1.
Manukau
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Manukau, or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the central business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD, west of the Southern Motorway, south of Papatoetoe, the industrial and commercial suburb of Wiri lies to the east and south. The headquarters of Manukau City Council were in Manukau Central until the council was merged into Auckland Council in November 2010, Manukau Central should not be confused with the much larger Manukau City, which was the entire area administered by the city council. The Manukau Central area was part of the rural area of Wiri in the early 20th century. Its transition from farmland was driven by Manukau City Council, which formed in 1965 and purchased land there in 1966 for the development of an administrative and commercial centre. The Manukau City Centre mall, now Westfield Manukau City, opened in October 1976, several government departments established offices in the late 1970s. In 1983 Manukau City Council decided to rename the area Manukau Central, the name Manukau City Centre has been used for the central business district around the mall and city council building. The Rainbows End theme park opened just south of the city centre in 1982, vodafone Events Centre, a multi-purpose event centre, is also opened in 2005 located at Manukau. Another shopping centre, Manukau Supa Centa, opened to the west of the city centre in 1998, Manukau Institute of Technology, which has its main campus at Ōtara, is building another campus at Manukau Central in 2014. The suburb is, since November 2010, in the Manukau ward, the Southwestern Motorway joins the Southern Motorway at Manukau Central. Eastern Line train services carry passengers between Manukau train station and central Aucklands Britomart Transport Centre, photographs of Manukau held in Auckland Libraries heritage collections
2.
Territorial authorities of New Zealand
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Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities,12 city councils,53 district councils, Auckland Council, six territorial authorities also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are unitary authorities. A unitary authority may also have local boards, currently only Auckland Council has them, territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regions, and some of them fall within more than one region. Taupo District has the distinction of straddling the boundaries of four different regions, Regional council areas are based on water catchment areas, whereas territorial authorities are based on community of interest and road access. Some activities are delegated to council-controlled organisations, the boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so little distinction was made between the urban area and the local government area. Regional councils were reduced in number from 20 to 13, territorial authorities from 200 to 75, the new district and city councils were generally much larger and most covered substantial areas of both urban and rural land. Many places that once had a city council were now being administered by a district council, as a result, the term city began to take on two meanings. The word city came to be used in a formal sense to describe major urban areas independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded, gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first city in the world to see the new millennium. Gisborne is administered by a council, but its status as a city is not generally disputed. Under the current law the minimum population for a new city is 50,000, since the 1989 reorganisations, there have been few major reorganisations or status changes in local government. Incomplete list,1991, Invercargill re-proclaimed a city,1992, Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council abolished by a Local Government Amendment Act. Of its territorial authorities, Kaikoura District was transferred to the Canterbury Region,2004, Tauranga became a city again on 1 March. 2006, Banks Peninsula District merged into Christchurch City as a result of 2005 referendum,2010, Auckland Council, a unitary authority, replaced seven local councils and the regional council. Reports on completed reorganisation proposals since 1999 are available on the Local Government Commissions site, the split areas as well as the current North Shore City would form a Waitemata local council. Waitakere local council would consist of the current Waitakere City as well as the Avondale area, tamaki Makaurau would consist of the current Auckland City and Otahuhu Manukau local council would consist of the urban parts of the current Manukau City and of the Papakura District. Hunua local council would consist of the entire Franklin District, much of which is currently in the Waikato Region, along with areas of the current Papakura District. The entire Papakura District would be dissolved between urban and rural councils, the National-led Government responded within about a week
3.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
4.
Islands of New Zealand
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New Zealand consists of a large number of islands, estimated around six hundred. The two main islands, which are larger than the rest and where most of the population lives, are the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui. The latter is referred to as the mainland, especially by its residents. However, in practice, the mainland refers to both North Island and South Island as opposed to the smaller offshore islands. Stewart Island/Rakiura, in the south, is by far the biggest of the smaller islands, the following is a list of some of the islands of New Zealand, The following table lists the largest islands of New Zealand by size. The Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and islands of the Ross Dependency are excluded, the countrys largest island within a lake, Pomona Island, has an area of just 2.6 km2. The following table lists the islands of New Zealand by their highest elevation and these islands are all in harbours or the open sea. The countrys tallest island within a lake, Pomona Island, rises to 511 metres height, only the Chatham Islands have a permanent population although others also did in the past. Others host visitors for science, conservation, meteorological observation and tourism
5.
North Island
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The North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the slightly larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The islands area is 113,729 square kilometres, making it the worlds 14th-largest island and it has a population of 3,596,200. Twelve main urban areas are in the North Island, about 77% of New Zealands population lives in the North Island. Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with the South Island, after a public consultation, the board officially named the island North Island or Te Ika-a-Maui in October 2013. In prose, the two islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island, with the definite articles. It is normal to use the preposition in rather than on, for example Hamilton is in the North Island, maps, headings, tables and adjectival expressions use North Island without the. According to Māori mythology, the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui, Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe when he caught a great fish and pulled it from the sea. While he was not looking his brothers fought over the fish and this great fish became the North Island and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui. The mountains and valleys are believed to have formed as a result of Māuis brothers hacking at the fish. Until the early 20th Century, an alternative Māori name for the North Island was Aotearoa, in present usage, Aotearoa is a collective name for New Zealand as a whole. The sub-national GDP of the North Island was estimated at US$102.863 billion in 2003, the island has an extensive flora and bird population, with numerous National Parks and other protected areas. Nine local government regions cover the North Island and all its adjacent islands, healthcare in the North Island is provided by fifteen District Health Boards. Organised around geographical areas of varying sizes, they are not coterminous with the Local Government Regions
6.
Regions of New Zealand
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New Zealand is divided into sixteen regions for devolved local government. Eleven are administered by councils, and five are administered by unitary authorities. The Chatham Islands Council is similar to an authority, authorised under its own legislation. The regional councils are listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 2002, the Act requires regional councils to promote sustainable development – the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of their communities. The current regions and most of their councils came into being through a government reform in 1989 that took place under the Local Government Act 1974. In addition they took over roles that had previously been performed by county councils. Auckland Regional Council, formed in 1989, was replaced by Auckland Council, the boundaries of the regions are based largely on drainage basins. This anticipated the responsibilities of the Resource Management Act 1991, most regional boundaries conform with territorial authority boundaries but there are a number of exceptions. An example is Taupo District, split between four regions, although most of its area is in the Waikato region, property rates are used to fund both regional and territorial government activities. There is often a degree of co-operation between regional and territorial councils as they have complementary roles. Regional councils have these specific functions under the Resource Management Act 1991, notes, These regions have unitary authorities. The Gisborne Region is still widely but unofficially known by its name or as East Coast. Some outlying islands are not included within regional boundaries, the Chatham Islands is not in a region, although its council has some of the powers of a regional council under the Resource Management Act. Councils may use a first past the post or single transferable vote system, the chairperson is selected by the elected council members. The Auckland Regional Council was preceded by the Auckland Regional Authority, the Wellington Regional Council was first formed in 1980 from a merger of the Wellington Regional Planning Authority and the Wellington Regional Water Board. In 1978, legislation was passed enabling the formation of regions with united councils, twenty regions were designated, excluding the Auckland and Wellington areas. For most of the country this was the first regional level of government since the abolition of provinces in 1876, councillors were not elected directly – they were appointed from the various territorial local authorities within the region. For example, in a number of cases the united council took responsibility for the allocation of revenue from regional petrol taxes, the united councils were based in the facilities of the largest TLA in the region and largely dependent on the TLAs for resources
7.
Auckland Region
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The Auckland Region is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the countrys largest urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, with 34 percent of the nations residents, it has by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area. On 1 November 2010, the Auckland Region became a unitary authority controlled by the Auckland Council, replacing the previous regional council, in the process, an area in its southeastern corner was transferred to the neighbouring Waikato Region. The name Auckland Region remains present in casual usage, the region ends within a few kilometres of the mouth of the Waikato River. It is bordered in the north by the Northland Region, and it also includes the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. In land area it is smaller than all the other regions and its highest point is the summit of Little Barrier Island, at 722 metres. The Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea form the coastline around the Auckland region, the east coast is lapped by the waters of the Hauraki Gulf, an arm of the Pacific sheltered by a considerable number of small and large islands, notably Great Barrier Island in the northeast. An arm of the Gulf, the Waitemata Harbour, forms the main harbour of Auckland city, the mainland coastline is 1,613 kilometres long, with the total coastline being 3,100 kilometres. Much of the marine area comprises sensitive tidal inlets and estuaries and semi-enclosed Waitemata, Manukau. To the west lie two large natural harbours, the Kaipara and the Manukau, both of these have treacherous entrances and are little used by shipping. The Kaipara Harbour is one of the worlds largest natural harbours, Auckland Airport is located on the edge of the Manukau Harbour. The region is blessed with fine beaches, especially on the Tasman coast south of the Kaipara. These include Muriwai and Piha beaches, the Auckland Region is built on a basement of greywacke rocks that form many of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, the Hunua Ranges, and land south of Port Waikato. The Waitakere Ranges in the west are the remains of a large andesitic volcano, the main isthmus and North Shore are composed of Waitemata sandstone and mudstone, and portions of the Northland Allochthon extend as far south as Albany. Little Barrier Island was formed by a relatively isolated andesitic volcano, the Manukau and South Kaipara Harbours are protected by the recent sand dune deposits of the Awhitu and South Kaipara Peninsulas. Recent basaltic volcanic activity has produced many volcanic cones throughout the Auckland Region, much of Aucklands urban area lies on top of the dormant Auckland Volcanic Field. The region is dotted by 49 volcanoes of varying age with the oldest being in the region of 150,000 years old, the most recent eruption occurred approximately 600 years ago, ending a few hundred years of activity during which Rangitoto Island was formed. Each volcanic eruption has tended to be bigger than the previous, all of the volcanoes are relatively small, most being less than 150 metres in height
8.
Len Brown
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Leonard Len Brown is a former Mayor of Auckland, New Zealand and head of the Auckland Council. Brown had previously been elected Mayor of Manukau City in October 2007, Brown is married to Shirley Anne Shan Inglis, and has three daughters, Samantha, Olivia and Victoria. They live in Totara Heights, a suburb of Manukau, Brown was born in Taumarunui, Ruapehu District, Manawatu-Wanganui Region. His family moved to Otara in Auckland when he was seven years old and he attended Mayfield Primary School, Papatoetoe Intermediate School and De La Salle College. He remembers his youth in prosperous small-town New Zealand fondly, remarking on them as generous, generous days, while not having grown up fully in Auckland, his family often travelled to see relatives there, his parents having originally moved to Taumarunui from South Auckland. A lawyer by profession, Brown was a partner at law firm Wynyard Wood and he was first elected to the Manukau City council in 1992, and continued as councillor until 2004 when he did not run for re-election. He was also the chairperson of the Counties Manukau Health Council from 1998, Brown first ran for mayor of Manukau in 2004, and narrowly lost to long serving mayor Sir Barry Curtis, he lost by fewer than 600 votes. Brown had considered requesting a re-count due to the closeness of the vote, despite his affiliation with the New Zealand Labour Party since age 17, Brown did not run for election in the 2005 General Election, and instead returned to working for Wynyard Wood. Brown resigned from Wynard Wood in 2007 to focus on his candidacy full-time, in August 2007, both Quax and Brown were polling neck and neck. Brown ran on several policies, including, capping rates at the cost of inflation, increasing public transport, and working with youth in the region. Brown won the election in October 2007 with more than 32,000 votes, his next closest rival Dick Quax had less than 18,000, and he was sworn in on 26 October 2007 at the Manukau City Council hall. On 31 May 2008 he suffered an attack, while at a music awards ceremony. The condition arose from a previously unrecognised congenital heart problem and Brown was admitted to Auckland Hospital, Brown had successful heart bypass surgery two days later and made a full recovery, returning to mayoral duties after a few months. His wife acknowledged that the attack was not stress-related, but rather a family issue, in August 2009, Brown announced that he would run for the mayoralty of the combined Auckland super-city in the Auckland mayoral election,2010. His campaign speech focused on delivering public transport, public ownership of the regions public assets, environmental protection, economic and social development. He won the position by a majority of 65,945 votes over main rival candidate, Auckland City mayor John Banks, on 9 October 2010 and his subsequent explanations for these purchases were also scrutinised at a council meeting, where Brown repeatedly slapped his face and got emotional. An advisor later explained that Browns emotional behaviour was attributable to his use of a Maori tradition, another council expense claim included an $810 dinner at a restaurant, which Brown has refused to discuss who was in attendance. He noted that the event was a fundraiser for a singer for which the Council bought a table
New Zealand
Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan
