7 December, 2025

FLAGSTAFF NOTES

None of the candidates in the lead-up to this year’s Devonport-Takapuna Local Board election campaigned on an open-government platform in particular.
So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that several of the initial meetings of the board have been held behind closed doors – discussing budgets and no doubt what should and shouldn’t be cut from community spending in our area. Shouldn’t these debates on issues which affect lives in our community be held in full public view? What’s council/the board got to hide?
A potential for controversy doesn’t justify confidentiality. The public has a right to know where cuts may be made and where money is projected to be spent as early in the decision-making process as possible. Isn’t this part of the reason why local boards exist in the first place?

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Great to see to the Devonport shops getting into the Christmas spirit and decorating their front windows. Be sure to patronise them in the lead-up to the festive season and also to vote in the Devonport Business Association best window promotion.

Lake Rd chaos seems to have reared its head again leading into Christmas.
Sculpture OnShore, held during an intense period of sunny weather and Black Friday sales all over the place, contributed to long queues in and out of Devonport in recent weeks.
Until light rail is introduced, traffic backlogs will be inevitable when events and good weather coincide. However, some work around the margins is needed to mitigate the congestion. More promotion of our ferry and peninsula bus services (public buses go right to the Sculpture OnShore site) is needed. And how about council offering free parking at its Toka Puia car park in Takapuna (little used on the weekends) so people can bus from the nearby stop.

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Any residual thoughts of the Navy base moving out of Devonport appear scuppered by the announcement last week that $4 billion will be spent upgrading the base. It will be a staggered project over decades until 2060.
Many studies have been done over the past 40 years on moving the base out of Devonport, with Picton and Whangarei a couple of alternative options. However, a drop in the number of Navy personnel has lessened the need. The cost of cleaning up the base, ship yard and seabed is among major obstacles to a move. Gradually, the pro-move noise has quietened, and the organisation has begun to consolidate in Devonport. That includes a deal for Ngāti Whātua to build houses in Bayswater which will provide accommodation for Navy staff.
The base occupies prime Auckland real estate so retaining it does seem somewhat at odds with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s talk of recycling assets to free up cash.