"Good councillors know how to work with others to get things done. Others just watch from the sidelines and complain."
Fortyfoot Park (like Aberfeldy) and other reserves are being sold by Auckland Council in an effort to claw back their massive deficits. I remain opposed to this - selling community assets like parks to cover poor financial management is short sighted and fails to address the root causes of waste and misspending.
In the NZ Herald on Tuesday 13 September there was a good column by Simon Wilson titled ‘What a park in Pakuranga tells us about Auckland Council’ that gets to the core of the issue - ineffective councillors.
Despite her recent opposition to the sales, Sharon Stewart voted for the $224m "asset recycling" programme in 2020 knowing that Fortyfoot Lane was on the list. This was despite the Howick Local Board and other locals (me included) asking council to not sell our parks. Parks, plural - on the potential target list were 14 properties in Howick, including Fortyfoot Lane, Aberfeldy Avenue and Golflands Drive (since saved from sale).
Stewart waited till the last minute to change sides, but it was far too late to change anything.
This is a sad reminder that decisions made by councillors have real impacts on our community. There’s been a lot of focus on the mayoral candidates which I can understand, but we must not forget that the councillors vote on the plans, policies and budgets. There are 20 councillors for Auckland, 2 for East Auckland - who these people are and what they do matters.
The repercussions of 2020 Emergency Budget are still being felt - record debt, service cuts & asset sales continue to deprive Auckland. The Eastern Busway was delayed as was the Flat Bush Library and Community Centre - when I queried these at council consultation events and via our councillors, I got vague responses that failed to address the concerns. We got a public statement from the Mayor that the cuts wouldn’t effect the Eastern Busway, which made no logical sense and turned out to be wrong.
Maybe our councillors felt that there was good justification for voting for this but they’ve never explained themselves.
East Auckland has been poorly served for too long by councillors who don't understand the impact of their decisions. Councillors who are unable or unwilling to communicate with the people they’re meant to represent. Councillors who are quick to complain but slow to offer alternatives.
It's time for change.
If elected I will continue to analyse the potential impacts of every council vote in order to make the best, well informed decisions. I will continue to listen to the community, to understand the views of the people I represent and advocate with determination and passion. I will continue to communicate the impact of the decisions that are made, even if I disagree with them or they’re bad news. I will continue to hold our elected representatives and council staff to account for the decisions they make and they ones they won’t. I will continue to work collaboratively with council and community to achieve the best outcomes for Auckland.
If not elected, I’ll continue to do this anyway, because I love my city and my community. We deserve better and I won’t stop fighting till we get it.