PART TWO In the first part of this article, we looked at why Tauranga City Council needs to slow down and re-set its Draft 2024 Long Term Plan (LTP), to account for the new government’s policies on three waters and transport. We now look at the current Draft Plan and assess the basic financials. What… Continue reading Tauranga City Council’s 2024 Long Term Plan
Blog
Tauranga City Council’s 2024 Long Term Plan
PART ONE As the public’s attention switches from the coalition negotiations to Christmas shopping, let’s not forget that Tauranga City Council is consulting its vitally important 2024-34 Draft Long Term Plan (LTP) until 15 December. Sustainable BOP Trust has called on the council to delay its LTP due to the change of government. The Coalition… Continue reading Tauranga City Council’s 2024 Long Term Plan
A Tale of Two Cities: Tauranga’s Own Debt Crisis
You may have come across the recent story about Christchurch City Council having “serious financial issues”. As a sustainability organisation, that made us wonder how sustainable are Tauranga City Council’s finances? Tauranga City had about 158,300 residents in June 2022, whereas Christchurch City was home to 389,300 people (2.5 times Tauranga’s population). Tauranga City Council… Continue reading A Tale of Two Cities: Tauranga’s Own Debt Crisis
Why IFF is a bad choice for Tauranga
Tauranga City Council is asking Tauranga residents if they prefer the Civic Precinct to be financed by an ‘IFF’ levy (option 1) or rates-funded debt (option 2). Either way, the debt is repaid by ratepayers. However this is a much bigger topic than it may first appear, so we urge you to read this short… Continue reading Why IFF is a bad choice for Tauranga
Growth Does Not Pay For Growth
Photo: NZME BOP Times Tauranga City Council told us all for years that “growth pays for growth”. It eventually admitted that wasn’t true, and today’s paywalled BOP Times article shows how growth can go ‘off the rails’ and leave ratepayers with $735 million debt. Key points: – Te Tumu development (between Papamoa East and Maketu)… Continue reading Growth Does Not Pay For Growth
The Future Shape of Tauranga
We’re all aware there is an important general election on 14th October. What is sometimes overlooked is that the result may lock in, or reject, the increasing centralisation of decision-making that has happened over the past few years. This could impact our region for years to come. During this electoral term, central government agencies have… Continue reading The Future Shape of Tauranga
Tauranga’s Civic Centre and City Priorities
The Te Manawataki o Te Papa civic centre project is the centrepiece of the Commissioners’ plans for Tauranga. With under a year left in their 3 and 1/3 year tenure, they have so far struggled to get much happening around the city, so this project has taken on even more importance. TCC’s Transport System Plan… Continue reading Tauranga’s Civic Centre and City Priorities
Managed Degrowth
Guest Post by Dr Mike Joy Economic growth driven by fossil fuels (black growth) has resulted in massive ecological devastation. ‘Green growth’ just replaces fossil fuels with renewable energy and traps us in this spiral of environmental damage. All growth requires more consumption, which requires mining more non-renewable materials and more energy, which is unsustainable.… Continue reading Managed Degrowth
Climate Change News & Consultations
This is just a brief summary of some of the key initiatives relating to climate change in NZ and the Bay of Plenty. To learn more, come along to one of the Climate Change Info Sessions we running across Tauranga in early June. Firstly, the Climate Change Commission is consulting on its proposed “advice to… Continue reading Climate Change News & Consultations
The Proposed Tauranga Domain Stadium
Details of the proposed $220 million, 8000-seat “Boutique Stadium” at Tauranga Domain have been released. The key points are: * Default option is a $220 million stadium ($192m + 14.6% estimated cost escalation) * Permanent seating planned for 7000 people * Temporary seating for another 8000 (15,000 total capacity), including “seating modules” for 5000 that… Continue reading The Proposed Tauranga Domain Stadium