Chief sunken stadium proponent Michael Sage of law firm Simpson Grierson is very comfortable with the promise of $1.8b in private funds.
Presumably he thinks there is no conflict of interest with his wife Genevieve Sage being chair of the Waitematā Local Board. Yeah right!
In May Ponsonby News, “Lessons From Our Future Self” Ms Sage compares Sydney (5m population) to Auckland (1.5m), asserting the waterfront is a “blank canvas on which to wow the world”. She is 100% behind a large format CBD entertainment/sports facility. However the ‘illuminated donut design’ is no Sydney Opera House.
Here is the list of those similarly excited about a fully enclosed facility. Known as the Auckland Waterfront Consortium (AWC) - Ernst & Young; Simpson Grierson; Jones Lang Lasalle; ENGEO; Peddle Thorp; Planning Focus; Phil O’Reilly Design; Rider Levett Bucknall; Buildmedia; The Property Strategists; as well as USA-based architecture firm HOK. Some real heavy hitters.
This stadium has previously caused controversy when Auckland’s ex-Mayor Phil Goff refused to give councillors full and open access to a $1m pre-feasibility report he commissioned on the arena in 2018. Paid for by the public and subject to an ombudsman complaint, the idea was sunk only to resurface now. Goff said at the time, he was concerned to maintain obligations to third parties, but isn’t that just a form of corporate welfare?
Why would you build such a monolith on reclaimed land in the midst of a climate crisis, subject to flooding, earthquakes and possible tsunami? How smart is it to put a stadium on one of the most congested and inaccessible locations on our slender isthmus?
What is the real reason that this consortium wants public permission and private funds to build a sunken stadium on the harbour’s edge? Clearly they want to make Eden Park redundant and turn it into a high density residential development for big profits using the new stadium as leverage.
Our local democracy has already been hijacked once this year, when Ms Sage crossed the floor, leaving her Citizen & Ratepayers ticket, to join City Vision on the day she was sworn in. This move secured her the Chair of Waitematā Local Boardand gave her the casting vote on every decision.
My observation at the monthly Local Board meetings is that Ms Sage is inept and incapable of managing a meeting. At the last public forum I attended in May, she shut down members of the public, ignored questions from councillors not aligned with her point of view, passed resolutions before counting votes and abruptly left the meeting because of public push back about her dictatorial style.
I was asked “ What do you think is the reason for the lack of engagement by the public with the local board?” My answer was simple “A crisis of trust.” People do not trust politicians who say one thing and do another. The local board seems incapable of making any decisions for itself like apologising for the Erebus debacle, calling a halt to the continued use of carcinogenic chemical street sprays, let alone demanding a fix for dangerous and badly maintained roads and footpaths.
I suspect some of our elected officials are suffering from ‘Stockholm Syndrome’.
A condition where hostages develop a psychological dependance on their captors. In this case the unelected council officers act like the captor, holding procedural power and historic knowledge over the board members. Perhaps a political warrant of fitness should be required of every candidate who enters into the local body arena!
Elected members are so indoctrinated through closed workshops, brimming with complex process and legal procedure, that when it comes to understanding community skirmishes, well it’s the official line all the way.
We should be able to expect more of our elected members than incompetence and lip service, especially when there are millions and billions of dollars at stake. (Lisa Prager)
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Published 3 July 2023