Planning is already underway for the 08/09 events season. With increasing pressure on Auckland city venues there may be changes to the traditional use of some venues. As always, each event is considered on a year by year basis taking into account competing priorities in the city including the need for road works and city upgrades, other events and the city's resources. It is important that requests for preferred dates are forwarded to your event facilitator early so we can confirm them back to you by mid-April.

Some may be wondering what the change in council will mean for events in Auckland city? The outgoing council saw the development of the new City Events group as recognition of the important contribution events make to the city in terms of economy, community and reputation. October's elections saw a new mayor, a new council and a re-focussing of the council's priorities. Four months into the new council term, we are pleased to report that the City Events budget continues to be supported, however the emphasis on efficiency and effective events practice is more important than ever.

What we can do for you

Many of you will know the Event and film operations team well, but for those less familiar we thought it might be useful to profile what we do and how we can help.

We manage all of the event requests for public spaces within Auckland city. If you need a park, square or road for your event, we are your first point of contact. We help organisers to navigate the operational requirements of our internal and external stakeholders such as NZ Police, parks staff, ARTA, Transport and Parking Services, to ensure your event is in the best operational shape it can be, that the spaces you need are ready for your event and that you have fulfilled all you regulatory obligations. We bring the city's operational experts and your event delivery team together to ensure everyone is working together, and ultimately we issue the permit for your event to take place in a public space as required under Auckland City Council consolidated bylaw 1998, Clause 20.6.

We also have an eye on events in the long term and so we advocate for events in public assets infrastructure planning and feed into everything from park re-developments to district plan reviews. We build capability in the industry through channels such as this e-newsletter, through the annual event industry function and are in the process of benchmark setting and best practice work.

Apart from all of the above we have a great wealth of knowledge of Auckland city's public spaces, so even if you are still in the scoping stages of planning an event, we're happy to talk over potential venues and times.

Waitangi Day Festival '08, Auckland's first zero waste event

Waitangi Day Festival '08 was an historic occasion in more ways than one. Not only was the event the first Waitangi Day celebration hosted Ngati Whatua o Orakei in partnership with Auckland City Council, but it was also the first event to aim to be zero waste.

Ngati Whatua adopted the zero-waste goal in line with their commitment to nurture the land and sea. A large team of volunteers at the event managed rubbish and educated visitors about what they can do to reduce waste. All stallholders agreed that all consumables passed to the customer or generated for disposal on-site would be either biodegradable or recyclable –including food serving containers and utensils. The public were also encouraged to have a "pack-in, pack-out" attitude, disposing of their own waste properly at home.

As event professionals, you will all be acutely aware that events send huge quantities of waste to landfill. While the festival did not achieve their zero waste goal this year, they are still celebrating a stunning success in managing to divert 79% of their waste from going to landfill, that's 4.9 tonnes of waste sent to composting and recycling facilities. This is an impressive feat for an event that attracted over 20,000 people.

The organisers are determined to improve on these statistics next year. For information on Auckland City Council's current waste management planning guidelines visit http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/events/organising/wastemgmt.asp

Roberta Reserve , Glendowie

This relaxed seaside reserve is a real East Auckland treat. A large expanse of flat lush grass with great views across the Tamaki Estuary, this is an under-utilised venue for events and could be an alternative to the over-used Tamaki Drive reserves. This reserve links into Tahuna Torea by the Point to Point walkway and is bordered by convenience stores and a playground, with plenty of on-street parking. This is a very versatile and easy to find event venue being a pleasant drive around the headland from St Heliers Bay, and why not visit Churchill Park on the way. For more information on parks visit http://s0.tx.co.nz/at/tep112a4i220552t9s4f1n484428c2324264z

Security at events

Why have the council requirements for security at my event increased over the last few years?

We operate in a constantly changing environment and part of this change is the risk posed to events by many elements, in particular focus at the moment are youth gangs. Music events in public spaces, often regardless of the genre, are particularly at risk as youth gangs tend to utilise the opportunities offered by large crowds and open spaces to meet and potentially confront rival gangs. No event organiser wants to face the potentially disastrous effects of such an incident at their event, so Auckland City Council and the Police do insist on a certain level of security for at-risk events. Other factors that require an increase in security are alcohol, certain genres of music and the precedent of antisocial behaviour at an event.