IS BLUE THE NEW BROWN?

I took part in the National Party's Candidates' College a couple of weekends ago and ended up on MARAE TV1. I thoroughly enjoyed the College and being on telly. Central Government is a medium term goal for me and my whanau. Running for a Local Board position in Owairaka in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward is an immediate priority. I have a small dedicated hard working term; my sister Rosina is my volunteer co-ordinator and fundraiser and Donald Hollingsworth is in charge of Marketing while Julie Stirling is a magnificent help with my websites.

It's really important for any campaign to have a great team around you and because I work in the media - marketing and publicity comes quite naturally to me. Doing the actual mahi though that's another issue. The technical nuances involved and the speed in which things change and upgrade sometimes boggle me. So having Donald and Julie on board is not only useful but saves costs. Janice Mulligan the best Editor in town will be working her magic over my promo-vids when they've been shot. Having the skill of experts is unbeatable.

It's the fundraising that pays for much of the campaigning and if you've got a switched on money-raiser it can pay for all campaigning costs. My Sister Rosina has the widest most eclectic contacts' list I've ever seen. Which is pretty high praise given that the might of a Journalist (old timers anyway) is in the thickness of their contacts' book/e-diary/notebook/ipad! I'm impressed by my Sister's ability to wheel and deal.

The biggest support though has to come from home and the whanau. My Nadine our two boys Kiamana, Te Ua and our little Te Arawa Princess Manawa, give me moral and spiritual support and endless hugs and kisses. All Politicians be they at local or central level say home is the most important place. All too often however, the needs of the people, means families sacrefice time and attention with their loved one so the latter can get on and deal with real and pressing issues affecting others who are by and large strangers. Talking through the impact of political life on all members of the whanau can help prepare everyone.

I hope all Aucklanders assert their right to vote, particularly at this time of great and historical change and amalgamation into a new Auckland-Tamakimakaurau. I have enjoyed the selection process with 'C and R: Citizens and Ratepayers'. I'm looking forward to the campaigning proper - it's really exciting. It is all about the journey and it's all about the destination.

If you are in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward vote CandR. If you are in Owairaka subdivision vote Claudette Hauiti Local Board.

It's About Whanau.

Our whanau represents the diverse lifestyles and multi-cultural make-up that is this great city called Auckland. We are strongly connected to our hapu and iwi in Ngati Porou and Nga Puhi. We are proud and supportive members of the Takatapui (GLBTi) community: to us whanau is paramount;. My wife Nadine Mau and I have two boys attending Grey Lynn School, Kiamana Year 5, Te Ua Year 4 and in three years time our little girl Manawa will be ready to start School at Edendale Primary. We live in Columbia Street Sandringham.

My Company Front of the Box Productions LTD has been operating in Grey Lynn for 10 years. I have built my business brand on ‘accessibility’: giving the greatest amount of people, best access to quality information in order to make decisions. As a result we are multi-award winning television programme producers and are the largest independent suppliers of Maori and Pasifika content in English to TVNZ.

My background in political reporting and current affairs programme making has afforded me in-depth knowledge of local and central government business as well as lobby and interest group strategy, policy drafting and submission. I am currently the Telecommunications Sector Leader for the National Party Maori Advisory Group.

Like all C & R members I too am determined that multi-cultural Auckland and all its diversity remains the cultural capital of not just New Zealand but the Pacific Rim. But like C & R, I too believe it can only be achieved through unity and hard work; an emphasis on safe homes, safe streets, safe communities; a focus on economic enterprise, growth and above all a unified people proud to call Auckland City home.

I look forward to the Local elections and encourage everyone to exercise their democratic right to vote. For those in the Owairaka subdivision of Albert-Eden-Roskill ward: voteclaudettehauiti.

Come November 1 we will have a new Auckland…..and that new Auckland will be built on tradition, values and connected communities.

My family has invested over 50 years of their life to this area. My parents bought our family home at 5 Galbraith Street Mt Roskill in 1960 and it’s still ours…….it’s where my brother now lives. Not far away my own family live in Sandringham.

My parents came to Auckland just after the second world war from rural Northland and rural East Coast for a better life for themselves and for us their children.

They instilled in us good, honest, traditional values……..to work hard……to know and respect your neighbours……and they showed us the value of being a part of a community.

My Mother was proud of her job as a machinist at Klipper Ties on Stoddard Road…….while my Father had a prestigious job as a Auckland Clerk of Works.

I am a legacy of their hard work….I own two Companies and am a Multi-Award winning Television Programme maker. My brother and two sisters are academics and business people in their own right.

This community will contribute vibrant business hubs….and promote public private partnerships to the new Auckland……but we will not tolerate…….bureaucratic, PC interference and meddling.

In Galbraith Street….our neighbour’s the Meads, the Heihei’s, the Saindbury’s, the Eaton’s, the Ford’s, the Dagg’s, the Casey’s…..a close knit street, we looked out for eachother……this community will contribute a sense of connectedness to the new Auckland….but we will not tolerate unsustainable urban growth at the expense of people.


On Sunday’s I used to run to the top of Mt Albert and at the lookout would stare down at our home in the distance……and wait for my Dad to open the kitchen window and wave out to me……it was a signal that our Sunday Roast Lunch was almost ready……..a little 10 year old girl could run to the top of the mountain alone…..without fear….that may never happen again….sadly……..this community will contribute safer streets to the new Auckland because there will be a zero tolerance to crime.



Albert-Eden is hosting the 2011 Rugby World Cup Rugby. We have an opportunity to show the World that we are champions……a proud Nation ……a conquering All Blacks Rugby Team……a first class Auckland City……and most importantly a unified, diversely rich…..strong vibrant Albert-Eden-Roskill.

We the citizens of Auckland may come from diverse backgrounds, but we are united in our expectations for a more effective and efficient governance of our great city. As residents we expect to prosper along with Auckland’s economy in a safe, clean and vibrant city.

As citizens of Auckland we demand a council committed to strong family values that considers the whole city as whanau-whanui, an extended family, one that is as united in its core beliefs as it is diverse in makeup.

I am a first generation Auckland born Maori, whose parents came from rural Ngati Porou and Nga Puhi determined on a life of purpose, ambition and expected prosperity. Auckland City and I have grown up together. We have faced social and economic challenges together, and we have enjoyed the eclectic scenes and sounds that come with a multi-cultural community. But while the citizens of Auckland may come from diverse backgrounds, we are united in our expectations for a more effective and efficient governance of our great city. As residents we expect to prosper along with Auckland’s economy in a safe, clean and vibrant city, that priorities public transport and roading alongside great urban design. Most of all as citizens and ratepayers we demand a council committed to strong family values that considers Auckland wide as whanau-whanui; an extended family - one that is as united in its core beliefs as it is diverse in its makeup.