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Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board
29 April 2025
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Annual
Plan 2025-2026: local board consultation feedback and input
File No.: CP2025/07402
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To receive consultation feedback from the Aotea / Great Barrier
Local Board area on:
· proposed priorities
and activities for the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board Agreement 2025/2026
· regional topics for
the Annual Plan 2025/2026.
2. To recommend any local matters or advocacy initiatives to the
Governing Body for consideration or decision-making as part of the Annual Plan 2025/2026 process.
3. To provide input on the proposed regional topics in the Annual Plan 2025/2026.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
4. Local board agreements outline annual funding priorities,
activities, budgets, levels of service, performance measures and initiatives
for each local board area. The 2025/2026 local board agreements will be
included in the Auckland Council’s Annual Plan
2025/2026.
5. Auckland Council (the council) publicly consulted from 28 February
to 28 March 2025 to gather community feedback on the proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026. This included
consultation on the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board’s proposed
priorities for 2025/2026 to be included in their local board agreement, and key
priorities and advocacy initiatives for the Annual Plan
2025/2026.
6. Auckland Council received 13,016 submissions in total across the
region of which 34 submissions were from the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board
area:
· Written feedback
(hard copy and online forms, emails and letters): 10,011 (seven from Aotea /
Great Barrier)
· In person / event
feedback: 3,001 (27 from Aotea / Great Barrier)
· Neurodiverse Online
Audio only feedback form: four (none from Aotea / Great Barrier).
7. Of those 13,016 submissions, we received 162 submissions from
individuals, organisations and Māori entities from Aotea / Great Barrier
Local Board area and outside the local board area. Submitters from outside the
local board area may have ticked multiple local board areas in the feedback
forms and/or answered the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board priorities
questions.
8. As part of the Annual Plan process, local boards provide
recommendations to the Governing Body for consideration or decision-making.
This includes any local board advocacy initiatives. The Governing Body will
consider these matters during the Annual Plan decision-making process in May
and June 2025, including:
· any new/amended
business improvement district targeted rates
· any new/amended
local targeted rate proposals
· the release of local
board specific reserve funds
· any other local
board advocacy initiatives.
9. Local boards have a statutory responsibility to provide
input into regional strategies, policies, plans, and bylaws. This report
provides an opportunity for the local board to provide input on council’s
Annual Plan 2025/2026.
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board:
a) whiwhi / receive consultation
feedback on the proposed Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board priorities and
activities for 2025/2026.
b) whiwhi / receive consultation feedback on
regional topics in the Annual Plan 2025/2026 from people and organisations based in the Aotea / Great Barrier
Local Board area.
c) tuku / provide input on regional topics in the proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026 and key advocacy
initiatives to the Governing Body.
Horopaki
Context
10. Each financial year, Auckland Council must have a local board
agreement (as agreed between the Governing Body and the relevant local board)
for each local board area. The local board agreement outlines how the council
will reflect priorities of the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board Plan 2023 in
respect of the local activities to be provided in the local board area, and
also includes information on budgets, levels of service, and performance
measures.
11. The Local Board Agreements 2025/2026 form part of the Auckland
Council’s Annual Plan 2025/2026.
12. Council publicly consulted from 28 February to 28 March 2025 to seek
community feedback on the proposed Annual Plan
2025/2026. The consultation content included information on regional
proposals to be decided by the Governing Body, and information on the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board’s proposed priorities
for 2025/2026 to be included in their local board agreement, and key local
board priorities and initiatives for 2025/2026.
13. Local
boards have a statutory responsibility to identify and communicate the
interests and preferences of people in their local board area in relation to
the Annual Plan 2025/2026.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
14. This report includes analysis of consultation feedback, any local
matters to be recommended to the Governing Body and seeks input on regional
topics in the proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026.
Consultation
feedback overview
15. As part of the public consultation for the Annual Plan 2025/2026,
council used a variety of methods and channels to reach and engage a broad
cross section of Aucklanders to gain their feedback and input into regional and
local topics.
16. In total, council received feedback from 13,016 people during the
consultation period. This feedback was received through:
· written feedback
– 10,011 hard copy and online forms, emails and letters.
· in person –
3,001 pieces of feedback through 89 Have Your Say events (one of which was held in the Aotea / Great
Barrier Local Board area), and four Neurodiverse Online Audio only feedback
form. The tables and graphs below indicate the demographic categories people
identified with. This information only relates to those submitters who provided
demographic information.
Graph 1: Regional demographic
information on submitter gender
Graph 2: Regional demographic
information on submitter gender and age
Graph 3: Regional demographic
information on submitter ethnicity
17. All feedback will be made available on
an Auckland Council webpage called “Feedback on the Annual Plan
2025/2026'” and will be accessible after 22 April 2025 through the
following link: https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/annual-plan-2025-2026/feedback-annual-plan-2025-2026.
18. During
the consultation period, the question “What do you think of our proposals
for our local board area in 2025/2026?” was discovered to be missing from
the online feedback form, affecting 13 submissions for Aotea / Great Barrier
Local Board (around 1,700 submissions in total). The issue was later corrected,
and affected submitters were contacted with a link to provide feedback on this
question before the consultation closed on 28 March. Of the affected
submissions, four submitters responded to the missing question (55 submitters
in total answered the local board question). A review was conducted to identify
the cause of the error and prevent similar issues in the future.
Feedback received on the
Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board’s priorities for 2025/2026 and the
Annual Plan 2025/2026
19. The Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board
consulted on the following local priorities for 2025/2026:
· all current projects and programmes including community
grants, environmental work, and parks upgrades
· set up of a new community-run local fish-supply
· community marine education and marine biosecurity work.
20. Overall, 55 submissions were received on Aotea
/ Great Barrier Local Board’s priorities for 2025/2026.
Key Question 4: Local Board priorities for 2025/2026
21. Out of the 55 submissions, 38 provided
feedback to question four on whether they supported or did not support the
priorities:
· Most of the submitters supported some, if not all, of the
priorities
· Six submissions were from local residents with 80 per
cent supporting all the priorities
· Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust supported
some of the priorities noting that the priorities did not align with mana
whenua aspirations, in particular: environment and service investment needed to
be higher, education needed to be prioritised, and more consultation was
required around marine biosecurity.
Graph
4: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area overall responses to Question 4:
Local Board priorities for 2025/2026
Graph
5: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board local residents responses to Question 4:
Local Board priorities for 2025/2026
Key Question 5: How important are these priorities to you?
22. Of the 55 submissions feedback was provided on
how important the priorities were to them:
· Most of the submitters noted greater support for
continuing all current work programmes and marine biosecurity work
· 43 submissions were from local residents who noted high
support for all priorities especially to continue current work programmes
· Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust board did
not provide feedback on this question.
Graph
6: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area overall responses to Question 5: How
important are the local priorities
Graph
7: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board local residents responses to Question 5:
How important are the local priorities
23. Consultation feedback on local board
priorities will be considered by the local board when approving their local
board agreement between 10-12 June 2025. Local board key advocacy initiatives
will be considered in the current report.
Overview of feedback received
on regional topics in the Annual Plan from the Aotea / Great Barrier Local
Board area
24. The proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026 builds on
the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 (LTP), setting out council’s priorities and
how services and investments are proposed to be funded. Consultation on the
proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026 asked submitters to respond to key questions
related to:
· the overall plan
· destination management and major events
· changes to other rates, fees and charges
· local board priorities.
25. Submitters were also encouraged to provide feedback on any of other
matters included in the Annual Plan 2025/2026 consultation
document.
26. The submissions received from the Aotea /
Great Barrier Local Board area on these key issues are summarised below, along
with an overview of any other areas of feedback on regional proposals with a
local impact.
Key
Question 1: Overall Plan
27. Aucklanders were asked whether they support
the overall plan, including prioritising investment in:
· transport
· water
· fairer funding for local communities.
28. The consultation document for the Annual Plan 2025/2026 also
outlined the proposed funding approach which includes a 5.8 percent rates
increase for the average value residential property, consistent with the LTP,
and additional debt financing to fund $4 billion in capital expenditure.
29. The
proposed 5.8 percent rates increase for the average value residential property
for 2025/2026 includes the following proposed rates changes:
· an average general rates increase of 6.40 per cent for
existing ratepayers
· an average increase of 3.5 percent to the Natural
Environment Targeted Rate (NETR) and Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate
(CATTR) for existing ratepayers, as set out in the LTP
· an average increase of $2.12 in the Water Quality
Targeted Rate (WQTR) to cover the operating and interest costs for the
programme, as set out in the LTP
· a 3.3 percent increase to the overall Waste Management
Targeted Rate (WMTR) for the typical household.
30. The graphs below give an overview of the
responses from the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area.
Graph
8: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area overall
responses to Question 1: Overall Plan
31. Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust
board did not support the proposed Annual Plan noting “These
priorities do not align with mana whenua aspirations. Investment based on
population and size of the local board will place further burden on Aotea than
almost every other area because we have compounding costs due to our
isolation”
Key Question 2: Destination management and
major events
32. Aucklanders were asked for feedback on a bed night visitor levy paid
by those in short-stay commercial accommodation, to fund destination
management, marketing and major events. Without such a levy, a $7 million
budget shortfall for the 2025/2026 financial year could impact the funding for
major events that are expected to attract visitor expenditure, such as the ASB
Classic, Auckland Marathon, and Auckland Writers Festival.
33. A
bed night visitor levy of 2.5 to 3 per cent paid by those in short-stay
accommodation would raise around $27 million annually to fund even more
destination management, marketing and major events activities in Auckland.
However, this requires central government legislative change. Auckland Council continues to work with
central government on this, with public feedback helping to inform this work.
34. The graphs below give an overview of the
responses from the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area.
Graph
9: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area overall responses to Question 2:
Destination management and major events
35. Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust
board stated that “Tourism and environmentalism are two main sources
of economic activity”
Key Question 3: changes to other rates,
fees and charges
36. Aucklanders were asked
to provide feedback on proposed changes to certain targeted rates and some fees
and charges as outlined below.
Waste management rates changes
37. Aucklanders were asked whether they support
applying the Refuse Targeted Rate to residential and lifestyle properties in
Franklin and Rodney to fund the council’s rubbish collection service,
replacing the current system of purchasing rubbish bags.
38. Starting in 2025/2026, residential and
lifestyle properties in Franklin and Rodney will be charged a refuse targeted
rate for the first time. Franklin's rate will cover a full year of service,
while Rodney's will be about 83 percent of the full charge due to its scheduled
September 2025 start date. Additionally, from July 2025, waste management
services and targeted rates will be introduced in Manukau's commercial areas
where the service isn’t presently available.
39. There were six submissions from the Aotea /
Great Barrier Local Board area which referenced these fees.
Graph
10: Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area overall responses to Question 3:
changes to other rates, fees and charges
40. Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust
board did not provide feedback on this question.
Changes to fees and charges
41. Other proposed changes to fees and charges included in the
consultation document for the Annual Plan 2025/2026 include:
· changes to some animal management fees including an increase in
the dog adoption fee from $350 to $450 and an increase vet fee from $75 to $150
· fees for some cemetery and cremation services
· realigning bach fees into pricing tiers based on
occupancy levels, capacity, and location
· aligning staff charge-out rates with staff pay bands for
services in regional parks
Draft Tūpuna Maunga Authority
Operational Plan 2025/2026
42. Aucklanders were asked for feedback on the draft Tūpuna Maunga
Authority Operational Plan 2025/2026 which sets out a framework in which the
council must carry out the routine management of the 14 Tūpuna Maunga,
under the direction of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
Recommendations on local
matters
43. This report provides for the local board to
recommend local matters to the Governing Body for consideration as part of the
Annual Plan process, in May 2025. This includes:
· any new/amended
local targeted rate proposals
· any new/amended
business improvement district targeted rates
· release of local
board specific reserve funds
· local
advocacy initiatives.
Local targeted rate
and business improvement district (BID) targeted rate proposals
44. Local boards are required to endorse any new
or amended local targeted rate proposals or business improvement district (BID)
targeted rate proposals in their local board area. These proposals must have
been consulted on before they can be implemented. The local boards then
recommend these proposals to the Governing Body for approval of the targeted
rate.
45. This does not apply to the Aotea / Great
Barrier Local Board for the 2025/2026 financial year.
Local board
specific reserve funds
46. Local boards are allocated funding for the
delivery of local services, projects and programmes that are important to their
communities. Local boards have decision-making over the allocation of these
funds, but need approval from the Governing Body where the release of local
board specific reserve funds is requested, which are being held by the council
for a specific purpose
47. This
does not apply to the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board for the 2025/2026
financial year.
Local board
advocacy
48. Local boards can also agree advocacy
initiatives which considers the consultation feedback above. This allows the
Governing Body to consider these advocacy items when making decisions on the
Annual Plan in May 2025.
49. The advocacy initiatives approved by the local
board will then be included as an appendix to the 2025/2026 Local Board
Agreement.
Local board input on regional
topics in the
Annual Plan 2025/2026
50. Local boards have a statutory responsibility
for identifying and communicating the interests and preferences of the people
in its local board area in relation to council’s strategies, policies,
plans, and bylaws, and any proposed changes to be made to them. This
report provides an opportunity for the local board to provide input on
council’s proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026.
51. Local board plans reflect community priorities
and preferences and are key documents that guide the development of local board
agreements, local board annual work programmes, and local board input into
regional plans such as the long-term plan and annual plan.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
āhuarangi
Climate impact statement
52. The decisions recommended in this report are
part of the Annual Plan 2025/2026 and local board agreement process to approve
funding and expenditure over the next year.
53. Projects allocated funding through this Annual
Plan process will all have varying levels of potential climate impact
associated with them. The climate impacts of projects council chooses to
progress, are all assessed carefully as part of council’s rigorous
reporting requirements.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and
views
54. The Annual Plan 2025/2026 is a council Group
document and will include budgets at a consolidated group level. Consultation
items and updates to budgets to reflect decisions and new information may
include items from across the group.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board
views
55. The local board’s decisions and feedback
are being sought in this report. The local board has a statutory role in
providing its feedback on regional plans.
56. Local
boards play an important role in the development of the council’s Annual
Plan 2025/2026. Local board agreements form part of the Annual Plan. Local
board chairs have been invited to attend Budget Committee workshops. Local
board members were provided recordings or briefings of the Budget Committee
workshops for the Annual Plan 2025/2026.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori
impact statement
57. Many local board decisions are of importance
to and impact Māori. Local board agreements and the Annual Plan are
important tools that enable and can demonstrate the council’s
responsiveness to Māori Outcomes.
58. Local board plans, developed in 2023 through
engagement with the community including Māori, form the basis of local
board area priorities.
59. Some projects approved for funding could have
discernible impacts on Māori. For any project or programme progressed by
Auckland Council, the potential impacts on Māori, will be assessed as part
of relevant reporting requirements.
60. Analysis of consultation feedback received on
the proposed Annual Plan includes submissions made by mana whenua, matawaaka
organisations and the wider Māori community who have interests in the rohe
/ local board area.
61. The Governance team led the council-wide
approach with support from Ngā Mātārae on engagement with
Māori entities. This included:
· three information
sessions for mana whenua on submissions and the process for submissions
· five information
sessions for mātaawaka on submissions and the process for submissions
· one hearing style
event for mana whenua and mātaawaka groups
62. Nineteen mana whenua entities have interests
in the Auckland Council rohe. Thirteen of the nineteen provided verbal or
written submissions on the council’s proposals for the Annual Plan
2025/2026.
63. There were six oral submissions from mana
whenua and six oral submissions from mātaawaka at the Have your Say Event.
64. Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board engaged locally with Māori by
arranging an Annual Budget hui with Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea
Trust on 4 February 2025.
65. Māori comprise 18 percent of the
population in the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board area. No submissions from people who identify as Māori were received
from people residing in the Aotea / Great Barrier Local
Board area.
66. Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust
gave feedback on the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board priorities which is
outlined in paragraph 21.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
67. The local board provides input to regional
plans and proposals. There is information in the council’s consultation
material for each plan or proposal with the financial implications of each
option outlined for consideration.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
68. The council must adopt its Annual Plan, which
includes local board agreements, by 30 June 2025. The local board is required
to make recommendations on these local matters for the Annual Plan by mid-May
2025, to enable and support the Governing Body to make decisions on key items
to be included in the Annual Plan on 28 May 2025.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
69. Recommendations
and feedback from the local board will be provided to the Budget Committee for
consideration as part of decision-making for the Annual Plan 2025/2026.
70. The local board will approve its local content
for inclusion in the final Annual Plan 2025/2026 (including its local board
agreement) and corresponding work programmes in June 2025.
71. The final Annual Plan 2025/2026 (including
local board agreements) will be adopted by the Governing Body on 25 June 2025.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
There are no
attachments for this report.
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
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Author
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Jacqui Fyers - Senior Local Board
Advisor
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Authoriser
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Tristan Coulson - Local Area Manager
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