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Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:14 am Post Subject: Government seizes Auckland waterfront
That's the copy-and-paste headline from stuff.co.nz! What can you say to that? Although this precedent is no real laughing matter... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I hope everyone's still proud to be a Noo Zeelanduh :roll: Now let's festoon the Holden in All Black flags & get (cue Dead Kennedys version..) rollin', rollin', rollin'... rollin', rollin', rollin'... rawhiiiiiide! :cowboy:
Government seizes Auckland waterfront JOHN HARTEVELT AND BELINDA MCCAMMON
Last updated 17:48 13/09/2011
LATEST:The Government will use special powers under Rugby World Cup legislation to take control of the Auckland waterfront set aside during the tournament.
Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully will this afternoon outline his intention tomorrow to call up reserve powers available to him under the Rugby World Cup Empowerment Bill.
McCully has ordered Government officials to write a new plan to manage the waterfront beyond its own Fan Zone at Queens Wharf.
The plan, which turns responsibility from the Auckland Council over to the Government, will expand management measures and create more space for partying.
"Some of my critics have been suggesting I should take responsibility, well I am. I am stepping in to a space that the Government has not previously occupied," McCully said.
"We're getting on the front foot here and showing a determination to provide a larger footprint and a wider range of measures to assist with the management of crowds and the delivery of amenities."
About 200,000 turned out to the Auckland waterfront for the opening of the RWC on Friday night. Only around 12,000 were allowed into the Queens Wharf fan zone, where there were no problems.
McCully said he felt the preparations for outside of the Queens Wharf area - made by the Auckland Council's responsible group - were "thoroughly inadequate in respect of the crowd control and amenities".
"It would be fair to say there was not adequate provision made for toilets and for other amenities and that was a significant contributing factor to the problems," McCully said.
"Neither were there proper arrangements for the flow and management of people which led to difficulties."
Auckland Mayor Len Brown said he had little warning over the announcement and found the decision "a little surprising" given the progress the council had made over the many of issues which had caused problems.
Brown said the moves the Government were taking such as the closing of Quay Street on Friday and Saturday near Queens Wharf, were what the council were ready to move on as well.
Speaking to media at the town hall, Brown said he was due to speak with the prime minister soon and he had a clear message for him.
"My very earnest advice to the prime minister is for us all to keep focused."
Brown said he had no indication the government would take such action and their relationship over their joint handling of the RWC was "honky dory" and their were no "red flags".
Brown avoided raking potshots at McCully refusing to answer questions about whether the minister himself had "dropped the ball" over the handling of Friday night.
He denied the move effectively took him and his council out of the loop but would not respond to a question that this directly undermined his leadership.
Brown said he was told of the Government's decision via email this afternoon.
He only spoke to McCully after the minister had briefed the media.
The new Government plan was being finalised this afternoon and McCully had been advised the only way to give the new plan legal effect was via special reserve measures in the RWC Empowering Bill.
McCully said he was not directly involved in drawing up the plan but it would lead to a wider footprint of Government control on the waterfront.
In co-operation with the port companies, some more of the wharf area would also be called up, including Bledisloe Wharf.
"I am determined to see a more precautionary approach taken than was taken last Friday," McCully said.
"We're getting on the front foot here and showing a determination to provide a larger footprint and a wider range of measures to assist with the management of crowds and the delivery of amenities."
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:16 am Post Subject:
And the latest...
Party Central buck stops with me: McCully Last updated 08:54 14/09/2011
A new plan to control fans flocking to Auckland's Party Central is being rushed in today, with Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully saying the buck stops with him over last weekend's chaos.
This came after the Government discovered nothing had been prepared to manage waterfront revelry this weekend.
Pulled together within days by Government officials, the plan is expected to be signed off under special powers by McCully this afternoon.
It would expand the Government's control beyond the Queens Wharf fanzone into spaces previously managed by an Auckland Council group that has existed for less than a year.
The Government's plan would allow thousands more people in to the fanzone and grow the space for partygoers into parts of the Bledisloe and Captain Cook wharves, which are used as working ports.
It follows chaotic scenes on Friday when an estimated 200,000 people crammed into downtown Auckland for a series of events on Auckland's waterfront to mark the opening of the Rugby World Cup. Officials had planned for a crowd less than a quarter that size.
McCully defended the way the Government had seized control of the city's waterfront.
The minister has been accused of political point scoring after Auckland Mayor Len Brown appeared to be caught off guard by the Government's announcement.
Brown was told of the move by email just a short time before McCully's announcement and has said the Auckland Council and Government "could have done this better".
However, McCully said today he had thought the mayor had been fully briefed.
"I rang the mayor of Auckland myself when it became clear to me yesterday, after I made my media comments, that he hadn't been fully sighted and frankly I was surprised that he hadn't been," he told Radio New Zealand.
McCully said he had begun a formal communication process with the council on Monday morning when he realised he was going to have to take action under the emergency legislation.
"I've got a whole range of officials to work on our side and a whole range to work on Auckland City side and I would have thought getting chief executive to chief executive was a very good way of getting our whole systems plugged in with each other."
The minister also defended not holding a joint press conference with Brown to announce the Government was taking over what had been the council's responsibility.
"The news media have been queuing up on my door step for a day or two wanting an update. They got an update, now they're complaining about it."
McCully said "tired old arguments" about the Auckland Council being put together too quickly after the region's councils were amalgamated last year were "frankly nonsense".
"What's happened is that we have been victims of our success here in attracting a significantly larger crowd down town than was anticipated."
McCully said he would take responsibility for Friday night's debacle which also resulted in an estimated 2000 people missing the opening ceremony and game at Eden Park because they were stuck on stalled trains.
"The news media have led the charge in pointing the finger at me. If they want someone to take responsibility, I will. I'm going to make sure the consents are in place, the buck does stop with me and that's how we're going to deal with it."
The Government wanted people to return to the waterfront because organisers would be able to manage them.
"We are going to over-cater for the anticipated needs. After last Friday it would be irresponsible not to."
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:33 am Post Subject:
Comment #5 from the first article -
Taken from Newspaper article in 2010.
"A huge amount of work has been done over the past year and will continue this year to make sure Auckland transport is ready for the Rugby World Cup 2011- "and I have total confidence we will be ready and able to provide a first class service for visitors and get maximum benefit from hosting the event," said Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett"
Hang your heads in shame Barnett and whoever else thought we'd be ready in time.
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:39 am Post Subject:
Well, actually I'm the guy with the t-shirt that says "Don't ask me about the rugby 'cos I don't give a s-h-i-t!" sooo I really don't when it comes to anything to do with the nuts & bolts of the world cup organisation either. What does concern me though is this action the government has taken, how everyone is only arguing about the rugby & their enjoyment/lack of enjoyment around it or what their govt "team" is doing AND all these so-called "reserve or special powers" that our government manages to give itself by sneaking them through on all kinds of issues (mainly with no public announcements or scrutiny)!
