localmatters.co.nz
June 19, 2019
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Three talented young people from the Coast are representing NZ on the world stage in very different fields – agricultural education, competitive Rubik’s cubing and sport. From left, Courtney Davies will present her ideas for tackling global food security in Brazil (p11), 14-year-old Aidan Lenton will ‘speedcube’ at the World Rubik’s Cube Championships in Australia (p25) and Paige Satchell is currently playing with the Football Ferns in the Women’s World Cup (p32).
As of July 1, you will find Hibiscus Matters at 21 Florence Ave, Orewa
Council conflict over freedom camping bylaw Councillors, local board members and the public appear equally disillusioned by the process of creating Auckland Council’s Freedom Camping in Vehicles bylaw – a process that Cr John Watson describes as “a debacle”. The process of forming the bylaw has been going on since 2017 and the draft is expected to go before Council for a decision either on June 27, or July 25. The bylaw’s aim was to enable proactive management and enforcement of freedom camping.
However, along the way there has been confusion and confrontation at Council meetings, the walkout of one panel member – Tau Henare of the Independent Maori Statutory Board, a call by Rodney Cr Greg Sayers for the bylaw to be withdrawn and re-written, and accusations that communities all over Auckland are having their views ignored. Angry residents made their feelings known at public meetings during the consultation period, including one in Orewa (HM March 1), and there have
also been heated exchanges between councillors who sit on the Regulatory Committee. There are disputes between some councillors as to what the provisions of the Freedom Camping Act actually mean for roadside areas, and a coding error found in some submissions meant that a new report had to be prepared by staff, delaying deliberations by more than a month. The submission process itself also created confusion. Even where camping is already prohibited on public reserves, people feel that if sites are not
specifically included in the bylaw as ‘prohibited’, there will not be sufficient enforcement to stop freedom campers. A number of locals who made submissions on the proposed bylaw attended two days of deliberations at the end of last month and say it was a frustrating experience and their submissions were not properly considered. One Orewa resident who attended the panel’s deliberations, Emma Hicking, continued page 2