DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER DAY 40: MATT McCARTEN'S B**S PICKS

DAY FORTY:
Wednesday 29 September 2010
The ballot papers are on the benches, pinned to kitchen boards and refrigerators. In 10 days time this great city of Tamakimakaurau/Auckland will have a new council and take on a new direction. Have you voted?

I have got my nose way outta joint! Why….because Matt McCarten didn’t name me in his Auckland Supercitypicks.com. I’ve known Matt professionally for about 7 years, we have a mutual friend, actually this mutual person is one of Matt’s closest mates, and I’m a tag along or was.

McCarten reckons he’s posted his picks out to about 50,000 people. He says he based his votes partially on the following criteria as well as other considerations:

Being pro-community and not in the pockets of business interests
A track record of political reliability, the ability and talent to actually to do the job they want
A good chance of winning

McCarten knows my work in broadcasting means I’ve got to be across all issues affecting the country and at all levels from local to regional to central. I’m a Documentary and Current Affairs programme Producer so I have the type of over view that allows for big picture strategy and micro analysis. Matt benefitted from my personal hard work and determination in an aggressive broadcasting industry. He was a regular guest on our current affairs programme ‘Eye to Eye with Willie Jackson’ where he was able to challenge opposing politicians, commentators or business interest groups. So when it comes to strength and courage against odds to not only get a job done, but to give voice to all sides, groups and interests - Matt has conveniently forgotten me. Perhaps Matt McCarten thinks I might win. He wouldn’t want that because that would split his ‘left’ leaning team and Matt’s nirvana is a left leaning Auckland City. What I find most interesting however is that for someone who champions tangatahwhenua, Matt didn’t acknowledge the Party with Maori on its ticket. When all is said and done Matt is keeping true to his political ‘faith’. He is after all a ‘leftie’ and a hard core one at that, so he’s being consistent. Let’s hope his picks are completely wrong – for the sake of our city and the sake of our future.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY39 VOTE NOW

DAY THIRTY-NINE:
Tuesday 28 September 2010
We have the ballot papers. In 11 days time this great city of Tamakimakaurau/Auckland will have a new council and take on a new direction.

The voting returns are well down this year with only 17.96% or 172,272 received so far out of a possible 959,120. In my ward of Owairaka Albert-Eden out of a possible 32, 741 votes, only 5,369 or 16.4% have been received.

I’m hoping people are leaving the run till the last week although if you need to post off no later than Wednesday 06 to guarantee the vote reaching the electoral office on time. To check and see how other areas in Auckland are faring checkout the website:
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/2010Elections/Voting/Pages/Home.

I’ve been in Wellington these last few days and being in the Capital you get a sense of Central Government issues and politicking. You get a sense that decisions here impacts on local councils around the country. So it’s vitally important Councils have the strength to act in the interests of its region, communities and people. Local boards is where the rubber hits the road in terms of personal impact and influence of policies and decisions. So it’s crucial everyone gets out and votes for the board that will act in the best interests of the people serve willingly and commit responsibly. Obviously I think the Board that can best serve this community is C&R Owairaka.
Let’s all get out and exercise our democratic right to vote. So take the papers out of the evelopes, off the fridges, out from under the stack of mail, tick those boxes and Vote now! VOTE C&R.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER DAY 33 BARMY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

DAY THIRTY-THREE:
Wednesday 22 September 2010
The ballot papers are in the letter boxes. There are 17 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I wanted to address a comment made by one of my Facebook ‘adds’ regarding my kids on the hustings with me. The ‘add’ said: “Keep kids safe, including from politics, until they are old enough to make their own informed decisions rather than their parent’s ones. Look at Fiji. There is a reason you have to be eighteen to vote.”
Firstly having my children on the hustings with me is part of what being Maori and tangatahwhenua is all about. This is about our future their future our rangatiratanga. This is about them being a part of the process and understanding what happened in their life time that affected their future and that of their mokopuna to come. This concept of having children campaigning isn’t reserved solely for Maori, many other people’s have done the same thing, not just here but around the world. Physical safety is paramount and at the fore front of any parents’ mind when they take their tamariki out in big crowds and particular attention is paid during hustings. But to say ‘keep kids safe from politics’ is politically-correct nonsense wrapped up in patronising religious fanaticism. It’s a holier-than-thou attitude not towards tamariki but towards a people who dare to vocalise and proudly their sovereign right to campaign to protest to activate the minds and hearts of their people and especially their children. The kind of ‘keep them safe’ the add refers to is a ‘say nothing-see nothing’ ideology usually practised by groups with something to hide. Maori are about whanau, we will include our Pakeke and tamariki, our kaumatua, kuia, tāne, wāhine in everything, all the time. All parents know that when tamariki grow up they make their own decisions, informed and ill-informed. I would hope that the informed decisions my tamariki make are based on some of the experiences I have given them and the knowledge I have imparted. I would hope that the ill-informed decisions are few and far between because of the experiences I have given them and the knowledge I have imparted. Our tamariki like many other children in Aotearoa/New Zealand and around the world have been and will always be an intrinsic part of political activism. And so it shall be.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER DAY 34 DEVELOPMENTS BEGBIE AND CHEWED TO BITS

DAY THIRTY-FOUR:
Thursday 23 September 2010
The ballot papers are in the letter boxes. There are 16 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I door knocked streets around the back of the Westfield St Lukes Mall this afternoon. The residents there have been vocal about the extent of the development which will see the Mall expand North East and along the side of Aroha Ave. The Mall already owns many of the homes across Exeter St and Morningside Dr two streets that sit adjacent to Aroha Ave and Bournemouth Street. Indoor floor space will increase from 4.5ha to 9.2ha, eclipsing the 7ha Sylvia Park shopping centre in Mt Wellington and Westfield Albany, which is also around 7ha. This will be the largest shopping complex in the country. The residents have valid concerns regarding the development. The traffic that comes with these things is overwhelming. St Lukes would remain a vehicle-oriented centre as it’s not well served by public transport as other large centres such as Newmarket and Sylvia Park, and according to Mall Authorities the nature of shopping is such that public transport is not an ideal means of carrying more than a handful of small purchases home. As well as the concern over traffic the impact on the aesthetics of the residental properties is also very real. There would be those that champion for the development because of the economical benefits it brings to the area. A development this size will bring a significant number of jobs and for some areas within Owairaka and the wider Auckland these positions will be a ‘god-send’.

I moved a little further along Sandringham Rd and into Begbie Place. This has always fascinated me this cul-de-sac. It reminds me of Don Croot St in Western Springs, where the majority housing is privately owned flats or units. The Begbie residents are culturally diverse – Iranian, Asian (Indian, Chinese) Pasific Island, Pakeha and Maori. I spoke with many of the residents who were keen to share their concerns several coming out onto the street to talk with me. Parking seemed to the major issue for these residents. It seems the street is used as an unpaid park ‘n ride bay. In fact while I was chatting to the locals three people walked around the corner from Sandringham Rd jumped in their cars and drove off. One of the ‘parkers’ admitted using the street for several months as a ‘park ‘n ride’. Coming from Mt Roskill the gentleman said he could save time and money by driving to Begbie Ave park for free and pay a 2 stage bus fare to town. Begbie is north of Balmoral/St Lukes and Sandringham Rd intersection. The ‘park ‘n ride’ cars take up both sides of the narrow street, making coming and going by residents difficult. There is ample off street parking for residents as these units and flats are very well catered with carports, car pads and garages. In my korero with the residents they said they didn’t know who to complain to about the congestion. It’s obvious this street like countless others across Owairaka are being ignored or overlooked. I felt for these residents and I look forward to working with them.

Earlier in the day I recorded CitizenA with host Bomber Bradbury at Triangle TV. The other guest was left-wing political commentator Chris Trotter. I’ve worked with Chris, he was a regular guest on ‘Eye to Eye’ the current affairs programme I executive produced which screened on TV1 for 7 years. Trotter is well respected as an analytical, insightful commentator. He and Bomber spared me no quarter. The moment I spoke they literally tore what I said to shreds. Lucky I’m used to conflict, a weaker person would have buckled and bowled-on-outta there. But the more they ripped into me the more I felt complimented. If they thought I was a ‘flake’ and a ‘fake’ they wouldn’t have challenged me. Anyway that’s my take on the situation and I’m sticking to it!

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY 32 IF YOU DON'T STAND FOR SOMETHING YOU'LL FALL FOR ANYTHING

DAY THIRTY-TWO:
Tuesday 21 September 2010
The ballot papers are in the letter boxes. There are 21 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Someone told me or I read it somewhere that if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything! I think I’m already making a difference with the work I do in television programming making. The stories I tell are about accessibility. Gaining access to sectors of the community that are difficult to enter in order to get better information to make more informed decisions about ourselves, others and our country has been the driving force of my Company FRONT OF THE BOX PRODUCTIONS LTD. I want to continue making a difference and I know working for the Owairaka Local Board is the way to go. Now that I have a little family my attention must be refocused and brought back to my own backyard. I’m doing that here in Owairaka because this is where I grew up and this is where my children are now growing up. These are the 5 issues of priority for me. I know they resonant with Owairaka locals and I’m looking forward to achieving these goals and more.

1. ZERO TOLERANCE TO CRIME
Zero tolerance to crime, littering, tagging and destruction of
public and private property. I will work with the Police, Community groups and residents to ensure all people and property are safe. Greater protection for our hard working business owners and honest shoppers will be my priority. I will work hard to ensure shopping precincts have greater security, better lightening, more parking.


2. REVOKE LIQUOR LICENCES
Revoke licences to off-licence premises. I will work
hard to ensure off-licences are removed from within a 3k radius of all schools, public parks and reserves.



3. CHAMPION LOCAL HEROES
Support Community groups and their work.
I will work hard to ensure community groups have access to resources
and facilities to achieve so they can get on with working for locals.

4. MORE BUSINESSES FOR LOCAL CENTRES
Champion a return of businesses to local areas. I will
work with Business Associations to have small businesses return to local centres
and shopping blocks.



5. PROTECTION OF WĀHI TAPU AND ICONIC LANDMARKS
To ensure the historical uniqueness of the area is maintained I will champion the
efforts of manawhenua/tangatahwhenua maintaining wāhi tapu and all those groups working towards the preservation of iconic landmarks.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER DAY 31 BLAAA BLAAA BLAAA MONOTONE VOICE ON ROTATE

DAY THIRTY-ONE:
Monday 20 September 2010
The ballot papers are rolling into the letter boxes. There are 22 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

So the most interesting thing that happened to C&R today was the ‘sign-off’ between us and City Vision. We read via Len Brown’s Twitter that CV was going to be at the cross-roads of Dominion and Mt Albert Rds so we decided to front up as well. It was very noisy I have to say, what with the traffic and the Len Brown megaphone churning out CV political messages and C&R van pumping out music – it was full on. The thing about party policy messages over megaphones in heavy traffic is that no one hears what you’re saying…because of the traffic noise. So what needs to happen is you gotta be really concise in your korero/speak and also pick your moments when there is a lull in the traffic other wise it sounds like..blah….blah….blah….blah…bla
waaaaaa……waaaaaa…..waaaaaaa – really it does!

Yes in situations like this you have to be quick, snappy, smart and savvy with the messages – you know like a 30sec ad. The only reason why I’m saying all this is because I really wanted to hear what CV were saying and even though I was just across the road and concentrating it sounded like a monotone taped voice on rotate. The thing about the monotone taped voice on rotate is that it comes across as preachy. So I’m only talking about this because in my job as a television programme producer, I have from time to time directed narrators in voiceover recording sessions. Tone and voice inflection is crucial if you want viewer or audience attention and retention. Of course scripting has to be pithy, punchy and precise too, you can’t be cluttered, verbose or unstructured, people or audiences get confused about what you’re trying to tell them. Yes delivery and scripting is vital when trying to capture the hearts and minds of people. That’s why I love Maori activists and activism. The messages from Maori leaders are always uplifting, positive invigorating – they raise the hearts, minds and spirits of the people, especially in our darkest moments. The other thing about Maori leaders when they rally to the masses is that they chant. There is a rhythm and a beat to their korero and of course there is always waiata. My Company produced a documentary Directed by Qantas Award winner Makerita Urale called ‘Waiata Whawhai-Protest Songs’ which detailed the genesis of some of our most iconic protest songs.
Earlier in the day I spent door knocking Sandringham. I covered quite a bit of ground and spoke to quite a few people. The rest of the Owairaka ward will receive their voting papers tomorrow. What an exciting time.

(Nga Mihi John Miller mo nga whakaahua tawhito)

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER DAY30 DITCH THE BAGGAGE

DAY THIRTY:
Sunday 19 September 2010
The ballot papers are rolling into the letter boxes. There are 22 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.
I had a great day today. Following a hui with two TV Industry colleagues and friends I went to work knocking on doors in Western Springs, Kingsland and Sandringham. I got to meet quite a few residents in Rocky Nook. It’s the area at the back of Fowlds Park. It’s an unusual place in the sense that the old Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) brought a lot of the properties that backed onto St Lukes Rd with a view that they could disappear, forfeited to the widening of the motorway. But oddly enough the homes survived and the streets flourished and it’s become an enclave. As I walked around knocking on the doors the same comment kept cropping up: ‘…you’re the only one that’s been to see us.’ It seems the incumbent councillors have taken their positions for granted, that they don’t need to go out and meet the people again or perhaps the incumbents are hoping the citizens and residents are too complacent to vote for change. If there’s one thing I’ve found as I’ve been going around the streets is that the people of Auckland are extremely interested in their city. The people are concerned about inheriting debt from other regions, they’re worried about their burms. The Owairaka C&R team is unencumbered by bureaucratic baggage all we know is that we can-do it and we will-do what ever it takes to get the job done. This doesn’t mean we’ll go naively or blindly into the local board role, on the contrary. We’re business owners in our own right and understand systems and processes, what I’m saying is we won’t let the red tape trip us up, we’ll make sure we see the trees past the wood and we’ll set realistic measureable outcomes for ourselves based n community goals and aspirations.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY29 WAVING IN THE RAIN

DAY TWENTY-NINE:
Saturday 18 September 2010
The ballot papers are rolling into the letter boxes. There are 23 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

It was a relatively slow day campaigning, thanks to the wet and rainy, blustery and cold day. C&R team mate Sarah Turner and I walked through St Lukes Mall handing out flyers and chatting to people. We actually managed to distribute quite a bit of information. Although the voting papers started arriving in letter boxes yesterday, there’s still quite a bit of confusion about how to vote ie: how many to vote for, who are the DHB candidates and does Albert Eden Roskill have a Licensing Trust? Of course Sarah and I are more than happy to talk people through the process.

We then decided to wave at cars. So we took our hoardings and plonked ourselves in the middle of St Lukes Rd. Well when I say ‘middle’ I mean on an island – safely. It’s a great location not only do you get the traffic running north and south but it’s also a pedestrian thorough way between the Mall and the Mega Centre. So we got to ask people for support as well as wave at the cars – two birds with one stone. We had to flag the wave after an hour and a half though because we got drenched neither of us had raincoats. Sarah and I really enjoy waving at cars we think its magnificent for Party branding and keeping the profile visible. In that short space of time we can get the brand visibility in front of about 1000 people, not bad.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER:DAY28 STAND UP AGAINST CCO'S

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT:
Friday 17 September 2010
The ballot papers are rolling into the letter boxes. There are 24 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

The day was a busy one. Sarah and I started by waving at cars in Pt Chev, at St Lukes and then in Mt Albert. In fact, we’ve been saluting at cars and drivers for almost three weeks. Sarah and I estimated that at Pt Chev we would have 200 cars pass us in a four-way light exchange. In a one hour evening session, there would be about 1600 cars. That’s a lot of vehicles. What we also noticed were a whole lot of single passenger rides. C&R advocates for people out of cars and into public transport.

We need a more connected transport system that can get workers from one end of Auckland to the other with minimum fuss as possible. More importantly we need to do this as cheaply and as safely as possible. But this means Local Boards must work as a strong united team to champion the needs and wants of the community.
Transportation will be under a Council Controlled Organisation. It will be the responsibility of the Local Boards to control the CCO’s and make them accountable to the people. They must listen to us the people not the other way around. The Local Board needs to be decisive and focussed come 01 November and hit the ground running. That’s why I do not buy into what incumbents and the ‘experienced’ ‘old-hands’ at council are saying, that ‘….no one will know what is expected and how it will work’. That kind of talk comes from those bogged down in bureaucracy. That kind of talk comes from ‘thinkers-of-a-tired-way’. The new Auckland City must have proactive, forward thinking can-do, will-do individuals who can work as a team to ensure best results for the community. That team is C&R Owairaka. The voting papers are out. Let’s make this region succeed. Vote C&R.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY 27 MT ALBERT ICONS

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN:
Thursday 16 September 2010
Only 1 day until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 24 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Wow! Voting papers are out tomorrow!

Sarah and I had another great day door knocking and meeting folk. We started the day at St Lukes Shopping Centre. We met a couple of very ‘informed’ Pt Chev residents. They follow the political scene quite closely at both local and central levels. They were very engaging and Sarah and I appreciated spending a few minutes with them.

We travelled to a part of Mt Albert that has not one but three iconic features. Chamberlain Park Golf Course, the old St Helens Hospital now a AIS St Helens Tertiary Institution and the Charlotte Museum. Chamberlain Park has been reduced in size the North Western Motorway slicing through the middle of it. It’s now an 18 hole course, it’s a public course and so has very low fees. The old St Helens hospital moved to Linwood Ave in 1968 from Pitt and Hopetoun Streets. It closed in 1990 and turned into a Tertiary facility. The Charlotte Museum moved to Linwood last year from Surrey Cres Grey Lynn. It houses the NZ’s Lesbian History and this weekend the Lesbian Newsletter celebrates its 20th birthday.

The street runs from St Lukes Road to Rossgrove. It’s the area North East of the Mt Albert shopping centre.
As mentioned earlier, tomorrow the voting papers are posted out. I’m looking forward to it. It’s an exciting time and I feel privileged to be part of this historical occasion. Nga mihi ki a koutou katoa.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY26 MT ALBERT NOT SO LEFT

DAY TWENTY-SIX:
Wednesday 15 September 2010
Only 2 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 24 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

It’s really exciting I can’t wait for the voting papers to come out.

Sarah Turner one of my C&R running mates in Owairaka, and I worked hard to day. We went to a part of Mt Albert that we thought was dyed-in-the-wool, centre-left territory. A couple of reasons we thought it was centre-left: 1) it’s a street where an incumbent ‘leftie’ Councillor lives, 2) centre-left brag about this area being theirs.

What we found was the complete opposite.

Several homes informed us we were the first candidates to have visited them in over 12 years….in 22 years! When we informed them that one of their neighbours was an incumbent Councillor, both residents said that were aware of that, but had never met her…..

Local board representation is about being local, for the locals, to do good by the locals. I can’t wait to get stuck into working for the community. I really hope I’m elected. As I’ve moved around the neighbour hood I’ve become very humbled by the generosity of those I’ve met. People have been generous with their time in speaking with us, sharing their concerns with us, showing faith in us that we may be able to assist them in some small way. But most of all I have been humbled by the humility people have shown towards us simply because we bothered to knock on their door and ask them if they had any concerns.

A young couple Sarah and I spoke with were concerned about the increase in their rates comes 1 November. C&R are adamant rates must remain low. Now is not a time to go promising free this and that. Somewhere along the line someone will end up footing the bill and the buck will probably stop with rate payers.

We need to get the new Auckland City off on the right foot. We need a fiscally prudent council to mind the pennies and the pounds…mind the cents and the dollars. We need conservative control over spending. We need Citizens and Ratepayers.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY25 'MY PEOPLE'

DAY TWENTY-FIVE:
Tuesday 14 September 2010
Only 3 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 25 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

My team and I, we’re getting really excited. We’ve stepped up the tempo, we’re knocking on more doors, covering more area and meeting more of the locals that make up this great area of Owairaka.

As I travel around the streets I can’t help reminiscing about my childhood growing up in this hood. Today Sarah Turner and I went out to meet the residents living between Owairaka Park and Oakley Creek. For those who know the area, also know that it’s a seldom visited spot by campaigners at either local or central levels. If you know the area you know the streets are there and you know how to get to them. If you’re a pretender to the neighbourhood you can see it from a distance and think the only way to reach it is over the creek.

I used to play on both sides of this area at the Owairaka Park that’s on the main road and along the creek bank; the access way was from either Stoddard or Sandringham Rds. Every home along the handful of streets here looks directly into the Mountain. From either the sitting-room or kitchen windows you can see the summit and the cloud patterns coming in from the Waitakere bringing the westerly winds or rolling slowly in from the North and the warmer breeze. This is not the Northern slopes but rather the South-East side of the maunga. Every single one of the homes built prior 1980’s are State Houses. The newer homes ie: post 1980 are flats or in-fills and privately owned.

According to political ‘experts’ and campaign ‘strategists’ this area is a ‘red-spot’. The whanau here are meant to be Labour supporters – but you know what they’re NOT! These people are ‘my’ people. A couple of whanau are Maori, one or two are Pakeha, some are Pacific Islanders, many more are new immigrant Asian and African. When I say they are ‘my’ people, they are families like mine. They are families with ambition, who aspire for greater things. The Parents we met are Mums and Dads who came to Owairaka from all-over so their children can have a better life than they had, a chance at a better education, the opportunity to work in jobs with potential and prospects. They are also Parents who came to Owairaka for safety and security from war torn countries.
The children we met are kids with one eye on the telly, a homework book on their lap and a hankering to get out and create havoc. What’s stopping them from mischief making are their parents dreams for better, more, safer, happier. Like my family these whanau are also blue collar workers, many working split shift hours for minimum wages. Like my family it will be centre-right politics that will assist them reach their goals. Their hard work ethic will see them break the cycle of welfare dependency. Their ambition for a better education will see their children rise above the negative statistics and achieve beyond the benchmark. These families deserve a centre-right local council that will champion their hard work ethic, that will celebrate their achievements and will reward their ambition. What they do not deserve is a local council that promotes dependency, revels in despondency and offers up excuses for delinquency and disrespect. These locals want a ‘can-do will-do’ local board. They’ll get that with the C&R Team.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY24 DISTRICT HEALTH BOARDS

DAY TWENTY-FOUR:
Monday 13 September 2010
It is 4 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 26 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Auckland, Counties-Manukau, and Waitemata District Health Board Policy:
The Citizens & Ratepayers Health teams will focus on:
• Improving frontline services
• Clinicians making decisions that count
• Strengthening and retaining the health workforce
• Easier access to healthcare
• Less bureaucracy
• Improving quality of health care, performance and productivity
• Commitment to Primary healthcare
• Increasing the range of services for aged care now and in the future
• Maximising value for money spent and meeting the governments financial expectations

And gauge progress in:
• More and better access to elective surgery
• Less waiting time in emergency departments
• Better access to cancer treatment and care
• The management of chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiac care
• Increased immunisation and renewed focus on primary health care
• Encourage research into local health issues
• Better help for smokers wanting to quit
• Managing within the agreed budget
• Workforce retention rates

Read about the C&R Candidates at www.c-r.org.nz

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY23, STATE HIGHWAY 20 AND MEET THE CANDIDATES

DAY TWENTY-THREE:
Sunday 12 September 2010
It is 5 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 27 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Citizens and Ratepayers is about preserving and enhancing the Auckland region’s environment. We are proud of our unique environment, with its combination of harbours and the gulf, volcanoes, parks, forests, as well as the architectural heritage across the Region and the special flavour of its rural hinterland.

In establishing a single vision and plan for the Auckland Region C&R will work with community groups to preserve and protect our environmental assets, while allowing individuals the freedom to enjoy and improve their urban and rural private property. High quality design and planning will be encouraged together with the sensible management of growth and development. We will also advocate for stricter vehicle emissions standards to improve our Region’s air quality, and enhance the water quality in all our streams and harbours.

It was another really bust day meeting the locals in our region of Owairaka. Sarah Turner and I door knocked down Hendon Ave. This is a really interesting area on a number of levels. Historically for me, it was once a play ground during my early teen years. It was the corridor to Spalding Park, which was later renamed Coke-a-Cola Bottlers Park and today it’s Pak n Save. I also played Soccer on Hendon Park and sometimes on Alan Wood Reserve. Today though, Hendon Ave residents are staring down the barrel of State Highway 20. The street is made up of mainly State Houses some have been privately bought while others are in the hands of Transit NZ.

In my teenage days, the families were a mix of Maori, Pakeha and Pasific Islanders. Today there is a significant number of Ethiopian Refugees. There’s also a large community of pacific Island whanau with a few Maori and Pakeha. I worry for the whanau in the area. Not one of the whanau we approached could tell us for certain when they were expected to move. These people are living in limbo. The sooner these whanau know what’s going on the better they’re able to plan their future – how unsettling it is for them to be living like this.

There were also a significant number of signs up proclaiming ‘Tunnel or Nothing’. Lobby groups in this area obvious want tunnel not highway. Whether it’s tunnel or highway what is certain is that it’ll run through Hendon Park and Alan Wood reserve. Whatever happens the community needs to be kept informed at all times. A strong proactive ‘can-do, will-do’ local board will do that. An energetic, enthusiastic Local Board not caught up in historical bureaucratic red tape will be bale to work with the community to progress this important issue. C&R Owairaka will do this.

The Team also went over to Waterview to meet the locals there. They too have concerns about State Highway 20. One of the locals at the very top of Oakley Road has been given termination of tenancy after 20 years residing in her home. She’s over 80 and what an upheaval it is for her. As a Local Board member I would want to know about these terminations, I would not want these residents to go through this on their own.

We also participated in a ‘Meet the Candidate’s’ Hui at the Mt Albert Baptist Church. I congratulate the Pastor for organising this hui. Locals can’t be expected to choose their Councillors and Local Board Candidates from brochures and flyers alone. Putting names to faces is a much more democratic process.