Covid-19: Auckland prepares case for economic boost for south and west
Thursday, 19 November 2020
Auckland is preparing a pitch to the government hoping it might boost economic assistance to parts of the region, more in line with the way it supports provincial regions.
A report by the region’s economic development agency ATEED showed the prosperity gap between Auckland’s poorer south and west, and the rest of the city is unchanged and Covid-19 may worsen it.
Months of work has gone into an assessment out soon, of the potential impacts on Māori and Pasifika communities in Auckland, which may be harder hit by an estimated 40,000 Covid-19-related jobs losses.
The report supports a new narrative from Auckland that, while as a whole it may seem to be coming through Covid-19 in reasonable shape, it is in fact a “region of regions”, some with deep-rooted problems.
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A data update in the Auckland Prosperity Index showed the proportion on a benefit in the Manurewa local board is 13.7 per cent, nearly double the Auckland average, and five times Upper Harbour’s 2.6 per cent.
Unemployment in Māngere-Ōtāhuhu was 9.1 per cent, more than double Auckland’s average of 4.2 per cent, despite the southern community being in a job-rich area.
“What it shows is that the differences are deep-rooted and requires some really fundamental changes in the way that government, local government and industry need to act if we are serious about dealing with inequity,” Pam Ford, ATEED’s economic development general manager, told Stuff.
Some of those proposed changes are expected to be outlined in the soon-to-be released report.
“During lockdown, we did this data on analysis of Covid-19 on Māori and Pasifika peoples, with a view to what actions we can take on a 2 and 15-year approach, otherwise everything we do is going to be piecemeal and won't make a difference,” Ford said.
TSI’s ongoing work includes helping the young and those who might be hard to employ, into work and encouraging “social procurement” small local businesses chasing public sector contracts.
Ford said one example was its work with the Ministry of Social Development, to get its clients into jobs in the screen sector in West Auckland, where Amazon is filming a television version of the Lord of the Rings.
”There's not a shortage of money, non-government organisations money, government money, going in to south Auckland and West Auckland but it’s not all connected up,” she said
The inaugural prosperity report in 2018 was outlined in “A Tale of two Cities”, a project by Stuff and Newshub.
In May, a report prepared by the council’s Southern Initiative – now part of its Community and Social Innovation unit – expected Covid-19 to hit the south and west harder than elsewhere.
“The impact and long tail of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on Māori and Pasifika people serve as an indication of the likely unequal impact of the expected Covid-19 recession,” the report said.
The rate for youth aged 15-24 not in employment, education or training was 18.4 per cent in the December quarter, for communities covered by the initiative (TSI), almost double the Treasury forecast of 9.6 per cent for nationwide unemployment post-Covid-19.
“In some instances, particularly for Pasifika people living in south Auckland, earning levels still have not recovered,” it said.
“There is a clear and present danger that these patterns of unequal impact will repeat and be exacerbated to an even deeper extent with the Covid-19 recession.”
Ford pointed to some areas the new report might focus on.
”We can’t change the fundamentals of health and education, but imagine if education was really disrupted and a new model put in place in part of south Auckland, because it’s clear the education system is not working for a lot of our population,” she said.