DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: IT'S A GAY DAY/NIGHT

DAY TWELVE:
Wednesday 1 September 2010
It is 15 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 38 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I spent the day in bed chocka fullo the flu. But I surfaced to go speak at GABA (Gay Business Association). I was one of 5 others looking for Local Board selection and Simon Prast who’s used to dragging up thanks to his thespian ways he's after the big cloak and chains – the Mayoral job.

The folk from GABA are a discerning lot. Some of them describe themselves as politically uninformed and unaware but don’t believe it. These people; mainly male, white, middle class, with high disposable incomes are as switched-on as fluorescent light bulbs. They may be gay but they’re not your left leaning, tree-hugging, woe is me marginalised, disenfranchised victim. GABA are quite conservative and probably because of their professional backgrounds. They tend to be generally speaking business astute and financially shrewd, which means they’ll be looking for a Mayor and Council that will spend wisely. At the same time they will expect their City to be a state of the art globally leading design piece, that has all the aesthetics; the fabulosity of the wow factor with environmentally leading edge bits’n bobs! Yes indeed GABA is not quite what it seems. Having said all this, GABA will be expecting to see its Council and Local Board working for its people just as Maori will be looking for the same, the Business, the Asian, the Pasifika Communities likewise. It’s not a big ask but a human right to want safer streets, so gays can walk without fear of being attacked. Gays demand a visionary Council that sees its projects as essential that reveres and celebrates their history and advocates for a prosperous future. If we are to champion diversity, that means we are to protect, honour and promote all people, thoughts, ideologies, races, gender and sexual orientation. Bring on the elections.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: HISTORY/WHAKAPAPA

DAY ELEVEN:
Tuesday 31 August 2010
It is 16 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 39 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I’m coming down with the flu so I better dose up on the beautiful grapefruit in my backyard. I did flyer drops in Sandringham today. I love this area. It’s full of history. This is where Rangatira/Chief Apihai te Kawau and Kawerau a Maki Tribe resided, along the Mt Albert Road and up on the mountain. The mountain was originally called Te Wai o Raka – the waters of Raka but it turned into Owairaka after the Chieftainess Wairaka, from Ngati Awa in Whakatane. Toroa was Wairaka’s father and the Chief on the waka Mataatua. There’s a street on the hill named in his honour. I see Te Warena Taua and his iwi were able to put a correction in the public board on the summit – congratulations to them.

The thing about the Local Boards is that I truly believe that they need to know the history of the area in which they intend serving. The terrain, the landscape, the contours of the roads and streets has a story to tell. Places as much as the people is what makes each area unique. I love Owairaka. Vote for us the C&R Team Owairaka and you'll get a team that prioritises our people and our place.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: BREAD 'N BUTTER

DAY TEN:
Monday 30 August 2010
It is 17 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 40 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Spent the day working on ‘day-job’ mahi/work. I have quite a big project on so have dedicated the day to this. Which is what other campaigners are having to do as well – juggle their time between getting out and about on the streets and making sure they still take care of the ‘bread-n-better’ work.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: OUR PEOPLE OUR PLACE

DAY NINE:
Sunday 29 August 2010
It is 18 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 41 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

It poured down with rain about midday when we were due to meet Andrew Ongley and his wife Iveta at Owairaka Park. Andrew and Iveta are your typical locals, interested in their area watchful of their neighbours and champions of initiatives that enhance their community. Andrew had written to Chris Fletcher about safety concerns at the park. The park is a well used facility with a great skateboard area, half court for basketball and a flying fox. It was originally the site of the Owairaka Boy’s home which was removed back in the 90’s. Oddly enough the park doesn’t have a pedestrian crossing. That’s extraordinary!

Community Board member and C&R Candidate for Puketapapa Tim Woolfield was with us on site and has agreed to bring a site engineer down to the park to investigate moving the drive way a few centimetres so it’s in line with the middle-of-the-road bay and the walk up on the opposite side of the road. At the moment it’s a dog leg to get from one side to the other. Why the planners didn’t put it in a straight line is beyond me. But more importantly why a dedicated crossing wasn’t installed is beyond belief – thankfully no fatalities have occurred but it needs rectifying - it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

That’s why these elections are crucial. The community needs to vote in Local Boards that work for the community. The Board has to be proactive and responsive. When there are issues it’s their responsibility to do the best they can to achieve best results. It takes energy and a willingness to go the extra mile. I’m looking forward to working with the community. As a new member I come with no baggage. I am not bogged down by bureaucratic mumbo jumbo that stifles community progress. My C&R colleagues work on a can-do will-do positive results driven attitude.

While we were at the park Murray Dorreen showed us a site over the Oakley creek where a bridge should be. There is a lovely walkway around the park and creek that runs from Sandringham Road and all the way over to New North Road. But again oddly enough there are no bridges. The creek separates Puketapapa and the Owairaka wards. It would be great if the two Local Boards could come together to finance the bridge.

From Owairaka park the C&R Owairaka team went on to meet shoppers at Countdown Pt Chev. It was pretty quite – the heavy rain keeping a lot of people in doors. But the issue of concern for some of the shop owners is the state of the footpaths. There isn’t an organised Business Association there, to push to have these issues resolved unfortunately. I’m personally campaigning on more business for small businesses and I want to get in behind these shopping centres to create buzzing hubs, where the community congregate, shop and spend time and money. Shopping locally generates wealth back into that community – it’s a win-win situation for all.
From there we travelled to Waterview. I’ve become quite attached to the area. It’s a mix of privately owned homes, State Housing and Transit NZ owned dwellings. It’s the Transit Houses that have been ear marked for removal to make way for SH20.

MODERN DAY CAMPAIGNING SEGWAYS BEAT THE FEET

DAY EIGHT:
Saturday 28 August 2010
It is 20 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 42 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

The day started with a hiss and roar at St Lukes Mall on the border of Mt Albert and Morningside. Moana Knight and the kind Mall Management folk allocated us space a table and a couple of chairs. We were outside GB Games and Pumpkin Patch. If you know the area you’ll also know it’s outside the corridor to the ‘wharepaku’. It reminded me of a time when I was filming at the Maori Sports Awards and certain high profile guests were avoiding being interviewed by our pretty Presenter. So she positioned herself outside the loos, knowing full well that all the targeted talent would have to visit the small-room sooner or later. Sure enough within half an hour of her setting up camera and lights, Gilly had ‘knocked-off’ all her interviews. Of course Gilly’s ploy has nothing to do with our C&R Owairaka team’s campaigning. Not all the mall’s patrons visited this particular loo. It’s just funny how sights and smells trigger totally unrelated memories. The Mall itself has grand plans to extend. According to a NZ Herald Report: ‘Indoor floor space could be expanded to 9.2ha, eclipsing the 7ha Sylvia Park complex in Mt Wellington and Westfield Albany, which is also around 7ha.Westfield owns much of the housing around St Lukes mall where it wants to build out to the north and east. The mall is now 4.5ha with a Foodtown, Kmart, 127 specialty shops, five banks, a 644-seat food court with nine food outlets, a 1640-seat multiplex cinema and 2018 carparks. Westfield's expansion plans could see buildings flow north towards Exeter Rd and east towards Aroha Ave on sites the shopping giant has gradually bought.’ Obviously the development will be done in stages and residents will need a strong Local Council to over see the project to make sure the communities interests are maintained. C&R and myself are champions of business enterprise and this development will contribute to that objective. But it has to be balanced with community interests and also the impact on surrounding shopping centres like Sandringham, Kingsland and Mt Albert.

Cameron and I left team mate Sarah Turner and Paul Goldsmith at the Mall, as we were keen to get started on door knocking in Pt Chevalier. Cameron lives on Huia Rd the same street as Countdown. We thought that would be as good a place as any to start. Well blow me down when I pulled up outside his whare/house there Cameron was, on a trekkie contraption - a segway! At his youthful age of 29 of course he’s going to look good on this thing and he does. You can do quite a speed between the houses and some people do a double take when they see him. So as a campaign gimmick it’s a pretty cool one and for practical purposes it certainly is that too. Cameron plans to get it all ‘pimped’ out with C&R signage. I think it’ll look very cool, urbane and ‘metro-now’. Cameron’s exactly what the City needs, he’s entrepreneurial – a business owner, young, innovative, smart and clever.
We got a good response in Huia Rd and Cameron’s neighbours appreciated knowing that ‘one of theirs’ was standing for Local Board. There was also overwhelming support for John Banks and C&R. Both are seen as pragmatic but progressive, visionary realists. My C&R Owairaka team are looking forward to and intend to meet as many community people as we can and to hearing their issues and to attending to them when we’re voted in on 09 October.

PEOPLE POWER WIN ON DOMINION ROAD

DAY SEVEN:
Friday 26 August 2010
It is 20 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 43 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

I saw people power in action at Metropolitan Rentals Dominion Rd today. Penny Hickey and the Save Dominion Rd Group presented Mayor John Banks with a 5000 signature petition calling for the city council to abandon plans to remove all street parking along 4.5km of Dominion Rd outside peak hours. In addition the petitioners do not want the road widened for cycle-only lanes, nor the introduction of restrictions against right turns.

What I also saw was a Mayor who listened to the people and to commonsense. Mr Banks has confirmed that he will accept a Save Dominion Rd petition - and that he intends supporting the petitioners.

This was also a good lesson for me as a Local Board Candidate. That the decision made by the council was in conflict with the wishes of the community – but still the council ploughed ahead.

These new Local Boards must pay attention to the community while ensuring great governance processes and procedures are maintained. When the two are in conflict it’s up to the Local Board to ensure a way through the issues so a win-win situation emerges.

So congratulations to both Penny Hickey and Save Dominion Rd, and well done to Mayor John Banks. A win-win situation.

DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY SIX: IT'S ALL CHINESE TO ME!

DAY SIX:
Thursday 25 August 2010
It is 21 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 44 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

Another big day meeting the locals. The Owairaka team: Cameron Morris, Sarah Turner and Councillor Chris Fletcher we all spent over an hour with the folk at the Sandringham Community Centre Markets. We were also joined by some of our colleagues from over the hill Puketapapa, Feleti Key and Ram Rai. Its great having these two men with us they’re both Rangatira within their communities and you can feel the mana they have when we walk amongst their iwi. I met a Ngati Porou whanaunga Rob and Helena Crown sister of good mate Armund. I also met up with Mrs Pryor, I went to Mt Roskill Grammar with her son Jeff – he was a ballroom dancer, he was nice.

From there we went back up to the Mt Albert shopping centre. The freakiest thing happened. One of our Maori tuahine/sister and her pepi/baby were thrown out of a car by the boyfriend. Feleti and Chris picked her up off the rori/road and a member of the public took her for a cuppa tea. I’m mentioning this because it’s not an everyday occurrence - really it’s not and because when we caught up with the Sister again, we offered her a ride, help, money but she declined all. I looked at her and you know what whanau…..I thought….ahh the Sister’s going back there! I looked at her pepi she must be about 3 years old, gave Mama and pepi a cuddle, my phone number and I walked away. I pray I won’t regret not calling the police.

We had really interesting korero/chat with a couple of locals. One local wanted to know if there was a law against full signage in a language other than English. She doesn’t know what the vendors are peddling because she doesn’t understand the signage. Being tangatahwhenua of course I champion any language/reo. I have no issue with people speaking in their mother-tongue in front of me. I have never considered signage-not-in-English a hindrance to me shopping at particular stores. If I want to know what’s in a shop I go in and have a look. If I want to know what a product is I ask. I’ve never prescribed to the adage ‘…when in Rome…’ So when people talk about non-English signage and laws against it…you know where they’re heading. Citizens and Ratepayers is about diversity – unity in diversity. It’s about embracing the multicultural makeup that is this great City of Auckland. It’s this rich tapestry of ethnicity that also gives communities their identity. It’s not to say we forget our heritage and what it is built on. But Maori know more than anyone that time passes and new communities evolve. Futures are built on the new and ever changing landscapes of peoples. Strong local boards must support Business Associations to form healthy robust memberships amongst store owners. The Boards need to get in behind and assist networking initiatives so that owners are aware of the concerns of customers, even assisting with marketing to multi-ethnic clients if required. Most of all Local Boards have a responsibility to stay with the Associations through the tough times and find tangible solutions to weather storms.

The other interesting encounter we had was with a gentleman who didn’t want to engage but what he did say was ‘talk is cheap…I don’t care about what’s written on paper, it’s what you do that counts’. Which of course is all very true. It’s typical on hustings for campaigners to trot out the rhetoric. It sounds all very lofty and nice when you trot out the ‘messages’ but at the end of the day what does it mean for everyday people at home. Citizens and Ratepayers are pragmatic and practical. We are solution and outcomes oriented. We listen to the concerns of the community and act accordingly.

For a first timer like myself, I come to the Local Board with a can do attitude because I do not know what can’t be done. I will look at policy and find the solutions to achieve results because I won’t be bogged down in bureaucratic dogma. I don’t think that’s being idealistic or naïve, it’s just commonsense.