Choir For more information see www.saintcolumbas.org.nz or phone 3764229 Friday 18 December from 5.30pm Auckland Greens End of Year Celebration Venue: Grey Lynn Community Centre 510 Richmond Road Your hosts: Keith Locke MP and David Clendon MP, and the Greater Auckland Green Party All members, supporters and friends welcome!

Grey Lynn Farmers Market

The holiday season is upon us and what better place to find the freshest local foods for your holidays feasts than the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market! From local meats to homemade baked goods, delicious preserves to fresh produce (and more!) — the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market has a variety of great products that will add that… special local touch to any holiday celebration all while supporting your local food vendors and the greater Grey Lynn community! If you have a surplus of fresh produce or seedlings, remember you can bring it along to sell or barter at the Ooooby stall. It’s a real help if you can bag it up in salable units before you arrive and pop your name and a price on the bags. So, come and join us again at the Grey Lynn Farmer’s Market on Sunday, 13th December from 8am ’til 12pm at the Grey Lynn Community Centre. Plus, save the date: The Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market is hosting a Twilight Market on the last Saturday before Christmas, 19th December from 6pm to 9pm, Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Road, Grey Lynn.Come and buy all those last minute Christmas treats and gifts in our festive atmosphere with live music to get you into the holiday spirit. This is your last chance to top up your Christmas stocks with fresh, locally grown produce or buy a gift with a local Kiwi story behind it. Make it a community affair this Christmas. We look forward to seeing you at the market!

Traffic Calming

A reminder about the Traffic Survey – it only takes 3 minutes if you  work, live, or play in Grey Lynn please take a couple of minutes to do this survey so we have a better idea about traffic issues and concerns http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SkrjyANkggFt1GYZyC2ePA_3d_3d Please also forward on the link to your networks. The Grey Lynn 2030 bunting looked amazing decorating the Eco Space at the Grey Lynn Park Festival.  We have it to share so if you would like to borrow the  bunting for your street party please contact us.

Waste Away update

Want a fantastic idea for a Christmas gift?

A worm farm or a Bokashi system is a great gift for friends and family to introduce them to the delights and satisfaction of managing their household or workplace foodwaste in their own gardens. Bokashi is a great way to deal with foodwaste while camping or renting a bach.  Take your Bokashi buckets away with you to that idyllic spot and prevent your foodwaste being a problem for another community.  Fill your bucket and bury it your garden on your return. The Bokashi juice is also very beneficial for septic tanks. The Grey Lynn 2030 Waste Away group is taking action to reduce foodwaste to landfill within our community. Do you know that approx 30% of household rubbish by weight is foodwaste? We are promoting the responsible practice of keeping food waste out of landfills and using it in our gardens as a resource to grow healthy soils, healthy food and healthy people!  Also we are encouraging the prevention of wasting food in the first place. Your action with this will reduce the amount of foodwaste that ends up in landfills. Grey Lynn 2030 Waste Away are suppliers of Bokashi Buckets and Worm Farms! We are a not-for-profit organisation so we keep the prices low for you. If you would like to purchase Bokashi Buckets or a Worm Farm for a thoughtful Christmas gift or want more information about these systems, please email:  greylynn2030wasteaway@gmail.com or phone Winnie 360-7265 or Lynn 376-6376…or visit the team of ‘Wasters’ at the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market at Grey Lynn Community Centre. ‘Share some worms this Christmas ~~~!!’

Wilton Street Community Garden update

Recent rain was very welcome in the garden which has suffered from the long cold and dry spring, this has really highlighted for us the importance of securing a sustainable water source on site – our next big project which we are currently focused on. Last weekend we shared our first harvest – all taking home lovely lettuce. Our lovely big potato crop will be ready for xmas and we plan to have a potato party for year end.  All our friends and those who have supported us during the year are invited to call in to the garden and join us for a spud. This will be on our regular working bee time Sunday morning 10 am-ish 20th Dec. – nothing flash – we are all too tired! Two of our gardeners plus dogs joined the Sign On march on Saturday along with Judith and Gael from Mt Eden Village People – a great day out – see photo. Thanks to all who have helped the Community Garden this year, donating time, materials, money and not least encouragement. It has been an exciting year, we have all had so much pleasure from the garden and forged some wonderful friendships. Merry Christmas to all

Greenscreen Greenscreen held the last film of the year on the last Friday of November.  The film was The History of Oil – a funny and sharp commentary on the history of oil and its relationship to wars of the 20th and 21st centuries.  We celebrated the end of the year with popcorn for all, provided care of Kail’s mum’s popcorn machine, held in beautifully constructed paper cups made by Pania. Greenscreen will take a break for a few months as everyone enjoys the sunny evenings.  We will reconvene at the end of February or March. If you would like to get involved in hosting future Greenscreen events, or have an idea for a film, please contact Eva: eva.lawrence@gmail.com

GL2030 in 2010

We have a whole heap of ideas for monthly meetings next year. Our first  get together will be a social summer occasion on Wednesday 10 February . Details will be out in our first update for 2010 at the end of January but please put the second Wednesday in your diary now as the evening every month to come along to the Grey Lynn Community Centre at 7.30pm Why not get more actively involved with the steering committee in 2010?. In particular we are looking for someone who would enjoy keeping our website up to date.  Please contact greylynn2030@gmail.com Happy New Year

]]> http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/2010/02/01/grey-lynn-2030-last-update-for-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/2009/12/11/670/ http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/2009/12/11/670/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:08:12 +0000 Pippa http://www.greylynn2030.co.nz/?p=670 The Chief Executive Officer
Local Government Commission
Email: info@lgc.govt.nz

From: Grey Lynn 2030

Submission on proposal for wards and boundaries for Auckland Council

1.    This submission is made by Grey Lynn 2030 – transition community.

2.    Grey Lynn 2030 is a participatory community organisation aimed at facilitating and supporting focus groups working towards creating a positive, connected, sustainable, resilient community through practical action.

3.    We take our terms of reference from the Transition Initiative which is a positive response to the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil. The Transition Town movement helps people to reskill and take more responsibility. There are currently 55 Transition Towns throughout New Zealand.

4.    Grey Lynn 2030 is based in Grey Lynn, Auckland, encompassing the surrounding neighbourhoods that form part of the Western Bays Community Board area (including Westmere, Ponsonby, Freeman’s Bay, Kingsland, Herne Bay and St Mary’s Bay). We have over 700 supporters.

5.    We have monthly meetings at the Grey Lynn Community Centre and active focus groups which are presently:

• Gardening (Community Gardens such as the Wilton St community Garden, projects to encourage local composting facilities, urban food production and seed sharing);
• Green Screen – monthly screenings of DVDs at the Grey Lynn Community Centre for those who want to be entertained and learn more about sustainability and the environment;
• Local government group (who liaise with the local community board and the Auckland City Council);
• Traffic calming;
• Waste Away Group (this group recently ran a successful eWaste Action Day); and
• Water Group (working on regenerating local streams)

6.    Grey Lynn 2030 is a local movement with a wide support base.  We have many active members representing a wide range of interests.  As a grassroots organisation access to local political representation is vital to our effective functioning and continued growth.  Representation needs be local and accessible to reflect the particular needs and aspirations of our distinct local community.

Key Points

7.    The Auckland City ward and local boundaries must be determined to ensure “communities of interest” are maintained and encouraged and to ensure effective local representation for the new council and local boards. The Local Government Commission’s (LGC) proposal currently fails to achieve these objectives.

8.    The LGC’s proposals undermine the potential for greater community engagement in local government at a time when groups like Grey Lynn 2030 are demonstrating the importance and desire of local communities to be engaged and actively involved in local issues.

9.    We believe that Auckland is currently “under governed” at local level, a situation which will be exacerbated if the LGC’s recommendations are adopted. As proposed a local board member will represent an average of 12,740 people which is completely inadequate to ensure effective representation.

10.  Given that Councillors will no longer be on the Local Boards, and that the proposed structure and high population ratio to councillors will effectively place councillors at some distance from local communities, the role of boards will be critical in ensuring effective representation and communication with local communities.   Given that there is no second tier in the structure, Local boards will be expected to perform the vital role of conduit between councillors and the wider community.   For this reason, we submit that commensurate with their large size and responsibilities, all Boards should have 8 or 9 members.

11.  Grey Lynn 2030 strongly urges the LGC to introduce a system of roughly equal sized single member local wards as much as is practicable throughout the new Auckland Council.

12.  It is absolutely vital that the new Auckland Council has representation, engagement and confidence from all significant communities across the whole region.

13.  Multimember wards will strongly tend to eliminate substantial geographical and ethnic communities, to make the elected representatives more remote and reduce access to the new Council. All councillors should therefore be elected from single member wards as we consider this is the best way to ensure that, in the makeup of the Council, there is a genuine reflection of the ethnic, socio-economic, political and geographical diversity of the Auckland Region.

14.  We support the Royal Commission’s original recommendation that there be 20 – 30 Local Boards.  It is not clear why the LGC has chosen to ignore this recommendation in favour of only 19 Local Boards.

15.  We are concerned that there are very high differences in population per councillor in the proposed wards which deviates unnecessarily from the principle of one person one vote. It is essential that all votes should be seen to be of roughly equal value.   Differences of up to 17,219 and 24.3% deviate too far from the +/-10% population rule.  We would strongly urge changes that would achieve much closer to equal representation while maintaining effective communities of interest.

16.  This submission focuses on recommendations in relation to the proposed “Maungawhau – Hauraki gulf ward” where the Grey Lynn 2030 community is located.

Waitamata– Hauraki gulf ward

17.  The name Waitamata – Hauraki Gulf would be more appropriate to this geographical location.  The name Mangawhau is associated with Mt Eden and is not representative of the wider area or the actual location and is therefore likely to create confusion.

18.  We propose that the Waitamata – Hauraki Gulf Ward is determined so that is has a population of approximately 74,000 and creates a more logical community of interest within this area by removing parts of Mt Albert Ward and all of the Parnell (because Parnell identifies so closely with Hobson Bay, Remuera and the Eastern Bays) but with the addition of the area around the zoo South of Old Mill Road.

19.  The ward would then have a Waitamata Board with 2 subdivisions:  Western Bays (rest of current Western Bays Community Board area in the new ward) with 4 members; and the distinctive new area, which is mainly in the CBD and Newmarket, to be called something like Karangahape  with 4 members, a total of 8.

20.  As proposed by LGC there should also be a Waiheke local board of 5 members; and a Great Barrier local board of 5 members.

21.  We support a Waitamata Local Board with 2 subdivisions and 8 members because this would be the minimum required to represent the local communities of this unique area.  This ward brings together areas of medium to high density housing including historic residential zones and the CBD – areas of financial and cultural significance to greater Auckland, that are already facing significant developmental and sustainability issues.  This area also hosts many people who visit to work and play in the area including tourists.  We believe the 5 members proposed for the “Maungawhau” ward would not be able to adequately serve and represent the interests of this population including the community of Grey Lynn 2030.

Drafted by Pippa Coom and Mandy McMullins for the Grey Lynn 2030 Steering Committee

Friday 11 December 2009

On the telly