Tender hooks

Volunteers toiling away in our parks are aghast at the Auckland Council's plans for our open space. No one is saying the word 'privatisation' out loud. But ... Edward Rooney reports on major changes afoot.
Heavy rain has saturated the ground, but the black cauliflower clouds have retreated to the Waitakere Ranges. This scoria slope of Maungawhau remains a slippery challenge: a thick matting of weeds holds the moisture like a sponge. The air is dank with aromas of rotting vegetation and pungent volcanic soil. Cars whoosh on nearby Mt Eden Rd but any birds in the trees are silent.
Boots crunch on the volcanic debris as a band of five volunteers from the Friends of Maungawhau tramp into the former quarry to tackle the noxious abundance of neglect.
Crouched beneath a small mahoe - or whiteywood - tree, Jean Barton explains how she and fellow volunteers are clearing weeds to plant natives on the 2ha scoria slope. It has to be managed carefully because roots of colonised plantings, such as privet, must hold the slope from slipping until the native trees can take the load.
"It's not just a place that needs weeding," she says, grabbing another thick handful of South African feather grass. "Many of these places are archaeological sites. This one is not so much of a worry because it's been modified as a quarry."
Even so, the Batger Quarry ceased operations here in the 1870s and little was done with it until the Friends of Maungawhau began working their way around the iconic cone in the 1980s - the last four years at the quarry site.
Now they fear their work will have been in vain and Auckland Council will contract some large company to carry out superficial, but readily-monitored, maintenance. However, this isn't just fearmongering gossip. It's borne out by The Aucklander's inquiries.
Reality is, Auckland Council confirms it has embarked on a "request for information" process, asking private contractors to outline how they could supply the council with what's called, in delightfully vague bureaucrat-speak, open space maintenance.
In this process, the council lumps all parks, sports fields, volcanic cones, playgrounds, beaches, waterways and heritage sites into a single category of open space.
Parks manager Mark Bowater says the council has around 70 parks maintenance contracts across the region.
"The services covered in the current contracts are wide-ranging, from passive and sports parks maintenance to arboriculture and maintenance of specific assets, such as toilets and street furniture, in the road corridor."
The vast majority of maintenance contracts expire in mid-2012.
"The contractual framework varies across the city, with some previous councils opting for larger full-facility contracts and some having smaller specialised contracts in place.
"The council is currently working through a process of preparing for the procurement of new parks maintenance contracts and, as part of that process, has undertaken a Request for Information. This will assist with an assessment of the supplier market, to determine the potential level of interest and capability in supplying parks maintenance services to the council."
No one mentions the word "privatisation" in relation to our parks department yet. But volunteer groups are deeply unhappy about some of the words being uttered at council committee meetings.
Friends of our parks are small groups of hardy volunteers scattered across the entire Auckland region.
Friends of Maungawhau was cited in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Auckland's local government: "The Friends of Maungawhau group suggested establishing a region-wide park ranger or kaitiaki [guardian] service along with citizens and volunteers to manage Maungawhau, other volcanic cones, regional parks and other significant parks."
This, like many other suggestions endorsed by the eminently-qualified Royal Commission, now appears to have sunk under the bloated bureaucracy.
Kit Howden stands under some 3m-high whau trees for which Maori named the Mt Eden volcanic cone. The chairman of the Friends of Maungawhau clutches a copy of Auckland Council's 221-page discussion document, Unleashed.
"What is the grand plan for Auckland as far as its parks system goes?" Mr Howden asks. "After reading the draft plan, we just don't know."
Mr Howden is troubled by the council categorising parks through "levels of services" and performance-based measures. "Can all nature be GPSed and standardised? This is of concern [because] local government is generally more focused on sports and user-based parks and not on heritage parks as seen in the neglect of the volcanic cones.
"Also, the proposed park category system is user-based and light on heritage. A suggestion for calling regional parks 'adventure parks' is an example. This may change, but my concern is that this is going on and these are public parks and citizens need to be aware of what is happening."
Mr Howden cites the example of one hardy group of volunteers working on a replanting programme for years and recently discovering a mountain bike trail had been approved for the area.
"We've got our own ideas and expertise. How do we fit all that inside a council contract specification? One woman has been working on one small area of this reserve for eight years now. How do we tell her that area is under the control of a company with performance measures set in a contract?"
Mr Howden says his group is one of hundreds in wider Auckland struggling to understand what the council intends. "We're just one of many wanting to participate in the city. We don't see anything from the council trying to engage with us."
Unsurprisingly, warnings are emerging from grassroots community groups. Friends Of Regional Parks chairman, Bill Burrill, says the council would be making a huge mistake to mess with the parks.
If there is one man who should know about our regional parks, it is Mr Burrill: he served six terms on the old regional council, was chairman of its parks and heritage committee and the Hauraki Gulf Forum, standing down at the last election.
"It is a fact that Auckland has a green skeleton. That is the Waitakere Ranges and the regional parks," he says.
"It also has a blue skin, and that is the Hauraki Gulf; the Waitemata and Manukau harbours; and the coastlines up and down both sides of the region. These are facts that our attention should be focused on and all decisions should branch out from there.
"Yet have you seen the council's Unleashed discussion document for the Auckland Plan? Where are the regional parks?"
Mr Burrill says his group hasn't responded to the Unleashed proposals. "We didn't see any point in answering their questions."
The sole reference to what may pertain specifically to regional parks is on page 78 of Unleashed: "In developing the Auckland Plan, the Mayor and Councillors seek feedback on the following: How should the Auckland Plan balance the needs of community recreation, elite sports and international events?"
Mr Burrill says his group found it impossible to reply to a question asking solely about recreation, sports and international events.
Throughout the entire 200-plus page document, there is just one reference to regional parks. It's item number 211 under the heading of "sport and recreation":
"Auckland's recreational environment is extensive and diverse, ranging from the largest - the marine environment and our wonderful regional parks - through to small neighbourhood parks. Sports facilities are spread across the region and are owned and managed by clubs, local or central government, and by the private sector."
However, page 117 makes four vague points about Parks and Open Space Networks.
Mr Burrill is also appalled to hear a phrase, "adventure parks", mentioned. "I've heard it said in meetings but I've never seen it anywhere officially."
Asked for his thoughts on what might occur if volunteer park rangers were disregarded and parks maintenance privatised, Mr Burrill is tactful but firm.
"I think the public of Auckland has a very strong affinity for the regional parks."
Out in the open
In Auckland, there are more than 4000 local parks and reserves, coastal areas, playgrounds, beaches and sports fields.
There are 26 regional parks covering more than 40,000ha.
From a total land mass of 5600 sq km in Auckland, regional parks make up just over 7 per cent.
Auckland Council predicts it will spend $15m on local parks in the 2011-12 year; $7m on strategy, policy and acquisition; and $50m on regional parks, botanic gardens and volcanic cones.
It predicts receiving less than $4m from parks in user charges, fees or other contributions.
The council also estimates more than 40,000 volunteer hours will be put into natural heritage protection and enhancement of regional parks.
Auckland Council plans to release a draft Auckland Plan in August. A "formal consultation" will follow until November and the Auckland Plan will be adopted in December.