Death of a soldier – my tribute to Ted Lees.
(Eulogy presented at St Mary’s Church, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, 18 November 2013). I wish to thank Mrs Shirley Lees for asking me to speak here today. I am honoured to be given the...
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First Tall Ship Festival – an outstanding success and reminder of Auckland’s maritime heritage
Labour weekend will stay in the memory of those estimated 200,000 Aucklanders* who witnessed the spectacular arrival and departure or who came down to the waterfront to see the magnificent tall ship fleet. It...
Election battle won – but the fight goes on
First of all I wish to sincerely thank the people of Waitemata & Gulf for re-electing me with such a resounding majority. During the election campaign getting out and about meeting local residents and...
Decision time for Auckland
I have been very proud to serve the Waitemata & Gulf Ward over the first three years of the Super City. The ward based around the parliamentary seat of Auckland Central but including Parnell and...
Walking and Cycling on the Harbour Bridge – let’s do it
The 1954 decision by the government of the day to build an Auckland Harbour bridge with only four lanes was one of Auckland’s original ‘sins of the fathers’. Well transport sins anyway. The others...
Unitary Plan – our historic houses and townscapes well worth fighting for
The announcement by Prime Minister John Key about the City Rail Link is enormously encouraging – I intend to deal with the issue of transport and how it affects the Waitemata ward in the...
Taking up the Prime Minister’s challenge
The recent announcement by John Key swinging government political and financial support behind the City Rail Link – starting 2020 – was great news. The decision was a political masterstroke by the PM, though...
Unitary Plan – test of integrity
The Auckland Council draft unitary plan has drawn an enormous amount of submissions from concerned Aucklanders – 22,700 in all. But rather than pause to give public submissions the time and attention they deserve, the...
Begging bylaw no ban – but step towards social responsibility
There has been a lot of heat and emotion about the issue of street begging in recent days – but unfortunately not much light. So what is going on? The proposed Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw...
The Unitary Plan – but is it unifying?
The public have responded to the Auckland Council Unitary Plan with a massive 22,700 submissions. . I must confess there is still a lot about the Unitary Plan that doesn’t make sense to me. ...