DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY FIVE: SCARED STIFF SHOP KEEPERS

DAY FIVE:
Wednesday 24 August 2010
It is 22 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 45 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I started the day with Councillors Chris Fletcher, Paul Goldsmith and fellow C&R Colleagues from Eden-Roskill - talking with Committee members of Eden Rugby Club Gribblehirst Park on Sandringham Rd. The Club is an old one opened in 1922. The area had been originally owned by a Mr Gribble and Mr Hirst and was given by them to the local council in the 1920s. During the late 20s the swamp was reclaimed and turned into a sports field and naturally enough named Gribblehirst Park. In 1930 it became the home ground of the Eden Rugby Football Club

Eden Rugby Club like many other community facilities is hamstrung by bureaucracy. They’ve been awaiting Auckland City Council signoff to develop the clubrooms in readiness for next year’s World Cup Rugby. But because Auckland’s been in transition sign off has been delayed. Hopefully Councillor Paul Goldsmith can champion their cause before the old Council is dismantled. It's facilities like this that bind and connect communities – it’s what Citizens and Ratepayers are all about. Eden Rugby have had generations of families through its doors – it has helped define the areas identity, contributed positive role models and it continues to build strong young athletes.

My next stop was at the Mt Albert Shopping Centre. I only had time to Shop knock one side, but it was an eye opener. Two nights ago Grant Gillard was confronted by an intruder in his Chemist at 4am. At 6am 43 year old unemployed Bruce Alan Jones was dead.

I expected the Mt Albert Shops to be in some sort of lock-down. I expected keepers and shoppers alike to be talking about the incident, I thought there would be a buzz on the street, but there wasn’t. Not one shop I entered knew any details other than what they had read in the paper or saw on television. But while they could not give me details of that incident – 90% of them recounted for me problems they have faced personally with theft, intimidation, drunk and disorderly behaviour. The majority of Owners and Managers I met are Chinese, new New Zealanders. When some spoke of their frustration with intimidators it occurred to me that they feel powerless to do anything about their situation. A shop owner named Brian told me he would have on average a burglary a month. He has even been held up at knife point. Inspite of this Police have stopped attending to his call outs. Brian says Police reckon they’ll come if he’s in ‘more serious danger’. Another boutique owner says she regularly has drunks outside her shop door. She says it’s difficult to catch the local Police Constable and in fact come weekends it’s the Avondale Police that come to their aid. This community could do with the assistance of the Maori Wardens. They patrol the streets both night and day. Their mere presence pounding the pavements in slow measured steps has a calming influence on disorderly – the Wardens' age alone commands mana and therefore deference.

From the 20 or so shops I visited only one store-person could tell me about the Mt Albert Business Association. This is a concern to me. Citizen and Ratepayers is about developing small businesses and this is something I am personally campaigning on. I will work hard with the Business Associations to strengthen their networks and connectivity and increase their membership. This camaraderie encourages confidence in members – knowing that they have support and advice when they need it fosters productivity.

I asked a couple of shop owners what their major concerns were. Linda who runs a Health Store, wanted to extend the parking time for customers. Currently it’s 30 minutes for both sides of the street. Linda doesn’t think it’s long enough, given that some of her customers can spend up to 45 minutes in her store. There is a public carpark at the eastern end of the shopping centre but it’s poorly lit even during the day and given the area has issues with drunks and riff raff, it’s not a safe place for single women shoppers to park. I’m campaigning for safer parking, better lighting and cleaner streets. These are the basic requirements of shopping centres. Mt Albert deserves this.

I also took a walk around the back of the shops to the train station. I can see that the place is a haven for undesirables. They weren’t there today – moved further up the track line thanks to the Police presence following the Gillard Chemist incident. But the evidence that the aimless and reckless spend a considerable amount of time there is abundant. Sleeping-rough paraphernalia in corners and the tagging is rife. Whose responsibility is it to clean up the mess is an argument between three organisations. ARTA, Kiwirail and the Council. All three have agreed to clean up the mess but it wasn’t apparent today, in fact a Council hui 28 July to further discuss the issue hasn’t resulted in any tangible results for the community.

We need to push back on off-licences and enforce drinking bans in public places we need to reclaim these streets for honest shoppers and hard working business owners. This coming election we need to make this great city of ours succeed by empowering every community to do well. These are the values I champion. With Citizens and Ratepayers we support small business and connected communities, we value safety of individuals and their property. VOTE C&R for Owairaka-Mt Albert.