Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has told residents and holiday home owners of an Auckland island to "behave like everybody else" and "cough up" for their rubbish and recycling services.
By Torika Tokolau of Local Democracy Reporting
Brown made the comments at Tuesday’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee meeting, where councillors considered the future of the rubbish and recycling services for Kawau Island.
Kawau, one of the largest islands in the Hauraki Gulf and filled with hundreds of holiday homes, does not have a rubbish collection service on the island.
Instead, residents and visitors have to haul their rubbish back to the mainland to Sandspit Reserve, to a secured enclosure with a pin-code entry gate.
Kawau ratepayers do not pay the waste management targeted rates like mainland Aucklanders.
The Sandspit enclosure, which is no longer fit for purpose, is prone to illegal dumping, and Kawau islanders are pushing for the facility to be upgraded and used only by them.
"I don’t know what’s so special about you people that you want a special one," Brown said.
Brown was responding to Kawau resident John Birch who asked the committee to consider the disparate requirements of different residents, if they wanted to introduce a targeted rate.
"We have neighbours on the island who have a significant amount of rubbish, and we have people, ourselves included, who have a very small amount," Birch said.
"A targeted rate is going to be one-size-for-all and will disadvantage quite a number of people, probably the permanent residents more than anyone."
Brown said it seemed Kawau islanders wanted a rubbish enclosure just for them.
"But it’s in Sandspit and you object to other people putting their rubbish in it. We just want to get rid of rubbish and everybody pays for rubbish everywhere."
He was against a special rubbish enclosure just for Kawau islanders, when rubbish from Sandspit residents dumped in the same enclosure should be a good thing.
"Otherwise, it’ll be in the street somewhere or other.
"... Just cough up and behave like everybody else."
Kawau Residents and Ratepayers Association member Robert Van Heiningen told the committee they were happy to pay for their rubbish enclosure themselves.
"We have funding of up to $80,000 for the re-design and upgrade of the current facility," Van Heiningen said.
"The islanders accept that a targeted rate is one they would be willing to accept. To be very clear, we’re not here with cap in hand, we’re not here to ask the council to pay for anything.
"What we’re saying is we want a long-term solution that works for the islanders, that people only have access to if they are coming from the island, in an environment that is easy on the eye and workable for the community."
Aucklanders 'paying for the solution'
Council’s senior waste planning advisor Tania Utley told the committee that early engagement revealed mainland Aucklanders didn’t like subsidising Kawau’s waste services.
Kawau had four options – an upgrade to the current enclosure, a new enclosure to be built, residents dropping off waste at a transfer station using council bags, or dropping off waste at a transfer station at their own cost.
Tuesday’s meeting was for councillors to decide on the process for consulting, and later a preferred option.
"Options A, B and C we’re suggesting would be supported by rates so that the Kawau Island households themselves contribute to the solution," Utley said.
"At the moment, other Aucklanders, or the rest of Auckland, is paying for the solution."
The committee agreed to a standalone public consultation on all four options for Kawau, then implementing a preferred option before consulting on a targeted rate through the 2028/2029 Annual Plan.
Chairperson Richard Hill said the issue needed a strong process because it had been around for a long time, and they needed to get it right.
"There is such diverse views on this," he said.
"I think it is important that we do consultation, but I do agree that the main reason for the standalone consultation is so it could be over summer while we have those visitors, while you can understand all the users who don’t normally live on the island."
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
SHARE ME