Manukau's Urban Issues: May 2011

Sunday, 29 May 2011

Lower petrol prices for Manurewa and Papakura residents

Residents in Manurewa and Papakura have enjoyed paying at least 4 cents less a for a litre of petrol than our fellow Aucklanders throughout the year. This is because there is an agglomeration of petrol companies on Great South Road which has produced a strong competitive environment. Price competition between these 3 companies is fierce. Generally when one puts its price down the rest will follow in order to maintain its market share.

Source: Layco, 2011. Personal Photos
One of three petrol stations offering Manurewa and Papakura residents lower prices.

Source: Layco, 2011. Personal Photos
One of three petrol stations offering Manurewa and Papakura residents lower prices.
You can also save a further 4cents of every litre if you have a fuel docket from a progressive enterprise supermarket meaning you'll only be paying under $2 for a litre of 91 fuel here.

Source: Layco, 2011. Personal Photos
One of three petrol stations offering Manurewa and Papakura residents lower prices.

As an avid user of these petrol stations I can say that there have been days when the companies have run prices significantly lower for a few hours to encourage motorist to fill up. What I find interesting is the fact that the fuel prices we pay per litre is constantly 3-4cents lowers then the average prices around Auckland. Petrol companies always comment about how their margins are extremely small and they have little ‘wiggle room’ to accommodate for lower prices. Yet our local petrol companies have proven that there is ‘wiggle room’ and they are able to rapidly respond to any price changes. What is the difference between our local petrol stations and those around Auckland? I cannot think of very many differences, in fact they are run by the same major companies that provide fuel to New Zealand, have excellence service and still offer the same petrol. The major difference is the number of petrol stations located within a small distance of each other. I think if this situation was copied as where in Auckland the results would be similar.

I have come to the conclusion that petrol prices will only be keep low if economic competition is available and visible. This drives companies to lower prices, become more competitive, provide great service while consumers benefit by paying lower and fairer prices.

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Tensions arise between Auckland Council and local boards

As the 2011-12 annual plan and funding is decided on, the tensions between different areas of Auckland are likely to be exposed. Here in Manukau these tensions already have been exposed.

Manukau Courier the local newspaper published an article on the 24^th of May 2011 voicing the concerns of our Local boards here in Manukau city. These are the same fears that I spoke about at the start of my blog. The fear of being forgotten about and central Auckland taking much of the funding available. Some Manukau locals continue to feel this way about the new local government structure. According to Manukau Courier, the pool of funding for local priorities has dwindled as Auckland Council puts some of this money into other demands such as extra rugby world cup expenditure.

Moreover, local boards are worried that local projects will be overlooked for the sake of “fashionable arts projects in central Auckland”. It was always expected that tensions would arise from this new structure. However it is extremely worrying when a local board chair (Mike Newman) states that "Local boards and their communities are being disenfranchised in relation to decisions that have significant financial implications," comments like this will have major ramifications for the legitimately of Auckland Council in Manukau and the Southern areas of Auckland.

While I can understand the general economic situation of Auckland Council with its limited budget. The perception of locals here is that the funds, which are available, are not being spread equally. Auckland Council must work with the communities here and in other areas of the Auckland region to show that they are a Council for all of Auckland. If residents here continue to feel isolated and disenfranchised, Auckland Council will face serious social backlash and have a bitterly divided Auckland on its hands. Perceptions are powerful things they can shape and influence people’s experiences.

References:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/5046393/Room-for-projects

Friday, 20 May 2011

Multi-storey car park building for Manukau CBD

On the 18^th of May 2011 New Zealand Herald reported that Auckland Council and the Mayor plan to support the new Manukau rail link by building a park and ride facility in the heart of Manukau’s CBD. Unlike other Auckland city’s Manukau’s CBD lacks any all day parking areas because the area is used predominately by a Westfield mall, former Manukau City Council headquarters and a few other professional services, therefore one can see the validity of building a parking building in the CBD.

The establishment of a multi-storey car park building brings numerous issues to Manukau’s CBD. First, it is likely to encourage more people to drive into the Manukau CBD, which will increase congestion. Congestion in this area is costly to many businesses because the entrances to State highway 20 (South western motorway) and State highway 1 (Southern motorway) are located in the heart of Manukau CBD. The car park building is likely to be located in an area that will require people to use the same routes as those trying to access the motorway.

Secondly, the Herald article suggest that this will be a Council investment indicating that returns are expected therefore it will not be a truly ‘park and ride’ facility that Aucklanders are use to because it is likely that people must pay in order to park their cars here.

Lastly, one could argue that the ‘integrated transport facility’ argument is being used to build more car parks for the Manukau CBD businesses. Manukau residents are well aware of the car park shortages for workers in our CBD. The Herald also touches on this and indicates that the car parks are likely to be used by businesses in the Manukau CBD as well as public transport users.

Personally, I don’t think many people would drive into Manukau’s CBD to catch the train when the Homai train station is only a 2min drive from the Manukau CBD and has free park space. The Homai train station is also on the Southern route, which means it will have more train services running compared to the expected services for the Manukau line. I thought the Manukau train station would be the Britomart of the South not a normal train station that one would drive to.

The parking building is still a proposal those interested should keep an eye on the Council website.

References:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10726284

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

Alcohol stores flood Manukau City

I am a Manukau City resident and this issue is one that I think many Manukau residents feel strongly about. The issue of off-licence liquor outlets has driven Manukau residents to protesting on the streets as they did last year in Clendon. Driving down some of Manukau’s poorest neighbourhoods and you will see alcohol stores located next to dairies and other alcohol stores. The question that normally comes to my mind is why would a neighbourhood need so many Alcohol stores?

Source: Pacificeyewitness, 2011.
Manukau residents march out against new alcohol stores in their communities.

The Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand released a report in 2010 titled “The Impacts of Liquor Outlets in Manukau City”. The findings are extremely concerning. It found that “in Manukau City, off-licence liquor outlets tend to be located in areas of high social deprivation and high population density” (Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, 2011). I think it could be said that Alcohol stores in Manukau only worsen the social conditions in many of these highly deprived areas. Alcohol’s social costs are widely known and are being experienced by Manukau’s most socially excluded.

Source: Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, 2010
The most deprived areas are in the grey/black the pink dots are the liquor stores as you can see most of them are in the grey/black areas of Manukau.

I think that regulations and laws around granting off-licences to liquor stores should be toughed up. The location of the store should be taken into account and the existence of other off-licence liquor stores should also influence whether or not a license is granted. While the Council has tools that could be used to stop off-licences being granted such as the District Plan, they are not strong enough to keep the numbers of off-licences for liquor outlets low in Manukau. The effects of Alcohol abuse is damaging not only to the individual consuming it but also to their family, community and the rest of the nation. Placing off-licence liquor stores in areas where social problems already exist adds fuel to the fire.

The new Auckland Council should regularly monitor the number of off-licence liquor outlets and map out their location. They can build on the research that the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand has already established. Auckland Council needs to do this because if they do not the social cost in the long term will be significant on the rest of the Auckland region. Without early intervention and monitoring ratepayers will end up paying the bill for alcohol externalities.

The most deprived Manukau communities are the most vulnerable to the temptations of cheap liquor sold it through these off-licence liquor outlets. Those in positions of power especially local authority have legal obligations to care for these communities’ well-beings. One way of doing this is to stop granting off-licences to stores wanting to locate in these communities. This will reduce the sources of cheap alcohol in the community. By acknowledging, working and helping Auckland’s most deprived Auckland will start to head towards its goal of becoming a global city because we are only as strong as our weakness link.

References:

www.alcohol.org.nz/.../ManukauOutletDensitySummaryReport.PDF

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10662667

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

United States of America inspires school building design in Flat Bush

The new schools in Manukau's Flat Bush development seem to have been inspired by American School design. The two largest school Mission Heights School and Ormiston Senior College are a new style for School buildings. Unlike traditional New Zealand schools which are made up of several small buildings that are used as class rooms and have separate library and hall facilities, these new schools facilities and class rooms are predominately housed by one large buildings. One could argue that Americans design and build their schools in this manner because land is much more scarce there. So the question is why did the developers decide to build Mission Heights School and Ormiston Senior College in the same manner? In my personal opinion, the school have been built like this in Flat Bush in order to maximize land area by having a 2 to 3 storey high building that houses all the class rooms and other in door facilities and then offering student larger fields and court areas that would otherwise have been cover by a classroom if it had been built in the same traditional New Zealand School style.

Source: American Institute of Architects, 2011

New Wadena High School that will replace the old school that had similar building design that was destroyed by a tornado last year. If you compare this to the building below of Ormiston in New Zealand you can see the similarities in building styles and size.