The Herne Bay Residents Association says persistent delays to reopening the Wellington Street on-ramp to Auckland’s northern motorway are causing “ongoing degradation” to its community. Christine Cavanagh, of the HBRA, told the Auckland Council transport committee this morning the increasing volume of traffic through Herne Bay caused by the closure was preventing residents from restoring [...]

The deputy mayor of Auckland has accepted her supercity council has failed to keep up with international standards when it comes to sustainable, energy-efficient buildings. Penny Hulse was responding to pointed criticism from the New Zealand Green Building Council, which told the Auckland Plan committee on Tuesday that Auckland Council was lagging behind many other [...]

Fair Trade Fortnight started with a bang today, with Auckland announcing its official status as a fair trade city. A breakfast was held at the Britomart Country Club to celebrate the announcement, and begin Fair Trade’s annual two-week event. Sam Drumm, the organiser of Make Auckland Fair Trade, said he had tried to consider both [...]

Auckland Council’s proposed “bed tax” has found support from Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney, despite strong opposition from the tourism industry. The Motel Association of New Zealand (MANZ) slammed the proposal as “another example of council gouging”, which follows similar criticism by the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand (TIA) last month. [...]

The installation of 24-hour cameras that record human movement means  pedestrians in parts of central Auckland will now be tracked around the clock. In a joint venture with Auckland Council, Auckland central business association Heart of the City has installed cameras at three intersections on Queen Street and one on High Street. Heart of the [...]

Government plans to rein in local councils could harm ongoing attempts to reduce family violence, say social service providers. Waitakere Anti-Violence Essential Services (WAVES), an organisation supporting more than 55 family violence service providers in West Auckland, says the effectiveness of national campaigns like It’s Not Ok and White Ribbon Day could be undermined in [...]

Hikers in the Waitakeres can expect track closures in July, to limit the spread of kauri dieback disease. The closure of 27km of the Waitakeres’ 260km of tracks is to be approved imminently, says principal biosecurity advisor for the Auckland Council, Nick Waipara. The goal is to create disease-free sanctuaries and cut off areas infected [...]

Auckland is on the verge of becoming a Fair Trade city with Auckland Council in the final stages of confirming its support for the idea. An organisation called Make Auckland Fair Trade has been working towards the cause since 2010, after Wellington and Dunedin became New Zealand’s first fair trade cities. A fair trade city [...]

Auckland Council has defended its plan to lower commercial property rates over the next decade – despite homeowners in some parts of the region facing rises of up to 10 per cent. Under changes proposed in the draft Long Term Plan (LTP), urban business would have roughly $2.8 million a year wiped from its rates, [...]