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.