JULY 16TH FOR THAMES-COROMANDEL SAGA
The next public stage in the application to the Local Government Commission to move the Hauraki Gulf Islands from Auckland City Council to the far superior Thames-Coromandel District Council is to take place at the Waiheke Island Resort on Thursday the 16th of July.
Details will be posted when the LGC releases them, which is expected to be soon.
ACC STILL SEES PINK ELEPHANTS AT MATIATIA
The presentations by council officers to the Community Board at our May and June meetings of their plans for Matiatia still show that as usual they just do not get it. All they get is the typical brain-damaged desire of certain councillors to make $7 million back on the $12.5 million it cost. But if they had had the vision to buy it six years earlier they could have got it for $2.5 million and been $3 million ahead without having to lift a speculative finger. They would not ‘have’ to spend millions of our money on a white-elephant investment.
The officers still plan, some day, to make Matiatia a destination, and they still tell us that we want that. No. Get it dummies: it’s a bus stop for floating buses. A place to come and go through, not to go to.
All they should be building is at least 600 efficiently arranged carparks near the wharf–and soon. Forget your plans for 70 apartments, and cafes, shops, eateries, etc., etc., etc. Forget your marketing puffery, your ‘brown axis, your ‘blue axis’, your ‘green axis.’ Forget a marina.
Forget everything except what the island wants. Put enough carparks at the foot of the valley, where we want them, then all that unsafe roadside carparking can be done away with. And keep the bus stops at the terminal. Shifting them way up the road is just as stupid as expecting people to park out near Patagonia because you refuse to provide parking where we want it.
That would be sensible. But instead their grandiose plans reduce the present 450 carparks near the wharf to 376. Otherwise the obese white elephant will not fit.
And don’t start any upgrade to Ocean View Road from the wharf to Mako Street (which is now seeking a resource consent) till the island has said yes. Otherwise the officers will do what they want–i.e., what the white elephant wants. They will have built a fait accompli with our money.
It is called democracy. Doing what the people want…
Talking to TPI people on July 1
Author: ecospeak
Keywords: tpi cleanstream waiheke recycling
Added: July 1, 2009
Waiheke Residents Protest 1st Day of TPI contract
photo: Greg Treadwell
Transpacific Industries were nowhere to be seen on their first day of work at the waste/recycling center in Ostend as up to 70 Waiheke protesters locked the gates and held vigil outside bearing banners and illiciting honks from passing motorists.
The multinational waste giant was to face a Waiheke-style welcome when it turned up for its first day managing the island’s multi-million dollar waste stream today.
A group of up to 70 islanders of all ages furious that company has displaced community-owned Clean Stream Waiheke Ltd, a 10-year success story in recycling and other aspects of community waste management began forming at around 6am this morning.
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Auckland City’s recent decision to award TPI the 10-year, $23m contract has brought howls of fury from islanders who are hoping to challenge the decision in court.
Organiser Rien Achterberg said islanders from all walks of life were upset by the loss of their community-based rubbish system and were expected to turn out to make their feelings known.
Islander Andrew Watkins said the reaction from islanders was “what happens when you take power away from a community”.
“This is a sustainability issue. We want the island developed sustainably.”
Judith Dalley said the island’s fiery community made it what it was.
“We are people from all walks of life who feel very strongly about protecting the environmental future of Waiheke,” she said.
The council’s treatment of a successful, community-owned service was “abhorrent”, she said.
Under the previous contract the island recycled more than 40 per cent of its waste stream but many islanders believe that success may be destined for the history books under the new contract.
Clean Stream employs 25 people, of whom only 10 will work for TPI.
Unlike Visy, which runs the council-owned recycling plant in Onehunga, Clean Stream has no problems finding markets for its high-quality recyclables.
Its hand-sorted recyclables avoid the degradation that comes with co-mingled recyclables like those piling up at the now-infamous Mt Visy in Onehunga.
Clean Stream also:
• runs its collection trucks on biodiesel it makes from used vegetable oils.
• contributes more than $1.3million in wages and services to the Waiheke community.
• converts 25,000 litres of used cooking oil from local restaurants a year to bio-diesel which runs its vehicle fleet.
• helps Waiheke residents achieve one of the top recycling rates and diversion of waste from landfill in the country – double the new national target at more than 40%.
• has no fee for green waste and produces mulch for re-use in our gardens. It recycles almost 2000 tons of green waste per year. Under the TPI contract green waste will go to town and then be transported back and sold to islanders at unnecessarily high prices.
• Produces such high quality sorted bales of plastic and cardboard that can be freighted back to Auckland in the empty trucks that stock Woolworths and are still finding national and international markets even in today’s dire economy
The current system is highly effective, community supported, non for profit and highly innovative, says Rien Achterberg.
“Come on. We need to get out of the last century. We have no time to waste,” he said.
At the city development meeting that initially awarded TPI the contract, councillor Glenda Fryer said: “Waiheke has an exemplar system with local jobs, money going back in the economy, research partnerships with the university, community engagement, product produced and recycling.
“The community has bought into the present system, they won’t [buy into] TPI.”
Video of the day:
July 1st Action – Waiheke from Scott Ewing on Vimeo.
Useful links:
1. Campbell Live’s coverage of the story.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/CampbellLive/tabid/367/articleID/108416/cat…
2. Waiheke does it better – a campaign site with background to the issues at stake, including video and media resources.
http://waihekedoesitbetter.org.nz/
3. Dr Lesley Stone in Gulf News.
http://www.waihekegulfnews.co.nz/other-news/waste-experts-speak-out.html
4. Other projects. See what Clean Stream does over and above picking up the rubbish:
ECB: Partnership with University of Auckland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HUAJDT_Yyc
CaptainSanchez blame Waiheke ;)
CaptainSanchez blame Waiheke 
Onetangi Waiheke 9:00 PM 10.9°C 86 pct humidity
Onetangi Waiheke 9:00 PM 10.9°C 86 pct humidity
Waiheke CSA project is making solid progress http://bit.ly/3ovc1 #nztt
Waiheke CSA project is making solid progress http://bit.ly/3ovc1 #nztt
Another Orlov Gem
A brilliant piece of writing laced with wit and charm on the normally dismal subject of peak oil.
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2009/06/slope-of-dysfunction.html
Valuable article on Transition Towns.
“If the Transition Initiative were a person, you’d say he or she was charismatic, wise, practical, positive, resourceful, and very, very popular.”
This is a great report on the Transition Towns Movement. A good resource for communicating Transition Towns to others.
July 1st Action – Waiheke
Author: ewingsco
Keywords: Waiheke Waste Rubbish Mafia
Added: July 1, 2009
Onetangi Waiheke 09:00 AM 6.7°C 89 pct humidity
Onetangi Waiheke 09:00 AM 6.7°C 89 pct humidity
home
charlottefranklin posted a photo:
home
charlottefranklin posted a photo:
little hands
charlottefranklin posted a photo:
Onetangi Waiheke 06:00 AM 6.5°C 88 pct humidity
Onetangi Waiheke 06:00 AM 6.5°C 88 pct humidity
RT @TheWineVault ok passage rock Syrah from Waiheke video http://www.viddler.com/explore/bryantj/videos/86/ (here’s rt w/ link that works)
RT @TheWineVault ok passage rock Syrah from Waiheke video http://www.viddler.com/explore/bryantj/videos/86/ (here’s rt w/ link that works)
Wedding Waiheke Island NZ
Author: MrTonykovacs
Keywords: Wedding video
Added: June 30, 2009
surging tide
nadinfinity posted a photo:
this was taken on waiheke island when i purposefully got myself lost down the bottom end. i really enjoyed just watching the tide come in and the transition between the smooth and rough water surfaces.
this is my second dri and it’s fun to blend different exposures together using masks. i really like how it is a much more natural look than hdr.
if you have the time, please View On White
u-ziq…the national | boxer
fish-with-lungs?
nadinfinity posted a photo:
i missed the fog the other day & the wicked lightning last night so i thought i would post something weird from our fishing trip.
we picked some muscles and left them up on the rocks. when we got ready to leave we found this little guy hiding amongst them without any water around. i don’t know how he was breathing but he did have a wicked suction as can be seen on his underside. he went back in the water but i wonder what he was?
…any ideas anyone?
View On White for the weirdness…
Skate video
Author: thenamesmatt95
Keywords: new skate video
Added: June 28, 2009
HBC Raiders Highlights – Vs Waiheke 27-6-09
Author: sackhead123
Keywords: HBC Raiders Highlights Hibiscus coast Vs Waiheke Rams Under 15/16s Restricted Rugby league big hits tackles try sackhead123 stanmore bay orewa college whangaparoa auckland best ryan mccarthy macca
Added: June 30, 2009
Onetangi Waiheke 9:00 PM 10.1°C 85 pct humidity
Onetangi Waiheke 9:00 PM 10.1°C 85 pct humidity
