Media Releases

February 2003

Waitakere urges others to support peace
27 February

Swim championships come to Waitakere City
26 February

Council revisits Henderson carparking issues
12 February

Former Japanese mayor made honorary Waitakere citizen
7 February

Work Starts at Harbourview Park
3 February

27 February 2003

Waitakere urges others to support peace

Waitakere City is calling on all Councils in New Zealand to support an anti-war stance in Iraq.

In 1998 Mayor Bob Harvey was awarded a UNESCO “Cities for Peace” prize, in recognition of leadership in promoting safe communities. He was only one of eight mayors in the world to receive the award, and last night his Council decided unanimously that it should “stand up and be counted” as war between the United States (and its allies) and Iraq looms.

Last night Waitakere passed the following resolutions:

1. That this Council strongly supports the New Zealand Government’s stance and urges the United States of America to pursue diplomatic measures in its attempts to ensure that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction.
2. That this Council urges the members of the United Nations Security Council to support the continuation of the current arms inspection process being conducted in Iraq.”

It’s views will be passed directly to the United States consul in New Zealand. Waitakere has also sent a letter to all other Mayors asking them to put similar resolutions to their Councils.

The stand was the idea of New Lynn ward Councillor Greg Presland.

“Some of our citizens want us to concentrate on the basics such as roads, rates and rubbish but the reality is that if war commences in Iraq, because of the interconnectedness of the world we live in, Waitakere will be affected. At a moral level, I believe that war is wrong and that diplomatic measures that spare the lives of potentially millions of civilians should continue. I am also worried that war will not solve world terrorism but make it worse as a new class of potential martyrs are created.”

“Waitakere City declared itself nuclear free in 1986, and has flown the Nuclear Free Peace flag for over a decade. This is another moment when it is time to take a stand for peace. As civic leaders we feel that it is important that we take a position and support the government on the world stage.”

26 February

Swim championships come to Waitakere City

The New Zealand National Age Group Championships - the largest swim meet in Waitakere City since the 1990 Commonwealth Games - will be held at the West Wave Aquatic Centre from March 2 - 6.

The championships are the country’s premier event for 13 to 18 year old swimmers, with 653 competitors, 216 coaches and managers and 75 poolside officials. 

This includes all members of the New Zealand Swim Team to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney in January along with swimmers from Australia, Japan, New Caledonia and Fiji.

The top Kiwi performers are expected to form the base of the New Zealand team to the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Swimmers to watch include:

• Mark Herring of West Auckland Aquatics in the 18 year olds’ freestyle event
• 17-year-old Melissa Ingram, a backstroke finalist in last year’s Manchester Commonwealth Games, and
• North Shore’s Corney Swanepoel in the 16 year olds’ butterfly event. 

It is the first time in 11 years that the Championships have been held in the Auckland region. Heats will start in the mornings, with finals run from 5.30 pm. 

12 February

Council revisits Henderson car parking issues

Waitakere City wants the community’s views on the introduction of paid parking.

Its Finance and Operational Performance Committee meeting on Monday agreed that the option to change the Council’s funding policy on car parking (which currently sees the City’s ‘free’ carparking funded through rates) by providing for user pays, be included in the Long Term Council Community Plan and/or the 2003/04 Annual Plan for public consultation.

The Council also requested a report on how the pilot project would be implemented and the results of public consultation with businesses and residents in the area.

“The limited opportunity to provide more car parking in the City’s key centres will be a hindrance to development of those areas,” says Councillor Janet Clews, chair of the Finance and Operational Performance Committee.

“Paid parking could help overcome this problem by making it commercially viable for either the Council, or the private sector, to provide parking buildings without relying on rates to pay for them. It would also have the flow-on benefits of freeing up land for redevelopment and encouraging the use of public transport.”

Cr Clews says Henderson is the centre most under pressure for development space and where the benefits of charge parking are most likely to be realised. 

“We are always interested in helping our town centres reach their full development potential,” she says.

The pilot study would be aimed at all-day parking, not at the existing short-term parking for shoppers. About 400 of the 1100 Council-owned parking spaces in Henderson are being used all day by people working locally or parking there and commuting elsewhere.

Preliminary investigations, which will include identification of issues, suggested technology, charging regimes, appropriate sites and local and citywide public consultations, will continue until July. Subject to funding approval, the year-long pilot project will then be undertaken with ongoing consultation and a report taken back to the Council for its consideration after that time

7 February

Former Japanese mayor made honorary Waitakere citizen

The former mayor of Waitakere’s Japanese sister city of Kakogawa was made an honorary Waitakere citizen and given a ‘key to the City’ in a special civic ceremony on 5 February.

The ceremony, in recognition of Mr Seiichi Kinoshita’s long-time commitment to the sister city relationship, was held at the new West Wave Aquatic Centre.

Waitakere and Kakogawa signed their friendship agreement back in 1991 and became sister cities the following year. Mr Kinoshita was mayor of Kakogawa at that time and held office until his retirement in June last year.

Waitakere City Mayor, Bob Harvey, says the agreement was the beginning of a relationship built upon trust and mutual friendship. 

“In a way, we have seen our cities grow up together,” he says. 

“Soon after the original Rio Earth Summit in 1992, we both encouraged our councils to take on Agenda 21 principles. So much has changed – and for the better. We took on the mantle of ‘Eco-City’ and they became the ‘Wellbeing City’. We declared ourselves to be nuclear-free and they commemorate the need for peace every year with a two-day march. Both Waitakere and Kakogawa have, in their own way, become leaders in sustainability and this has made a strong relationship between the two of us.”

Waitakere City sent a delegation to Kakogawa in 1996 and gifted three pou whenua (carved statues). A Kakogawa delegation visited Waitakere in 1998, gifting the Japanese Garden located in the grounds of the Civic Centre.

 At the ceremony, Mr Kinoshita said that he was honoured to become a citizen of Waitakere City – a place he regards as his second home. He also vowed to continue promoting the sister-city friendship and to visit as often as possible now that he has more spare time on his hands.

“If you see me fishing on the Waitemata Harbour or playing golf at Titirangi, say hello to me as you would your neighbour,” he said through his interpreter.

Mr Kinoshita is the fourth person to receive a key to the City. He shares the honour with singer and fundraiser Sir Bob Geldof, former Henderson businesswoman and ARC councillor Maureen Brooker and three-time Chatham Cup winners, the Waitakere City Association Football Club.

3 February

Work Starts at Harbourview Park

The preservation of one of the last, large, open spaces in Auckland is one step closer to reality. After intensive planning for the development of the Harbourview Park at Te Atatu Peninsula, the time has arrived to implement “Stage One” of physical work, which includes access and parking facilities.

At 6.00am on 3 February local Maori will conduct a whakanoa te papa (blessing of the grounds) after which Mayor Harvey will turn the first sod of soil, to symbolically set the preservation programme in motion.

“This is an important step in making this park more accessible for people’s perpetual enjoyment of one of the largest coastal parks in New Zealand, on the shores of the Waitemata Harbour”, explains Mayor Harvey. The Harbourview Park comprises coastal and rural land within the urban environment of Te Atatu Peninsula.

“This fragile area of wetlands and mangroves is one of the few examples of combined fresh and saltwater wetlands in the Auckland region, and is therefore worthy of our protection and enjoyment,” says Mayor Harvey.

The park, which is bounded by the North Western Motorway and has sweeping views up the Waitemata Harbour, will cover approximately 80 hectares. It is also one of the largest parks in Auckland, compared to the Auckland Domain (75 ha), Auckland Regional Botanical Gardens (64 ha) and Western Springs Lakeside Park (60 ha).

“Stage One” will allow access to the northern part of the Park, from where people can view the lower terrace which comprises an important ecological habitat for native plants and animals, including the threatened Fern Bird. 

Work will run until mid April 2003. It involves the construction of an entrance to the Park, a small car-parking area to serve the heritage building, creation of a large open and grassed picnic space, pathway connections to existing walkways, planting of swale drainage areas and placement of some specimen trees.

A community-planting event is being planned for 26th April of this year, to celebrate the opening of stage one of the Park. It is expected that the remainder of the Park will be officially opened during 2004.

For more information contact us.