The Great Barrier Local Board will convene an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday at 11:30am to consider public feedback on Auckland Council’s proposed Annual Plan for 2025/26. However, the process has been overshadowed by criticism from mana whenua, a significant rates increase, and a key question being omitted from the official consultation form.
Auckland Council is proposing a 5.8 per cent rates increase for the average-value residential property. The increase includes a 6.4 per cent general rates hike, along with new charges for environmental and climate-related programmes.
In a formal submission, Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust objected to elements of the local board’s priorities, arguing that “environment and service investment needed to be higher, education needed to be prioritised, and more consultation was required around marine biosecurity.” The latter seemingly referring to the island’s ongoing Caulerpa crisis, with the invasive seaweed continuing to disrupt marine ecosystems and traditional fishing grounds.
Adding to the discontent, Auckland Council has admitted that the main question regarding local board priorities was missing from the online feedback form, affecting 13 Aotea submissions. The error meant residents were not asked, “What do you think of our proposals for our local board area in 2025/2026?” — essentially the whole point of the consultation.
Although the council attempted to rectify the issue by contacting those affected, only four responded, leaving nearly a third of the island’s online feedback incomplete. Just 34 formal submissions were received from Aotea overall.
The Local Board will now review the limited input before submitting its final recommendations to the Governing Body ahead of the annual plan’s adoption on 25 June 2025.
