COMMUNITY VOICES: It's time to get real | Auckland Opinion | Local Voices from Auckland, New Zealand

Barely three months before the new Auckland City is ushered in, our Voices of the Community panellists are concerned none of the real issues is being tackled by the candidates.

Says Wilson Hawes, chairman of Fencibles United soccer club: "How are the candidates going to actually lead? What are their policies?

"All I have seen so far is a personality-based campaign about supposed misuse of council funds, a silly idea about the Olympics and a former actor's dalliance with P.

"The candidates and the media need to get the policies out there and have some real questions answered."

Dan McClean, a young businessman from Howick, feels the issue of mayor and councillors' credit card spending has overridden most other coverage of the elections.

"It's been exaggerated and blown out of proportion. I think it's been a wake-up call to all the candidates because, as a potential leader, you've got to be so cautious.

"That's been the main discussion I've heard people having, but not a lot of debate about the actual campaigns, candidates or the super- city."

Clendon youth advocate Kim Dennis is amazed at the effect politics has on human nature. "The dark side of politics is that it can be a very vicious world of finding the dirt on each other, disgracing candidates, personalising the issues and often leaving out the reasons why and what they are standing for.

"The candidates need tough skins to take that kind of abuse from each other."

Concern over the National-led Government's control over the newly organised local body is also high on the panel's priorities. Pakuranga Intermediate School principal Stuart Myers says: "Who will be the strongest candidate in resisting pressure from central government? Who can be relied upon to make decisions in the best interests of the people of Auckland?

"Under the existing set-up the mayors meet to discuss issues that affect the whole of Auckland and the debate is strong and healthy. Let's make sure we don't elect a 'puppet' of central government."

The issue seems intrinsically tied to the kind of power that local boards would have in the new structure.

Manurewa Baptist Church elder Frank Walton is concerned at the Government's willingness to override democratic principles in the way the super-city is being implemented.

"Having started down the pathway of giving decision-making power to a select few, how can we have confidence that people will genuinely have a say in the direction of their local communities?" he asks.

Sikh community leader Daljit Singh agrees the people must have a certain degree of power in their hands even after the elections. "It is most important that community members have a say in what happens in their local area. The public need to make sure they vote for people who they trust and have the right kind of experience to make a difference and represent them."

Transport issues, council staffing - or, more accurately, "understaffing" - and multiculturalism need to be addressed by the new body.

Ms Dennis also raises the issue of liquor licensing, a hotly-debated topic in Manurewa now that another liquor licence has been granted to a store on Finlayson Ave.

"Who gives liquor licences out and takes responsibility when things go wrong?" she asks. "How do you consult a community and how many (liquor stores) is too many for a community?"

She believes this will also be an issue elsewhere in the country.

In considering who the next mayor should be, the panellists feel these are the questions that need to be answered:

"Who will be the best equipped to lead us forward with an increasingly multicultural Auckland?" asks Mr Myers.

"What are you going to do to make this great 'idea' of a super-city work?" Mr Hawes queries.

They also remind the people to exercise their right to vote.

"This is the most powerful position people can be in - when they decide who they will vote for when ticking the box for their chosen candidate," says Ms Dennis.

Mr McClean hasn't heard much information on any of the mayoral or local board candidates.

"If you go searching for the information it's out there, but I think it hasn't quite reached the people.

"I'm waiting and interested to hear what each candidate is going to bring forward."

Mr Walton calls on voters to carefully consider the candidates for local boards.

"As far as our local board is concerned, we need people who are experienced in local community politics, who can stand up to the big players in the new Auckland Council and the Council-Controlled Organisations."

"We need people who care deeply about our South Auckland communities, who will strongly advocate and fight for us, people who will not roll over easily and give in," he says.

"The more support we give to our local boards by voting for them, the stronger position they will be in to argue on our behalf."

What is this project about? October's local body elections represent a historic moment for our region: for the first time, voters from Te Arai Pt to Pukekohe, Piha to Pohutukawa Coast will elect one mayor and council. They will also choose members of 21 local boards.

Each of our four editions - North, West, Central and South - has mustered a panel of local identities to observe and comment on the campaign. This is the second in the series.