Ihumatāo and City Rail Link fall-out both cases where real leadership is overdue

Monday, 5 August 2019

OPINION: One is a protest against lawful plans to build on land first settled about 1100AD.

The other is a plea from small retailers who say they are suffering from prolonged excavation for an underground rail tunnel.

In both cases, there is a political belief that the 'system' has taken care of things, endured long past the point where real leadership was called for.

For three years, members of the group Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL) have occupied part of a 34 hectare site owned since 2016 by Fletcher Building, which plans to build 480 homes.

**READ MORE:

* Ihumātao eviction: Generations of Māori divided in dispute

* Auckland City Rail Link: Albert St shop owners get back-up in fight for payouts

* Ihumātao dispute: No development to take place until solution is found, PM says

* Auckland Mayor says compo for struggling Albert businesses too much for ratepayers to bear**

SOUL has argued that despite court rulings, the cultural and heritage value of the south Auckland land meant it should not be developed.

It has been at odds with local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki, which become a party to the development.

Rising numbers at the site over the past weeks, and the presence of police following an eviction notice, was a sign that things could turn ugly.

No one stepped up, until Auckland councillors Cathy Casey and Efeso Collins asked the mayor Phil Goff to call a meeting of all parties.

Goff pointed out that it was ultimately an issue for the government, which designated the land as a Special Housing Area for fast-tracked development. 

He said his previous letters to the government on the issue had been fruitless, but agreed to the call – which councillors passed unanimously.

The following day, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Fletchers would not proceed while  the parties talked.

It was the step SOUL had sought for years and was a long overdue moment of political leadership.

Meanwhile, on downtown Albert St, some small retailers have been struggling as the country's biggest public transport project dug up the world outside their front doors.

The $4.4 billion City Link Rail consists of two rail tunnels under the downtown area, with the lower Albert Street section being a giant trench which won't re-open until next year, months late.

The project began as a council one, but then a standalone company City Rail Link Limited, jointly owned with the government, was created to do the job.

Goff sympathised with the retailers, but said the issue of financial impacts on businesses was for CRLL to resolve.

Meanwhile, CRLL said it was for the government and council.

The government said no deal.

In a mid-June statement to Stuff, Goff indicated that offering compensation would be a poor way to spend public money, instead suggesting landlords should drop their tenants' rent.

Compensation would 'impose significant costs on ratepayers and taxpayers', he said.

The small retailers continued to meet, gained media coverage, and got the backing of some councillors, local MP Nikki Kaye and the downtown promotion group Heart of the City.

By the end of July, Goff's position began to change. The mayor would not countenance compensation, but had asked the government to jointly consider a 'targeted hardship fund'.

What if the government does not come to the party? Stuff asked Goff. Does the council not have some responsibility for the welfare of the city?

This is how the mayor replied:

'I'm looking at doing this through the company responsible for the project – which is CRLL – and I'm looking at doing that in partnership with the co-sponsor of the project (government). That's the appropriate way to deal with it.'

Neither Albert St nor Ihumātao are resolved. Whether the belated engagement of political leaders in both is sufficient remains to be seen.​