Auckland Council set to cut 500 more jobs
In an email to staff from acting chief executive Patricia Reade today she said fulltime equivalent staff numbers would reduce from 6500 to about 6000. The job cuts are on top of 600 part-time staff who have already been let go by council, one of the city's largest employers. Next week councillors will make tough calls on the "emergency budget" to plug the hole, including savage cuts to transport and fewer community services. Reade said she knows staff will be concerned about what the budget means to them and their role at the council. "The economic impact of Covid-19 has meant the entire council group is having to work hard to find savings, so we can continue to deliver the services that Aucklanders value." She said the council's share of the savings is significant at around $120 million and some tough decisions about how we prioritise and deliver our services for Aucklanders. Good progress was being made, she said, with each business area in council having identified savings of about $90m.
These include deferring or slowing down projects, scaling back events or reducing spending in areas like marketing and professional services. Reade said the council began with contractors and temps, removing more than 600 positions, and have asked staff earning over $100,000 to consider voluntary pay reductions. "But even with these measures in place, we will need to reduce the size of our workforce to meet the overall savings target.
"We estimate that we will need to reduce the number of full-time equivalent staff in our organisation from around 6500 at the end of June to around 6000. "This is only an estimate at this stage, but it reinforces that to play our part we will need to become a smaller, more adaptable organisation," 'Reade said. The job cuts apply to council staff, not staff at the five CCOs.
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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36.5% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63.5% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
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