I awoke this morning, and noticed a hint of Spring in the air. The days are definitely lengthening. Roll on those summer days, it seems to have been a fairly long, cold and wet winter.

I think I told you, about a year or so, we were discussing the underground city rail system that Len Brown and his band of cohorts hatched a few years ago for an estimated sum of $3 billion. I told you to stick my article about those costs on your fridge with a magnet, so I could remind you in a few years’ time exactly what those costs turned out to be. Now, I see that Mayor Goff has now come out and said...

“We have to rethink the tunnel, and future proof it, as the projected numbers of commuters have grown beyond our estimates from a year or so back.”

So now, I see they are planning on making the tunnels wider, and the platforms wider. Goodness me how many more billions of dollars are going to be thrown down that hole. I just feel sorry for the businesses around that area who are trying to survive the construction period, with the plethora of orange construction cones preventing access to their shops and businesses. Their customers will have given up hope and found somewhere else to buy a kebab or a suit. I was over there recently meeting up with an old mate, and got off the ferry to see a boarded up walkway of 40ft containers leading up to Queen Street.  As an old Devonport person, I know the way to Queen Street but can you imagine visitors trying to negotiate their way around the bottom of the city.  Then, when they emerge from the tunnel what are they confronted with? It’s a bit of a shambles.

Not to mention the scruffy old “homeless” lying around on the street with their signs, talking on their iPhones, harassing people for money. I was told recently by a young friend that on a visit to the City one weekend they saw human waste on the streets, along with vomit and litter. Another young friend has told me, that on his morning commute to work he regularly sees the pavements fouled with human waste.  What’s happening with our City, this should not be going on. I believe that some of these “homeless” actually come into the City each day to ply their “trade” and go home each night. I do have sympathy for people who are struggling, and there is help available, but some of these people are making a living by preying on people’s sympathy. Mayor Goff, why are you not walking out and about our City at various times of the day to actually see what is going on? 

While I’m on about overpaid cohorts, I am incensed by the new regional fuel tax that has been imposed upon us. If this Council had made some savings, then there would have been no need to impose this.  When you think of all the entities in the current Council, ATEED; Auckland Transport, Panuku (and that’s another whole outburst brewing) and the rest, all with their separate layers of CEO, management etc. and occupying some of the more expensive office accommodation in the city – so much of our rates swallowed up.  If you think the new fuel tax is going to help build roads, then I don’t know, I suspect that a good portion of this money will be absorbed into more layers of administration. This could be another article to pin on your fridge for later, and we will see if I’m wrong. If anyone out of Auckland is reading this and think you are immune from these fuel taxes, then you need to see the list of councils around the country who have already applied to put these in place. 

And now, I’ll get on to the proposed concert – the Life Pod Appeal, that Sir Ray Avery is proposing to hold at Eden Park. The Resource Consent application is going to cost up to $750,000 and this is before legal fees and there is no guarantee that this consent will be granted. The Resource Consent process is as extensive as if someone was applying to build a 30 storey apartment building. This is a one off thing, could common sense not prevail and the Council waive these fees? Maybe Mayor Goff should have a closer look at this one?  Couldn’t Auckland get behind this, just once as it is such a wonderful cause. 

I have a really good idea, how about we get the homeless out of Queen Street, and drive them all up to Eden Park in the Council limousines, they can spend the night under the Number three stand, they could be given a nice big breakfast and they could sell programmes during the day and then give the park a good spruce up after the concert. There you go, a win win situation for everyone. In fact why can’t we round them up around the City and they can contribute by cleaning up the streets? It’s much better to be up and about and doing something rather than sitting on the cold (and dirty) footpaths. 

A good old Grumble this month, and I haven’t even touched on the Takapuna Car park. I’ll save that for the next column.