I love it when I see yet another country reading my blogs. This time it is the United Arab Emirates, an exotic country that I know little about, other than the huge gains it has made in the region, economically. I know that New Zealand has few ties but no doubt they are growing as we start to trade and enter joint business relationships. So, my one reader in the UAE, keep on reading and I hope you enjoy my musings. Better still, download my book, on Kindle or any other reading Ap. (ROSKILL) that you can access through my website.
I live in Auckland and I love the place; it’s beautiful harbours (yes there are two!) beaches, parks, exciting shopping precincts and its many other attractions. The problem is---getting to them. As the roads become more clogged, despite huge efforts to build motorways and improve public transport, our journeys become nightmarish in their scope and it will only get worse.
Now add the problem of affordable housing and you get a picture of an increasingly large group of ‘Aucklanders’ who have no hope of ever owning their own homes. Rentals are beyond many too, if they aspire to living the ‘better’ suburbs.’ This means that Auckland is becoming two cities; those who can afford to live in the inner suburbs and the ‘hidden jewels’ in outlying parts and those who are stuck with the sense that they are getting nowhere.
There is another New Zealand, beyond the Bombay Hills and the ‘Tourist’ road to the north of Auckland. Why are Aucklanders not heading up (or down) these pathways to a more affordable and possibly less stressful life? We have various Governments espousing ‘regional development’ initiatives, but they have come to nothing if the continuing growth of Auckland is the measure of success. What is worse some Government ‘reforms’ have killed off some of the infrastructure that would have perhaps helped with the growth of industry and trading opportunities n the provinces: I mean of course the continuing demise of the railways. Both major parties have played their part in selling off or cutting the railways services.
We need real regional development, not just platitudes at election times. There needs to be ‘real’ tax breaks to get companies to either start up or relocate to the towns and cities of provincial NZ. Our immigration services should play a part whereby new New Zealanders are given incentives to resist the temptation of joining the mad Auckland rush. We could give incentives re training allowances and ‘bonding’ new trainees in a range of ‘industries’ so that they commit to areas outside Auckland, making such moves more generous according to the need to ‘fill certain’ geographical’ zones. None of these policies will come to fore unless we have a brave Government, driving such moves.
The challenge is there for Government and regional bodies to take up the opportunity to make New Zealand a more ‘balanced’ country, where my dear Auckland is not the only focus’ for our future as a nation.
School principals (well, some of them) are asking for the right to search student cell phones for evidence re cyber-bullying. We all know that young people and others are using this medium for some pretty nasty activity, some of which has led to deaths after young people take that sad step. Whilst I applaud any effort and the discussions around trying to address this very real problem, I think the suggestion is a bit like trying to catch the horse once it has escaped from the barn.
Yes, we have a terrible problem, world-wide, but the very idea of seizing searching the phones of our youth has so many hooks in it that it is doomed to failure and will not address the underlying problem around bullying in general that besets society. If school think that teenagers cannot find a way around any moves that ‘adults’ impose on them around the use of such devises (and God knows what’s around the corner re cell phones and their like) the they are deluding themselves. There is also the question, the perennial one about the rights of schools to ‘search and seize.’ The lawyers are going to have a field day and they will be the only ones to gain from such ill-conceived actions.
Schools do need to be at the forefront in the battle against bullying but they need to be realistic about what it is they are trying to achieve and how they do it. They cannot operate in a vacuum re bullying and unless the parents, police and society on general are aboard re any moves to combat this problem, then they are doomed to failure.
It is pretty obvious that despite large amounts of money being poured into the problem of bullying in all of its forms, that we have made little progress. Many ‘new’ programmes have been introduced into schools, right though the levels, but the ‘beast remains’ to destroy the lives of so many young people, who thego on to either work things out for themselves or take more sinister moves later in their lives.
There has been some success in many schools, ones that have come about because the schools have engaged with their young people, but the efforts need to be doubled and then increased yet more. Staying up with the play means that vast amounts of resources re employing counsellors, youth workers and other support staff, along with working on school-wide programmes that involve the community, are the way to go. Unless we are ‘all’ involved,’ any knee jerk reaction is just that---a futile attempt to play catch-up. Sorry, Principals and others who espouse such actions as seizing the phones of young people---too little, off the mark and not thought through!
If you have been driving along the South Western Motorway and wondered what is going on, re all the work, then read on. Thanks Phoebe. I can't wait to see it completed. I just hope it will be safe from polluiotn. Can you give us some facts on that? www.authorneilcoleman.com
Ask Phoebe
Phoebe Falconer answers your questions about Auckland
Ask Phoebe: Making it safe to go back in the Manukau Harbour
Motorway tunnel spoil being used to restore Onehunga Bay.
An enormous amount of work is going on at the foreshore near Onehunga, and I have read little about it. Can you tell us what the project is, the cost, who is paying, and when it will be finished?
Pat Brownlie, Auckland.
The foreshore adjacent to Orpheus Drive is being restored to bring back a natural coast edge. The work was considered necessary to restore the natural character of Onehunga Bay, which was bisected when State Highway 20 was built in the 1970s. There will be new headlands, with nine beaches, three of them sandy ones suitable for swimming.
The project site extends across the coastal marine area from Seacliffe Rd to the west, across to the Manukau Cruising Club to the east, and includes works in Onehunga Bay Reserve and lagoon to the north of SH20.
Within the 6.8ha of new parkland will be open spaces, a boat ramp and picnic areas. A pedestrian and cycle bridge will connect the new land to Onehunga Lagoon.
The concrete bridge abutments can already be seen on either side of SH20.
The $28 million project, with input from iwi and the community, is being funded by the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board via Auckland Council ($10 million) and the Transport Agency ($18 million).
Progress has been considerably advanced with fill from the $1.4 billion Waterview motorway project. About 80 per cent of the required fill for the headlands has already been delivered to the site at Onehunga. The availability of clean fill had been an issue, but this was alleviated by about 55,000cu m of material from the Alan Wood Reserve in Owairaka, where the southern approach trench for the Waterview tunnel has been excavated.
The final section of the sea bund at the Hillsborough Rd end is complete, so the project is now fully enclosed and divided from Manukau Harbour.
The foreshore development will end up with about 368,000cu m of fill behind the bunds of soft rock.
Over the next couple of months there will be further progress on the beaches and headlands, with more general fill placement and the bridge piers starting to rise.
The completion date for the project is April 2015.
Because of the work taking place and the volume of construction traffic, Orpheus Drive has been closed to private vehicles from October 14.
This safety measure will remain in place until bulk earthworks for the project are complete in November next year.
Orpheus Drive remains open to pedestrians and cyclists, with a shared-use path providing access between the Manukau Cruising Club and Seacliffe Rd.
Parents may continue to drop off and collect their children from school at the southern end of the motorway footbridge.
(Sources: Herald, www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)
Ask Phoebe
Phoebe Falconer answers your questions about Auckland
Ask Phoebe: Making it safe to go back in the Manukau Harbour
Motorway tunnel spoil being used to restore Onehunga Bay.
An enormous amount of work is going on at the foreshore near Onehunga, and I have read little about it. Can you tell us what the project is, the cost, who is paying, and when it will be finished?
Pat Brownlie, Auckland.
The foreshore adjacent to Orpheus Drive is being restored to bring back a natural coast edge. The work was considered necessary to restore the natural character of Onehunga Bay, which was bisected when State Highway 20 was built in the 1970s. There will be new headlands, with nine beaches, three of them sandy ones suitable for swimming.
The project site extends across the coastal marine area from Seacliffe Rd to the west, across to the Manukau Cruising Club to the east, and includes works in Onehunga Bay Reserve and lagoon to the north of SH20.
Within the 6.8ha of new parkland will be open spaces, a boat ramp and picnic areas. A pedestrian and cycle bridge will connect the new land to Onehunga Lagoon.
The concrete bridge abutments can already be seen on either side of SH20.
The $28 million project, with input from iwi and the community, is being funded by the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board via Auckland Council ($10 million) and the Transport Agency ($18 million).
Progress has been considerably advanced with fill from the $1.4 billion Waterview motorway project. About 80 per cent of the required fill for the headlands has already been delivered to the site at Onehunga. The availability of clean fill had been an issue, but this was alleviated by about 55,000cu m of material from the Alan Wood
Ask Phoebe
Phoebe Falconer answers your questions about Auckland
Ask Phoebe: Making it safe to go back in the Manukau Harbour
Motorway tunnel spoil being used to restore Onehunga Bay.
An enormous amount of work is going on at the foreshore near Onehunga, and I have read little about it. Can you tell us what the project is, the cost, who is paying, and when it will be finished?
Pat Brownlie, Auckland.
The foreshore adjacent to Orpheus Drive is being restored to bring back a natural coast edge. The work was considered necessary to restore the natural character of Onehunga Bay, which was bisected when State Highway 20 was built in the 1970s. There will be new headlands, with nine beaches, three of them sandy ones suitable for swimming.
The project site extends across the coastal marine area from Seacliffe Rd to the west, across to the Manukau Cruising Club to the east, and includes works in Onehunga Bay Reserve and lagoon to the north of SH20.
Within the 6.8ha of new parkland will be open spaces, a boat ramp and picnic areas. A pedestrian and cycle bridge will connect the new land to Onehunga Lagoon.
The concrete bridge abutments can already be seen on either side of SH20.
The $28 million project, with input from iwi and the community, is being funded by the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board via Auckland Council ($10 million) and the Transport Agency ($18 million).
Progress has been considerably advanced with fill from the $1.4 billion Waterview motorway project. About 80 per cent of the required fill for the headlands has already been delivered to the site at Onehunga. The availability of clean fill had been an issue, but this was alleviated by about 55,000cu m of material from the Alan Wood Reserve in Owairaka, where the southern approach trench for the Waterview tunnel has been excavated.
The final section of the sea bund at the Hillsborough Rd end is complete, so the project is now fully enclosed and divided from Manukau Harbour.
The foreshore development will end up with about 368,000cu m of fill behind the bunds of soft rock.
Over the next couple of months there will be further progress on the beaches and headlands, with more general fill placement and the bridge piers starting to rise.
The completion date for the project is April 2015.
Because of the work taking place and the volume of construction traffic, Orpheus Drive has been closed to private vehicles from October 14.
This safety measure will remain in place until bulk earthworks for the project are complete in November next year.
Orpheus Drive remains open to pedestrians and cyclists, with a shared-use path providing access between the Manukau Cruising Club and Seacliffe Rd.
Parents may continue to drop off and collect their children from school at the southern end of the motorway footbridge.
(Sources: Herald, www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)
Reserve in Owairaka, where the southern approach trench for the Waterview tunnel has been excavated. The final section of the sea bund at the Hillsborough Rd end is complete, so the project is now fully enclosed and divided from Manukau Harbour.
The foreshore development will end up with about 368,000cu m of fill behind the bunds of soft rock.
Over the next couple of months there will be further progress on the beaches and headlands, with more general fill placement and the bridge piers starting to rise.
The completion date for the project is April 2015.
Because of the work taking place and the volume of construction traffic, Orpheus Drive has been closed to private vehicles from October 14.
This safety measure will remain in place until bulk earthworks for the project are complete in November next year.
Orpheus Drive remains open to pedestrians and cyclists, with a shared-use path providing access between the Manukau Cruising Club and Seacliffe Rd.
Parents may continue to drop off and collect their children from school at the southern end of the motorway footbridge.
(Sources: Herald, www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)
The ‘news’ that Indonesia is a bit miffed at the idea of Australia possibly spying on their President amongst other matters, should come as no surprise. Many countries have been doing such things for many years. It is part of the world as it is and has always been, albeit it using rather different technology, ranging from good old fashioned ‘listening,’ pigeons flying off with messages, right through to the methods used today and I could not even begin to understand just how technical they have become.
Friends spy on friends in this modern world. Neighbours keep a watch on their counterparts. Allies keep up with the play. Any country that is not involved even at the most basic level simply does not exist. Even so-called failed nations, probably have some sort of espionage going on, even if it is just to line the pockets of the ‘despots’ who rule them.
The Australian PM is playing it pretty calmly as he deflects questions in Parliament. His opposition should be careful about what they ask, because they too were involved in clandestine operational matters. If the truth were to come out about the complete activities of ‘spying agencies,’ world-wide (and it is in a way---that’s why the embassy of a certain Central American country is home to a ‘wanted whistle-blower) then there would be a huge number of red faces.
I take a pragmatic view of these activities and one would be naïve to say the least if they propose that such activities be banned. An argument can be made about how many lives have been saved over the years, simply because a ‘spying agency’ has forewarned or prevented a disaster in terms of an enemy’s planned actions. Of course the flip side of this is that Governments use these same agencies to create ‘mischief and harm’ of the own, much of it on their own citizens. That is what gets to most people who line up on the side of ant-spying. Corrupt leaders don’t have this tendency alone either. It seems that spying on citizens and the affairs of other nations has been and always will be part of the world as it is.
The difference now is that we are heating about such activities even more. The reaction to this access to information has already begun and Governments and agencies find ways to block such access and close down the voices of ‘reason.’ If I sound confused, just imagine what it is like for the ‘people’ who think that they control such ‘agencies.’ Don’t you feel sorry for them? Yeah right!
150 years ago in 1863 a significant event occurred at Rangiriri.The British had invaded the Waikato, part of their campaign to gain more land in the region for the burgeoning settler population. The Governor (Grey) ordered this invasion on the pretext that settlers and the growing town of Auckland were being threatened by the Maori who could rightly claim that they were trying to preserve the land they still held. At the time and for many years after this time, New Zealanders were taught about the ‘Maori Wars’ and how the brave British fought to claim land from the rebellious Maori. Governor Grey had insisted that Maori in the Mangere area should swear an oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria. Naturally, Maori said that this was not necessary as they already had a King. Grey’s response was to use this as a reason to launch the invasion of the Waikato and take the land of those who refused to lay down their arms. History has not always being recorded accurately re the actual events that took place or the reasons for them. It has only been in the last few decades that we had had a semblance of the ‘truth’ surrounding the colonization of New Zealand although there has always been a number of ‘scholars’ who have reported history as it happened. Not all Pakeha supported the ‘invasion’ and many Maori sided with the Crown. The reasoning for this can be construed in many ways, according to the ‘spin’ put on by the holders of those views.
Today will see an acknowledgement of the bravery and ingenuity of the men (and women) who fought in the battle at Rangiriri and also continue the journey towards reconciliation; one that acknowledges the torrid beginnings of modern New Zealand, not one based on some Victorian view of the world. Moving forward is the only way to go but it must have its roots in ‘truth.’
I live down a driveway, shared by three neighbours plus another two nearby. There is a parking area in front of our car parks which allows for turning and a few extra spaces. In some set-ups like this, there is a tendency for friction. Not so in our area. The 'zone' is one in which we all meet, sometimes inviting neighbours to take that extra step, bringing about a feeling that many people have forgotten; talking, communicating and sharing. Our conversations can be quick greetings or lengthy time-wasting but very enjoyable occasions. They have led to invitations to celebrate the arrival of a new baby, which means lovely Indian food, or a coffee made on my machine. We look out for one another; once even needing to help an older resident up when she fell. Our pets share the space, although Perdy thinks she is head bitch, but she is a Jack Russell, so everyone seems to understand. Perdy's barking informs neighbours as to who is in the neighbourhood. They know her different barks, some of which tell us that a person is 'a knocking' and about to sell us something. We stay inside, knowing that Perdy will chase them away. I am grateful to be part of this little community of neighbours, sharing out excess fruit or other products of our labour. What better than to arrive at home after a days work and then spend a few minutes, putting the world to rightness. Simple but perhaps forgotten pleasures. www.authorneilcoleman.com
