Taxing tourists makes perfect economic sense now→

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Taxing tourists makes perfect economic sense now

Opinion: a levy on incoming tourists should be seen not as a revenue-grabbing tax, but as user pays congestion charge, writes Tim Hazledine.

Since when is a border tax on an export industry a good idea, asked Brian Fallow in the New Zealand Herald last Friday.

I can answer that. March 4, 1985. That's the day the NZ dollar was freely floated on the foreign exchange market. Before that, we had a fixed exchange rate along with controls on imports to protect domestic import-substituting industries.

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Fundraising for Rangihoua wetlands via bespoke murals

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Fundraising for Rangihoua wetlands via bespoke murals

Ongoing efforts into the restoration of Rangihoua wetlands are to be undertaken by the Sustainability Network’s Million Metres restoration programme, Waiheke Resources Trust, and an American eco-friendly products company breaking into the New Zealand market.

When donations are made through millionmetres.org.nz this company will match donations dollar for dollar up to $25,000.

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Changes to national tenancy laws won't go far enough for Waiheke

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Changes to national tenancy laws won't go far enough for Waiheke

Waiheke Budgeting Services manager, Amelia Lawley, looks at the home rental market on the island and assesses the likely effects here of proposed changed to national tenancy laws.

A young couple with a three-year-old live in a two-bedroom house in Rocky Bay. The rent is $520 per week - when they moved in it was $450, but there have been two rent increases in the 15 months they have lived there.

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Summer staff shortage could pose problems on Waiheke

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Summer staff shortage could pose problems on Waiheke

The Waiheke Island Tourism Forum expects a summer staffing crisis is just around the corner: At a recent meeting with Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry for Social Development, local business owners could count about 100 vacancies between them going into summer - and the tourism forum expect the problem to be double that number.

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New funding opportunity for conservation groups

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Auckland Council is offering a one-off grant opportunity for conservation groups to cover essential planning, administrative and project facilitation costs.

This opportunity is designed to help community-led Pest Free Auckland/ regional biodiversity outcomes through increasing councils support for groups (the term loosely includes any entity involved in community-led conservation – organisations, schools, iwi, groups…..) to overcome identified barriers to participation.  To do this, we have developed a one year, one off grant (at this stage) delivered through an Expression of Interest in Smarty Grants with the development of a more inclusive support package for groups  that will be ‘co-designed’ alongside other NETR work in the future.

Expressions of interest


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PFW Summer News

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The Christmas holidays are nearly upon us, and the early, prolific flowering of pohutukawa heralds a long, hot summer. The Island is already busy, with packed restaurants at weekends and a noticeable increase in traffic on our roads.

We are delighted that several initiatives are underway to address some of our transport issues, including a community forum on traffic and a “Pathways” project that aims to make our roads safer for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

Another advocacy group has launched Electric Island, which envisions all Waiheke vehicles will run on clean energy by 2030. Our “Fossil-fuel Free Fiesta”, replacing the traditional Santa Parade on 15 December, gets this campaign off to a flying start!

A big bouquet to our Local Board for their efforts on these and many other projects. Their commitment to a sustainable future for Waiheke is clearly reflected in their 30-year strategic vision and plan, which is open for community input.

On the water, Fullers is doing its best to temper the impending impact of huge numbers of visitors, upping the price of visitor fares by $5 per return ticket and giving locals priority boarding throughout the high season.

Meanwhile the Island is buzzing with community initiatives in the areas of sustainability and environmental protection. Carbon Neutral Waiheke , a group committed to addressing climate change, launched their carbon calculator in late November. “Plastic bag-free Waiheke” has been embraced Island-wide, and the Waiheke Resources Trust’s Zero Waste policy was beautifully exemplified by the Plastic-Free Festive Market Day  held recently at the Sustainability Centre in Oneroa. The newly launched Beach Ambassador Project  aims to encourage sustainable behaviour on our most popular beaches. And the closure of part of Surfdale Beach to protect a family of rare and threatened NZ dotterel is testament to our shared love of the Island and all its inhabitants.

For our part, Project Forever Waiheke has been busy producing water conservation signs and notices for accommodation providers, with “Waiheke Ways” slides for visitors coming soon to the ferries. A traffic monitoring programme is also planned for peak holiday times this summer. If you are interested in being a monitor, please email Convenor Pam Oliver. 

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Water wisdom - signs and notices for accommodation providers→

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Water wisdom - signs and notices for accommodation providers

Many people visiting the island are not aware of Waiheke’s reliance on rain water, our typical summer droughts, or even how to minimise water use… But most respond positively, when they learn of the local situation, and play their part in conserving water. Read more, and get signs here!

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Waiheke community survey results published→

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Waiheke community survey results published

A pilot project launched by Auckland Council last year is already addressing issues raised by Waiheke Island residents in a recent household survey.

The three-year pilot started in December to trial ways of giving the Waiheke Local Board and community more influence over decision-making.

The council’s Research and Evaluation Unit sent 4734 households letters, with 477 responding, as part of the project to provide a baseline of where concerns rest.

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