Scott Milne: Putting the pieces of the harbourside jigsaw together

COMMENT

Taking children to the waterfront to see the boats, to wander along the water's edge, fish off the seawall and admire the bridge is a special experience few cities can provide.

I would be sad if a time came when city children did not have easy access to the waterfront.

This week the Auckland City Council and Ports of Auckland guaranteed that experience for generations to come. Their agreement means public access to Westhaven has been secured forever. This includes the water's edge and Westhaven Drive.

The port company is selling Westhaven Marina and the smaller Hobson West Marina by tender. The agreement protects access regardless of who owns the marinas.

But the sale of this asset raised serious questions at the council. It is increasingly apparent that someone needs to take a guiding hand in the development of the waterfront.

Think about Cornwall Park. Former Auckland mayor John Logan Campbell sought to create "a place of public resort for the recreation and enjoyment of the people of New Zealand".

He preserved the farming heritage because he foresaw a time when city children might not have easy access to farm animals.

Such was his adoration of the land that he refused to subdivide it because he could not bear to leave Auckland without a park.

This council will not leave Auckland without a city waterfront - that piece of the Waitemata which stretches from west of the Harbour Bridge to Mechanics Bay.

Last week it decided unanimously not to let this jewel in the city's crown be developed in a piecemeal fashion and lose what makes the area so unique.

Auckland City will be participating in the tender process for Westhaven and Hobson West marinas.

We don't know for sure that we will be putting in a tender and we certainly haven't decided on the best way to pay for it - there is some consultation to do.

But the council will work with partners such as the port company to act as guardian and manage the area's long-term development. Our aim is to improve accessibility, have a rich mix of activities and development and, ultimately, to create a world-class waterfront, all the while retaining special links with the marine and fishing industries.

The council has established a waterfront working party and brought together a steering group of property, planning and financial people. Our first step was to secure public access at Westhaven. The next step is to investigate whether we need to own the marinas to be able to exert the necessary amount of influence.

Then, of course, we need to work out how we would finance any purchase. Some perceive Westhaven as a publicly owned asset that should be transferred to the city at no cost. While that sounds ideal, it's an unlikely scenario.

The marinas are owned by Ports of Auckland, which, in turn, is 80 per cent owned by Infrastructure Auckland. The remaining shares are owned by 5000 private shareholders.

The aim of Infrastructure Auckland is to undertake improvements far greater than each of the councils could achieve individually. It allocates grants to transport and stormwater projects that generate the best benefit for the community. It also manages a portfolio of regional investments on behalf of the region.

Yes, Infrastructure Auckland is governed by the region's seven local councils and the Auckland Regional Council through a vehicle called the electoral college. The college's role is to appoint the directors and chairman, negotiate the statement of corporate intent and monitor Infrastructure Auckland's board, which sets objectives and policy.

We would not give Ports of Auckland cash for the marinas if there was a chance we could get them at a reduced rate because of the governance arrangements or history. But we've been told clearly that Ports of Auckland legally bought the marinas in 1988 when the old harbour board assets were sold by the Government of the day. We don't believe we have a legal basis for challenging that transaction.

So we'll be looking carefully at all options for the marinas. Even more importantly, the council is also taking a long, hard look at the rest of the waterfront area, which could reasonably be called non-core port business. This includes areas such as Queen's Wharf and the open space to the west of the bridge and projects like those of the Auckland Waterfront Group at Wynyard Pt (the tank farm).

Our job is to be visionary about this area. If we get too bogged down in the events and transactions of 15 years ago, we're in danger of losing sight of what's really important.

We must put all the pieces of the waterfront jigsaw together. We're making decisions now that will make a huge difference to the future of Auckland.

* Scott Milne chairs the Auckland City Council's recreation and events committee, and its waterfront working party.