Water quality whitewash? Auckland mayor under fire over clean beaches claim

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said four Manurewa beaches had reopened because 'we've been dealing with the causes of the pollution'.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has been attacked as a 'human cuckoo' over claims he has made to back up the success of his water quality policies.

However, Goff's office has moved to rubbish Manurewa-Papakura councillor Daniel Newman's criticism.

The news comes as councillors prepare to debate Goff's 2019-2020 budget proposals, which feature a record $1.2 billion transport spend and $5 million top up for the City Mission's $90m central city social housing project.

Under Goff, Auckland Council introduced a targeted rate to clean up the region's beaches. When announcing his annual budget late last month, the mayor said he was 'really quite proud' about the 'ongoing improvement in water quality'.

**READ MORE:

Councillor Daniel Newman has called Auckland Mayor Phil Goff out for his comments on cleaner beaches in Manurewa.

* Auckland Mayor Phil Goff attacks under-investment, unveils 'deliver it' budget

* Water quality alert at south Auckland's Weymouth Beach lifted after 18 years

* Water quality at Auckland beaches 'worse than we would like to believe', mayor says**

'It was really good to see four beaches on the Manukau Harbour, that have been closed for upwards of 20 years, reopened to the public because we've got better ways of measuring pollution and we've been dealing with the causes of the pollution,' he said, pointing to Armour Bay, Taumanu East, Clarks Beach and Weymouth Beach.

But Newman has pointed out that work was under way well before the first-term mayor's drive to improve water quality.

'The mayor is being a human cuckoo, jumping in the nest of achievements for which he has no responsibility,' he told Stuff.

Newman pointed to Weymouth Beach in particular.

'The work that took place to clean up Weymouth Beach preceded the mayor,' the said.

'[It] had nothing to do with the water quality targeted rate and had everything to do with relentless leadership from the local board in driving a focus on water testing, which the board paid for, consistent investigation, smoke testing of the network to identify and challenge illegal wastewater connections and improvements in the upper catchment to address water quality in the storm water network,' he said.

'So nothing that the mayor has spoken about in relation to Weymouth Beach relates to anything that he has done.'

But a spokesman for the mayor hit back at Newman's comments, saying he was not sure what the councillor was getting at.

The mayor's comments recognised 'the work undertaken at a local level that has delivered these improvements', he added.

In a recent press release regarding the Manukau beaches, Goff said the removal of health warnings was a 'huge win for beachgoers' and 'recognition of the efforts of the council and our communities who are working hard together to clean up Auckland's beaches'.

'It is remarkable that we can now remove the permanent public health warning that has plagued Weymouth Beach for nearly 20 years,' Goff said.

'It is recognition of the hard work of Auckland Council, Watercare and Manurewa Local Board to identify illegal wastewater connections, increase enforcement and fix damaged waste and storm water pipes.

'Working with our local communities and more precise and up-to-the-minute understanding of our water quality through Safeswim has also enabled the removal of permanent public health warnings at Armour Bay, Taumanu East and Clarks Beach.'

Goff went on to say improving beaches 'would not happen over night', but the water quality targeted rate meant Auckland would 'achieve in 10 years what would normally have taken us 30'.

Still, Newman said the improvements at Weymouth happened 'despite the council, not because of it'.

'The heavy lifting has been done by the local boards who have had to put up their resources and fight and scrap and go two-and-a-half times harder than almost any other community in Auckland, because this beach has historically not been a priority,' he said.

'This has been disproportionately driven by the local boards when it should have been addressed by the council some time ago.'

Newman said he had supported the work while on the Manurewa Local Board, which he was first elected to in 2010.

'None of the water quality target rates have funded the work that's gone in at Weymouth, this happened because the local board made it happen,' he said.

Improving water quality has been a major theme of Goff's first term.

The water quality targeted rate was one of several initiatives headlining the council's 10-year plan, which was signed off by councillors earlier this year.

'The consultation showed that Aucklanders care about the environment with strong support for both proposed targeted rates to address serious environmental issues in our region,' Goff said back in May.

'Time and again we've seen dismay from Aucklanders that say every time it rains there are about 50 or 60 beaches that are no longer fit for swimming in.

'There was a plan to deal with that but it was a 30 year plan, we have been able to compress that into 10 years.'

About $452m from the targeted rate, plus an additional $400m from Watercare as a result of their normal increases in water rates, would go towards cleaning up beaches and harbours and the building of stormwater infrastructure.