Hannah Slade - Waitākere Ranges Local Board Member

Kia ora koutou, you will have hopefully already heard that there is an Orange Heavey Rain Watch for Auckland from 9pm tonight (Saturday 11 April) and an Orange Strong Wind Watch from 10pm tonight till 6pm Sunday.

We’re hoping for the best, but the advice is to prepare for the worst.

Please make sure you:
- Keep watching the weather for updates (download the MetService App or visit www.metservice.com)
- Clear drains, gutters and tie down outside furniture
-Prepare for power outages, charge torches, mobile phones and battery packs
- avoid unnecessary travel
- Make a plan for if you need to evacuate - why not pack a grab bag ahead of time, just in case?

In the event of severe weather:
- Call 111 in any emergency
- Stay at home unless you feel unsafe

Stay safe everyone 🙏🏼

UPDATE: Sunday 12 April, 10.30am
MetService New Zealand has updated the Strong Wind Warning for Aotea Great Barrier Island.
STRONG WIND WARNING - ORANGE for Great Barrier Island
Area: Great Barrier Island
Period: 8hrs from 12:00pm Sun to 8:00pm Sun
Forecast: Gale easterlies changing to severe gale westerlies this afternoon, with gusts of 120km/h in exposed places.
Minimal chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.
Impact: Damage to trees, powerlines, and unsecured structures possible. Driving may be difficult, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
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Last updated 10pm, 11 April;
Kia ora everyone, MetService New Zealand has made some updates to today's forecast, mainly around the timing of warnings for Auckland and Aotea Great Barrier Island. Follow MetService for updates or download the Metservice App from the App Store or Google Play.

The current track of Cyclone Vaianu can be found at www.metservice.com/warnings/tropical-cyclone-activity

📍Aotea Great Barrier Island has been upgraded to a RED warning for wind. The combination of damaging winds, heavy rain and coastal inundation makes this a multi-hazard, potentially life-threatening event.
📍The locations of the most severe impacts associated with Cyclone Vaianu, such as power outages, falling trees, flooding, slips, road closures and isolated communities are highly dependent on the cyclone's track.
📍Strong Wind and Heavy Rain Watches and Warnings are in force for much of the North Island and upper South Island Sunday and early Monday. Further areas are likely to be upgraded to Orange or Red as the cyclone approaches and its track becomes clearer.

📍STRONG WIND WARNING - RED for Great Barrier Island
Area: Aotea Great Barrier Island
Period: 22hrs from 10.00pm Sat to 8:00pm Sun

Forecast: Severe gale easterlies changing to severe gale west to northwesterly Sunday afternoon, with damaging gusts of 130km/h. Note winds easing from the north during Sunday afternoon.

Impact: Threat to life from flying items and falling trees. Destructive winds will cause widespread damage including powerlines and roofs, with dangerous driving conditions and significant disruption to transport and power supply.

📍STRONG WIND WARNING - ORANGE for Auckland excluding Aotea Great Barrier Island
Area: Auckland
Period: 20hrs from 10.00pm Sat to 6:00pm Sun

Forecast: Severe gale east to southeasterlies about areas north of Orewa changing to severe gale west to southwesterly Sunday early afternoon, gusting 130km/h in exposed places.
Moderate chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.

Impact: Damage to trees, powerlines, and unsecured structures possible. Driving may be difficult, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.

📍HEAVY RAIN WARNING - ORANGE for Auckland including Aotea Great Barrier Island
Area: Auckland and Great Barrier Island
Period: 17hrs from 9:00pm Sat to 2:00pm Sun

Forecast: Expect 70 to 100 mm of rain to accumulate. Peak rates of 10 to 20 mm/hr. Note, heavy swells and coastal inundation likely, especially about Aotea Great Barrier Island and the outer gulf.
Low chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.

Impact: Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible.

Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board

Did you know that our Waitākere Ranges Local Board meetings and workshops are open to the public? If you're wondering what we will be discussing at upcoming workshops and meetings, you can find agendas online here

aucklandcouncil.resolve.red

The Auckland Council Annual Plan is now online, and open for submissions from now until 11.59pm Sunday 29 March. https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/annual-plan-2026-2027

You can learn more about plan at this online info session or one being held at the Glen Eden Library on Thursday 12th March https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/annual-plan-2026-2027/annual-plan-events-2026-2027/events-west-auckland.

Of particular interest for many in our Waitākere communities is the consultation on the Waitākere Rural Sewerage Scheme. There are 2 proposed options- A- End the scheme and associated targeted rate, or B- Retain the scheme and rate. This has been consulted on twice before and both times the majority of submitters have supported to retain the scheme. If this affects you, I encourage you to get onto the website and have your say on this issue.

Want to learn more about the proposals in the Annual Plan 2026/2027? Join an online information session where you will be able to learn more about the consultation topics and will have the opportunity to ask questions of subject matter experts.

🕓 Thursday 5 March, 6.30pm
📍 Register now: https://tinyurl.com/2kvrjycc

Please note: webinars are an opportunity for members of the public to hear from and ask questions of subject matter experts and elected members—they are not a method of giving feedback.

Merry Christmas to you all! Wishing you a peaceful and relaxing holiday. See you in 2026

Meri Kirihimete to all of our communities and all westies everywhere!

One of the best things of being a local board member is that you get to learn about the wonderful things that go on in our communities- today we were lucky to spend some time learning about the amazing work done by Visionwest Community Trust. We even got to spend a bit of time volunteering at their Christmas From the Heart initiative- which in the lead up to Christmas supports 200 whānau each day to receive a trolley full of delicious kai and gifts to set them up for Christmas. Thanks Lisa, Brook, Raewyn, Maliena and all the team for your mahi, and for letting us be part of the real spirit of Christmas.

With Mark Allen Michelle Lucke - Hutton Future West

Have you sent in your ideas for what is needed in our new Local Board Plan? Submissions close today Friday 12th December.

This plan will set our direction, and guide our work programme for the next 3 years. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Every three years, we work with our community to shape our Local Board Plans. These plans set priorities for parks, facilities, transport, climate action and more. 🛝🏞️

Now’s your chance to have a say early and help shape what matters most in our community. The survey will close on Sunday, 4 Jan at 4pm.

💡 Share your ideas today: https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/local-board-plans-2026

Last week we had our first official Waitākere Ranges Local Board meeting. Our offices in Glen Mall are undergoing repairs so the meeting was held in the very grand Henderson-Massey Local Boardroom.

We got to make some really awesome decisions:

- Our meetings will continue to be at 4pm on the 4th Thursday of the month next year (the first meeting for 2026 will be on 26th February)
- Going forward our business meetings and workshops will be open to the public, and also available for the public to join online
- Future Local Board Plan consultation documents will be available in Plain English and Sign Language, and submissions will be accepted in video (as well as written format)- include videos in NZSL
- We will advocate to the governing body that consultation material is written in concise, plain English, so that people can access information more easily

Amongst other things,
- We declared any conflicts of interest
- We listened to 2 community groups/members deputations
- We asked that if there are any changes made to the Rural Septic Pump out scheme that the public is consulted with first
- We awarded grants to some awesome community initiatives

We also appointed which board members will be liaising with different groups.

I will be one of 2 board members looking after the following:
- Film permits
-Storm affected land programme
-Emergency Readiness Forum
-Te Uru Gallery

I will also be one of 3 board members sitting on the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area Forum.

Minutes from the meeting will be available in January and I will share them here.

With Jess Rose for Waitākere, Michelle Lucke - Hutton, Greg Presland and Mark Allen