The end has arrived...

With regards to my fellow groupmates: Jayesh, Simon, Steven and Sophie, I present to you our Te Hana resource video.

I am slightly going off-topic for my last post on this blog but I want to end on a high note. Last Friday was our group presentations for Studio. Each group presented to the Te Hana community our recommendations, priorities and resources. My group's resource was a video for Te Hana. This video above is a journey of Te Hana, exploring their history, struggles, achievements and what the future holds not just for their community but also for the Auckland region.


Te Hana is in a rural area and it doesn't really relate to the theme of my blog which is the urban environment. However, I want to put this video up to promote the community and to let people know what Te Hana has been through to get to where they are now. It may be in a rural area but I think Te Hana Te Ao Marama will have an effect on Auckland as a whole once it becomes recognised as a Maori cultural and tourism centre. Auckland does not have an authentic Maori cultural centre so Te Hana will give the region a comparative advantage.


Te Hana also relates to my last post of Auckland lacking 'heart'. As said in the post, Auckland has failed to recognise its people when it comes to planning. We have planned for cars and have turned our backs to the people. Te Hana's approach to community development was aimed at its people. As the Maori proverb goes:

"He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata"

"What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!"

Auckland's success lies upon its people. We should not take people for granted. We have the ability to change for the better. Together, we can shape our urban environment, rural areas, towns and communities. Collaboration is key so we can have a city that every Aucklander would be proud of.
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I give credit to my groupmates especially to Simon and Jayesh who have produced a wonderful video of Te Hana's journey.

Also, thank you to the people who have checked out my blog and for commenting on my posts. I truly appreciate it. Thanks to Dory, our lecturer who made this blog a requirement for the course. I have enjoyed blogging and I may continue this blog for planning issues in the future. This blog has inspired me and made me realise what I am interested in and passionate about.

So long for now and until we meet again...

Money well spent or a complete waste?

The proposed Te Waka Maori Pavillion
Image from NZ Herald

There has been a lot of talk today about the proposed Waka Pavillion to be built in Auckland's waterfront for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. The Waka will be 60m long and 15m high and made out of plastic. The buzz is about how much it will cost to build the structure. It has been estimated to cost around 2 million dollars.

People who are opposed to the idea is saying that the Waka structure is unnecessary and a waste of money. The government is spending around 1.8million on it and $100,000 is from Ngati Whatua o Orakei who will own the structure after it's built. Is it really necessary for the government to spend that much money on something that they will not even own afterwards?

I think the idea of promoting Maori culture during the world cup is essential. However, I don't think building this structure is the best one to do so. The structure will be made out of plastic which may look very artificial as a real waka is made out of wood. It will also be designed to be easily deconstructed so that it will be portable and can be transferred around the country.

It is a very expensive project. Along with the Cloud, the government has been spending so much in preparation for the Rugby World Cup (9.8 million for the Cloud and 2million for the waka). I don't think the waka is necessary to promote Maori. If they want an iconic structure to represent the Maori culture in New Zealand, then a temporary blow up waka isn't the best idea. Personally, I could think of other ways to spend the 2million dollars to promote Maori heritage and culture. The structure might look interesting and inviting to tourists but what will happen after the world cup? Where will it go? Who gets the profits for it?

These are more photos of what the waka would look like:

Images from NZ Herald

What do you think? Is this worth 2million dollars or is the government wasting taxpayer's money?

If you want to know more about this and answer the poll, read today's NZ Herald, Dominion Post and Radio NZ.