AK2 : THE COMING OF AGE A NEW AUCKLAND PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE PREVIOUSLY AK2 : THE COMING OF AGE OF A NEW AUCKLAND AK2: The Coming of Age of a New Auckland Published June 2014 by: Previously Unavailable www.previously.co [email protected] © 2014 Previously Unavailable Researched, written, curated & edited by: James Hurman, Principal, Previously Unavailable Acknowledgements: My huge thanks to all 52 of the people who generously gave their time to be part of this study. To Paul Dykzeul of Bauer Media who gave me access to Bauer’s panel of readers to complete the survey on Auckland pride and to Tanya Walshe, also of Bauer Media, who organised and debriefed the survey. To Jane Sweeney of Anthem who connected me with many of the people in this study and extremely kindly provided me with the desk upon which this document has been created. To the people at ATEED, Cooper & Company and Cheshire Architects who provided the photos. And to Dick Frizzell who donated his time and artistic eforts to draw his brilliant caricature of a New Aucklander. You’re all awesome. Thank you. Photo Credits: p.14 – Basketballers at Wynyard – Derrick Coetzee p.14 – Britomart signpost – Russell Street p.19 - Auckland from above - Robert Linsdell p.20 – Lantern Festival food stall – Russell Street p.20 – Art Exhibition – Big Blue Ocean p.40 – Auckland Museum – Adam Selwood p.40 – Diner Sign – Abaconda Management Group p.52 – Lorde – Constanza CH SOMETHING’S UP IN AUCKLAND “We had this chance that came up in Hawkes Bay – this land, two acres, right on the beach. We built a house on it. We had a lot of fun there for nine years, and then I was coming back and forward a lot, and I thought, fuck, they’re having so much fun up here. I was saying to Jude, everything that people like me and Bob Harvey and Hamish Keith used to fght for, like eating on the footpath, and the waterfront, and all these things we never thought we’d see in our lifetime, they actual- ly started to happen. I was walking down Ponsonby Road and everyone was beaming away and I thought, Christ, I’d better come back. So 18 months ago we sold the big house on the beach to the Whittaker’s chocolate people and we found this fabulous factory space and we moved everything back. And when we moved back, I started to notice how happy everyone in Auckland seemed to be with Auckland. I’m talking about courier drivers and young electricians, the young Maori guys that installed the heat pump, they were raving away, you’d think Auckland was the centre of the universe. My son Otis with his wife and that taco truck, they all think why would you live anywhere else? And nobody ever talked like that once. We just always fantasised about being somewhere else. In my lifetime, and I’m 71 this year, to see it all completely roll around, and for people to start talking about Auckland as a place you’d actually want to be, it took me a while to get my head around it. So when you rang with this project, I thought that’s pretty timely actually.” Dick Frizzell, April 2014 7 FOREWORD In late 2013, I got talking to Al Brown about Auckland. Enthusiastically, he told me how great he was feeling about our city. He’s in the majority of Aucklanders who aren’t from here. I’m in the minority who are. Neither of us has seen our city feel as good about itself, yet we both had trouble pinning down exactly what it was about this changing city that we were feeling so good about. I left wanting to fgure it out. I gave myself the project of talking to 50 leading Aucklanders. A selection of the business, political, creative, and thought leaders of our city. I wanted to know what they thought we were becoming. To create a shared understanding of our ‘New Auckland’. While I had those conversations, the people at Bauer Media kindly gave me access to their panel of Auckland readers and allowed me to ask them how their feelings toward Auckland compared to a decade ago. 21% of those 973 people said they felt less proud of Auckland. 32% said they felt as proud. And 47%, by far the largest group, said they felt more proud of our city. This suggests that our coming of age is something that’s being experi- enced by people of all walks of life, right across our city. I believe that, before our eyes, Auckland is becoming one of the world’s great cities. I hope that these conversations give us some insight into what’s going so well, so that we might continue successfully on this amazing journey. James Hurman, Principal, Previously Unavailable, June 2014 21% LESS How do you feel about PROUD Auckland compared to 47% MORE ten years ago? PROUD 32% Online survey of 973 Aucklanders, March 2014 AS PROUD 9 50 LEADING AUCKLANDERS JACINDA ARDERN JILL CALDWELL Politician; Labour list Social Researcher; director In the interests of truly creating a ‘shared MP, Auckland Central Windshif Ltd defnition’ of New Auckland, AK2 has been written, as much as possible, in the words of the 50 leading Aucklanders who generously donated their time and insight to this project. Business leaders, political leaders, community leaders, thought and opinion leaders and oth- erwise interesting people were selected on the basis that they had a strong connection with Auckland and Auckland’s people, and could contribute an insightful and articulate view of AL BROWN MAI CHEN Chef; owner Depot, Lawyer; founding our changing city. Best Ugly, Federal Deli partner Chen Palmer Each participant was posed the same fve questions: 1. What do you think Aucklanders are becoming prouder of and why? 2. Do you see a theme or style that characterises the things that have popped up and become embraced by Aucklanders over the past few years? JAQUIE BROWN SAM CHAPMAN Media Personality Co-owner, Te Golden Dawn 3. Auckland appears to be going through a kind of coming of age – what is it becoming? How would you defne ‘Old Auckland’ and how would you defne ‘New Auckland’? 4. If you were asked to paint a stereotype cari- cature of an ‘Aucklander’ in 2014, what would you say? 5. What are your 5 favourite things about Auck- land right now? LEN BROWN JANE Mayor of Auckland CHERRINGTON The ensuing report has been curated and Psychologist; director String stitched together from the answers and in- Teory and Good Books sights transcribed from those interviews. SANDY BURGHAM NAT CHESHIRE Leadership Coach Architect; director Cheshire Architects 10 PETER COOPER SHAMUBEEL MIKHAIL SIR BOB HARVEY Investor; founder & executive EAQUB GHERMAN Chairman, Waterfront Auckland chairman, Cooper & Company Principal Economist, NZ Creative Director, Karen Walker (developer of Britomart) Institute of Economic Research MURRAY CRANE SIMON MIMI GILMOUR VINCENT Founder, Crane Brothers FARRELL-GREEN Restaurateur, co-founder Mexico HEERINGA Writer; editor, eatherenow.co.nz, and Burger Burger Publisher, Idealog and Auckland correspondent, Monocle director, Tangible Media RHANA ROB FENWICK JACKIE GRANT & LANCE HERBST DEVENPORT Environmentalist; professional SCOTT BROWN Architect; director Director, Auckland Art Gallery director and businessman Restaurateurs; owners Hip Group Herbst Architects JAMIE DUFF DICK FRIZZELL ARTHUR GRIMES MARK JENNINGS Co-founder, CEO, Stolen Rum Artist Economist Director of News, Mediaworks PAUL DYKZEUL ROB FYFE ANDY HAMILTON REBECCA KAMM CEO, Bauer Media CEO, Icebreaker CEO, Te Icehouse Writer; editor Sunday Magazine 11 KEVIN KENRICK SIR RALPH NORRIS GEOFF ROSS JOHN TAMIHERE CEO, TVNZ Director, Fonterra, Fletcher Building CEO, Moa Beer Media Personality & Politician MARCUS LUSH BRETT O’RILEY BIC RUNGA PIPPA WETZELL Broadcaster CEO, ATEED Musician Media Personality GORDON JASON PARIS IAN SHIRLEY KATHRYN WILSON MCLAUCHLAN COO, Telecom Retail Pro Vice-Chancellor, Fashion designer Journalist, Author AUT University SIMON MOUTTER HAZEL PHILLIPS PAUL SPOONLEY SIMON WILSON CEO, Telecom New Zealand Journalist, Author Pro Vice-Chancellor, Editor Metro magazine Massey University MATT NOONAN BEN POWLES & JANE SWEENEY JOAN WITHERS Executive Producer, Curious Film LOUISE POWLES Managing Director, Anthem Chairwoman, Mighty River Power GM, Fishpond & North Shore Mum 12 Gavin Hurley Suit (2013). Paper Collage. Courtesy of the artist and Melanie Roger Gallery A SHORT DISCLAIMER AK2 is meant in no way to be an all-encom- passing report on the condition of Auckland. Like any city, Auckland has its problems. Many of those interviewed have tempered their excitement about our city with con- cerns ranging from our rising cost of living, to income disparity, to the economic dangers of infating house prices, to issues of pover- ty and how we should care for less fortunate Aucklanders, to our trafc and public trans- port issues. This report in no way intends to ignore or marginalise these issues. AK2’s reason for being is to contribute an answer to one question: “We are becoming prouder of our city. Why?” By defnition this is a question about what’s going right as op- posed to what isn’t, and therefore the con- tent of this report is largely positive. However - the implication is certainly not that our work is done and our city is perfect. The message is that we have come a long way in recent years, and that we might glean learnings from those successes to apply to the work ahead of us, continuing to build one of the world’s great cities. 14 H O W T H I S R E P O R T IS STRUCTURED 1. Executive Summary 13 The zeitgeist and identity of New Auckland 2. Introduction : A Coming of Age 17 Observations on newfound optimism and confdence in our city 3.