KEY POINTS:
Boaties have had a gutsful of Auckland City councillors' lack of action in replacing a buried boat ramp at St Heliers beach - especially when millions of dollars are being poured into the Rugby World Cup.
The ramp disappeared under a metre of sand as part of the $4.3 million resanding of the beach in 2006, much to users' surprise.
They have taken their concerns over the "temporary closure" to the Eastern Bays Community Board, council committees and yesterday went all the way to the annual plan hearing of the full council - only to leave empty handed.
David Gow, of the St Heliers Boat Ramp Action Committee, said: "We have used the democratic processes but we are starting to feel that they are failing us."
Last week, Citizens & Ratepayers councillors used their majority on a council committee to stop City Vision councillors giving certainty for the boat ramp to be rebuilt in the 2009-2010 financial year at a cost of $300,000, subject to a resource consent.
C&R, which is squeezing budgets to hold rates to council inflation, has undertaken only to "investigate" funding in the 2009-2010 year.
Mr Gow's comparison between the "massively expensive Eden Park refurbishment" and a "minor boat ramp" has highlighted the pressure Mayor John Banks' council is under to abandon or delay community projects to achieve "affordable progress".
Next year, the council will be under even greater pressure. It has to cut a projected rates increase of 10.1 per cent to the council level of inflation and find more money for the Rugby World Cup.
Last week, the council voted behind closed doors for a $36 million "world class" spending package for the cup. This is on top of $22 million for improvements around Eden Park.
City Vision councillor Glenda Fryer said last week's report offered no advice on how the council was going to find the extra $36 million.
Mr Gow said St Heliers was a beach for people who enjoyed the simple pleasures of sailing small, inexpensive boats, like the aluminium "tinnies" he had been launching there for 35 years.
"How would young Peter Blake or Grant Dalton have got a start without a beach to launch their boats?" Mr Gow said.
Cas Lange, a boat ramp user for 22 years, said all the ramps in the eastern suburbs had been sanded over at a time when more people wanted safe access to the sea for boats and kayaks.
"How can you celebrate our sea-loving culture if you are unable to put a small boat in the water," Mr Lange said.
Eastern bays councillor Doug Armstrong blamed the Auckland Regional Council for the lack of action on a new boat ramp. The regional council had extended the resource consent for the old boat ramp in 2003 by 30 years, but wanted a new resource consent for a new boat ramp, he said.
"It's wrong, it's pathetic, a waste of public money and bureaucracy gone mad."
