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Latest News
16 May 2008 - Interim wastewater decision
unacceptable
Despite mounting public concern over the continuation of Manukau
City’s unpopular wastewater charges, an interim decision by the
Council says the fixed residential wastewater charges are here to
stay.
In
the wake of public opposition to the charges implemented in 2006,
the Council requested a review by Manukau Water on the various
options for wastewater tariffs. This review resulted in a
recommendation to the Council that a part fixed, part volumetric
tariff be adopted to address the inequities of the current
charges.
However, after considering over 400 submissions on wastewater
charges, Manukau City Council’s Policy and Activities Committee
has supported a recommendation from the Mayor and Council officers
to retain the unpopular fixed charges.
Howick councillor Jami-Lee Ross has been one of the councillors
pushing for a change to the wastewater charges and says the
Council’s unwillingness to listen to ratepayers will come as no
surprise to the public.
Click to read more
15 May 2008 - Manukau City Council rejects
community recycling service
A Manukau City councillor has
criticised his council and its Mayor for rejecting a move to
extend recycling services to community organisations in Manukau.
Howick councillor Jami-Lee Ross was
one of several councillors that advocated for the city’s new
recycling service to be extended to all community organisations in
the City.
The move came after the Manukau City
Council had previously decided only to extend the service to Marae
in the city. Mr Ross says the Council is not being even handed by
extending the service to Marae only and not other community
organisations.
Click to read more
05 May 2008 - Support for new fuel tax withdrawn
A MAJORITY of Manukau City
councillors are recognising that citizens and businesses are
feeling the financial pinch by refusing to support another new
tax.
Nine councillors recently resisted a
drive by Mayor Len Brown and senior council officers to support
the introduction of the proposed new 5c a litre regional petrol
tax contained in the Auckland Regional Council’s annual plan for
2008/9.
Pakuranga councillor Dick Quax
pushed for the change to the Manukau council’s initial official
position. Those also against the introduction of the new tax at
this time are councillors Daniel Newman, Michael Williams, Anne
Candy, Jami-Lee Ross, Arthur Anae, Sylvia Taylor, Bob Wichman and
John Walker. Click to read more
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April 2008 - Councillors divided over three-city submission
MANUKAU City Council has laid down a
three-city model as a vision of Auckland’s future, in a submission
to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. The model was
passed nine votes to six by councillors earlier this month.
However, some councillors opposed to Manukau’s official stance are
suggesting another model, including a separate east Auckland
community council composed of Botany, Clevedon, Howick and
Pakuranga.
However, the dissenting group of Manukau city councillors is
opposed to the submission, saying it “merely serves to protect the
positions of local politicians and officials”.
Botany councillor Michael Williams says seven councillors,
including almost all east Manukau reps, support an alternative
submission. They are Jami-Lee Ross, Dick Quax, David Collings,
Sharon Stewart, Sylvia Taylor and Bob Wichman.
Click to read more
18 April 2008 - Manukau City Council drops fight for
Vector assets
The
Manukau City Council yesterday decided to drop its opposition to
the continued existence of the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT).
At
a meeting held to debate the Council’s submission to the Royal
Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance the Council
unanimously voted to delete all references to abolishing the
Trust.
Manukau City Councillor Jami-Lee Ross successfully argued at the
Council meeting that the Manukau City Council had no right to ask
for AECT to be abolished. To do so, he contended, would be to
trample on the private property rights of 300,000 AECT consumer
beneficiaries from Manukau, Auckland and Papakura.
Click to read more
02 April 2008 - Emotions run high in flag debate
DRAWING up a new policy will not
stop debate regarding the flying of flags at Manukau City Council,
says the councillor who pushed for the plan to be scrapped.
Howick councillor Jami-Lee Ross put
forward a motion at last week’s council meeting to drop an
investigation to establish a flag policy for council. However,
after emotional and sometimes heated debate that motion was
rejected 13-4.
“In three months we are still going
to come back and debate the same issue,” Mr Ross said.
Much of the controversy surrounding
the issue came from the initial approach to the council’s Treaty
of Waitangi committee to fly the Tino Rangatiratanga (Maori
Sovereignty) flag on Manukau City Council’s building in the lead
up to and including Waitangi Day 2009 and thereafter. Click to read more
19 March 2008 - Moves to stop
Manukau City Council flying Maori sovereignty flag
Proposals to fly
the Tino Rangatiratanga flag outside the Manukau City Council are
being challenged by a group of councillors opposed to the move.
A group of nine
councillors, representing half the membership of the Council, have
lodged a Notice of Motion seeking a council decision to refuse the
flying of the flag.
The move has
come following the decision by the Council’s Treaty of Waitangi
Committee to further investigate a flag policy, including flying
of the Maori sovereignty flag on civic flagpoles.
Manukau City
Councillor Jami-Lee Ross, who prepared the Notice of Motion,
believes only the New Zealand Flag and official Council flag
should be flown.
Click to read more
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