Aucklanders want no further port expansion

A clear majority of Aucklanders wants Ports of Auckland to seriously look at alternatives to expanding further in to the Waitemata Harbour a new poll shows.

In addition, more than twice as many citizens say enough of the Waitemata Harbour has been reclaimed by the port compared to those who don’t believe so.

Further, eight out of 10 people in Auckland are concerned about what impact a proposed port expansion would have on city road and rail transport.

The figures are from a Roy Morgan Research online opinion poll of 924 Aucklanders conducted last week (August 7 to 9).

Alex Swney from Heart of the City business group says there is no need to rush changes into the draft Unitary Plan, particularly ones that give favour to the ports preferred plans.

“This poll cannot be ignored – clearly Aucklanders do not want to lose any more of their already meagre access to the Waitemata Harbour.

“They are saying there must be a better way and that the port and its shareholding bosses in the council need to look at long term alternatives.”

The ports plans have attracted strong opposition from iwi Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
The poll results show:

·         53 per cent of those surveyed want Ports of Auckland to look seriously at alternatives to expanding further into the Waitemata Harbour;

·         64 per cent express at least some concern about the port’s plans – 23 per cent  are “very concerned”;

·         more than twice as many Aucklanders (50 per cent) agree enough of the harbour has been reclaimed than those who don’t agree (20 per cent);

·         80 per cent are concerned – 31 per cent “very concerned” – about increased road and rail traffic if the port expands;

·         nearly four times as many (73%) Aucklanders do not want the port to reclaim more land compared with those who say let it expand (19 per cent).

·         only 11 per cent agreed the port’s plans would help make Auckland the most liveable city against 47 per cent who said it would hinder.

BACKGROUNDER

Survey reveals clear opposition to port plans

Roy Morgan Research was commissioned by Auckland business group Heart of The City to run an online opinion poll of Aucklanders on the topic of the possible further development of the Ports of Auckland.

The poll was conducted from Wednesday 7 August to midday Friday 9 August. The poll received a total of 924 respondents, broadly representative of Aucklanders aged 18+. The sample was randomly drawn from Roy Morgan Research’s extensive panel of past respondents to its syndicated surveys. The final results were weighted by age and sex to the Auckland population.

Background / purpose

Ports of Auckland wishes to extend Bledisloe Wharf by reclaiming more of the Waitemata Harbour in order to obtain more space for multi-cargo.

A group of organisations, including Heart of the City, Committee for Auckland, the New Zealand Institute of Architects and other community and business groups and leaders is challenging the need to reclaim more of the Waitemata Harbour.

It wished to conduct a robust and reliable poll of Aucklanders to find out whether or not further reclamation of the port is something people want, and to measure the degree of concern with the plan.

Questions

1. Prior to this survey, were you aware that the Ports of Auckland proposes to reclaim more of the Waitemata Harbour?

• 58 per cent of Aucklanders aged 18+ were already aware that the Ports of Auckland had proposed an expansion into the Waitemata Harbour, while 42 per cent were not aware, prior to learning about it in the survey.

2. The Ports of Auckland plan is to extend Bledisloe Wharf 179 metres further into the Waitemata Harbour, reclaiming a further 6.6 hectares (about 6 rugby fields). How do you feel about this?

Respondents were asked how they felt about the plan on a 5 point scale where 1 represented “Not at all concerned”  and 5 represented “Very concerned”.

• Most were concerned to some degree with the plan, while just 15 per cent were not concerned at all, and 8 per cent did not know.
• Overall 64 per cent rated their concern as 3, 4 or 5 on the 5 point scale, including 23 per cent who said “5 - very concerned”.
• The mean level of concern expressed on the 5-point scale was 3.3 (provisional calculation).

3. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: Enough of the Waitemata Harbour has been reclaimed and there should be no further reclamations?

• 50 per cent of Aucklanders agreed with the statement “enough of the Waitemata Harbour has been reclaimed.”
• Just 20 per cent of Aucklanders disagreed with the same statement, while 1 in 4 people neither agreed nor disagreed, and 1 in 20 said they didn’t know.
• When looking at the levels of strong agreement and disagreement, 21 per cent indicated they strongly agreed that no further reclamation should occur, while just 5 per cent strongly disagreed.

4. If the port is expanded there will be many more trucks on city streets, Grafton Gully and Spaghetti Junction and many more freight trains going through Orakei, Glen Innes, Panmure, and South Auckland.  Are you:

Respondents were asked how they felt on a 5 point scale where 1 represented “Not at all concerned” and 5 represented “Very concerned”.

• The great majority of Aucklanders had concerns over what impact the expanded port would have on transport, with more trucks on city streets and many more additional freight trains. 80 per cent rated their concern at 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point scale, including over 31 per cent who were very concerned (a rating of 5). In contrast only 9 per cent had no concerns.

• The mean level of agreement expressed on the 5-point scale was 3.6 (provisional calculation).

5. Which of the following three statements is closest to your views?

Let the port reclaim more of the Waitemata Harbour

Do not reclaim more harbour but let the port grow on its current footprint until it’s full.

Do not reclaim more harbour, let the port operate where it is for the time being while we look seriously at all alternatives which may include, over time, shifting the port

• When Aucklanders were asked about possible options for the port of Auckland, 73 per cent did not agree with further reclamation:  20 per cent wanted the port to grow into its existing footprint, and 53 per cent wanted the port to seriously look at alternatives which could overtime mean the shifting of the port.
• In contrast 19 per cent expressed the view “let the port reclaim more of the Waitemata Harbour.”

6. The Auckland Plan aims to make Auckland the most liveable city in the world. In your view, would expansion of the port into the Waitemata Harbour:

Help make Auckland the most liveable city?

Hinder Auckland from becoming the most liveable city?

Not make any difference?

Don’t know

Respondents were asked what impact the ports of Auckland expansion would have on the plan to make Auckland the most liveable city in the world.

• 47 per cent felt that it would hinder Auckland from becoming the most liveable city, whereas 30 per cent did not feel that it would make any difference.
• Only 11 per cent believed it would help Auckland achieve its goal.