Consultation has now opened on changes to Auckland Council’s “Dog Policy” and “Dog Management Bylaw”.
While there are a number of positive changes, I have serious concerns about two of the proposed changes due to (i) unintentional changes being introduced, and (ii) the usurping of local boards from setting the rules in our local parks (similar situation to the proposed freedom camping rules).
Off-Leash vs On-Leash Rule:
The existing default rule for all parks is off-leash (under control at all times) with parks listed if dogs must be on-leash. The proposed rule flips this so that all parks are on-leash by default, with parks listed if they are off-leash.
I am concerned that errors will creep in with parks unintentionally switching from off-leash to on-leash if they are missed from the list. In the draft proposal, I identified 13 Kaipatiki parks that had been missed from the list. There are still errors in the proposed list, including incorrect park names and missing parks. I haven’t checked the lists for the 20 other local board areas.
Time & Season Rule:
This is the rule that applies to most beaches across Auckland and allows for different Summer/Winter times. The times and dates vary between local board areas, because most local boards went through a legal hearing process a few years ago to determine the rules that local communities were happy with. It is not a problem that there are different rules at different beaches, as long as those rules are signposted and online. After all, Local Boards were created to reflect local variation of our communities.
BUT Council is now proposing to undermine local boards and synchronise the time & season rules across Auckland. The proposal is to change the rules so that dogs are only allowed on beaches before 10am and after 7pm, from Saturday of Labour Weekend until 31 March (Summer rules).
- For Devonport-Takapuna beaches (inc Takapuna Beach, Milford Beach, etc), this would mean that dogs will be banned from beaches for 30mins more each evening (allowed from 7pm instead of 6:30pm).
- For Hibiscus & Bays beaches (inc Orewa Beach, Browns Bay Beach, Stanmore Bay Beach, etc) this would mean that dogs are banned during the day for one extra month (as they are currently allowed on beaches during the day from 1 March) and banned for 2 hours more each evening (allowed from 7pm instead of 5pm).
- For Kaipatiki beaches, this would mean that dogs must be on-leash during the day for one extra month and on-leash for 30mins more each evening (allowed off-leash from 7pm instead of 6:30pm).
HOWEVER, after George Wood, Julia Parfitt and I presented a number of concerns to the Regulatory Committee last month on behalf of the North Shore local boards, an option has been included in the consultation to allow local boards to have local variations. This would allow local boards to choose between the default rules or have their own rules, but this will require submissions in support of it.
Have Your Say (closes 10 May 2019):
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/have-your-say/topics-you-can-have-your-say-on/proposed-changes-policy-dogs-and-dog-management-bylaw/Pages/default.aspx