COMMUNITY VOICES: West | Auckland Opinion | Local Voices from Auckland, New Zealand

Meet the eyes and ears of your neighbourhood in the first Auckland-wide election campaign.

Wayne Bainbridge, 58, has been principal of Matipo Primary on Te Atatu Peninsula for 20 years. Father of four and a grandfather, he's on Henderson's Community Board. Living in Te Atatu for 36 years, Mr Bainbridge has also been president of the West Auckland Principals' Association and the NZ Special Education Association.

He is interested in finding out about fresh leadership for the new council. "We need leaders that will take the people with them and not alienate the public. We are still waiting for the high-calibre candidates - the two main candidates for the mayoralty have their own blemishes, and there is a feeling in the community that there is a lack of democracy with the way the new council is being organised.

He hopes the new leaders will take more action but still work closely with the different communities they represent.

Georgia Ball is a semi-retired Henderson resident and a life member of Tough Love - helping parents and children take responsibility for their actions. She's a former Henderson Community Board member and works part-time as a school councillor and as a Justice of the Peace. Her family includes five children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

She says rates need to be discussed more in the run-up to the elections.

"I'm not against the super-city but I don't support change for the sake of change. I do feel that some politicians do their job for personal gains, but I believe that they need to be selfless and doing this for the good of the city."

She hopes the future mayor will have integrity: "They must be strong and not buckle under pressure, and they must be good negotiators."

Duncan Blakley lives in Hobsonville, and has lived in West Auckland for most of his life. The 46-year-old, married father-of-three manages an engineering factory, belongs to Hobsonville-West Harbour Residents and Ratepayers Association and is property manager for St Giles Church, Te Atatu.

He says many in northeast Waitakere City are interested in the ward change which will group Hobsonville, Whenuapai and Herald Island with Albany and Greenhithe across the Upper Harbour.

"It will be interesting to see how that affects our local community and our representation. I think the mayoralty will be a massive job. We need someone with integrity who will not abuse the system."

He hopes the changes will empower smaller communities. "Some fly a bit below the radar and I'm hoping that they won't be forgotten about."

Warren Ogilvie, 53, lives in Te Atatu Peninsula and volunteers his time to Te Atatu Athletics and United Soccer 1. By day, he's the regional sports advisor for Sport
Waitakere. Mr Ogilvie has lived in all corners of Auckland.

He believes new councillors and boards will need to keep an eye on retaining democracy and protecting communities' ability to have their say in matters that affect them. "That's the interesting thing for me: how will the greater Auckland Council be able to reassure local residents they will be able to influence decision-making?"

He's keen to hear how candidates would ensure efficient council services. As a father of two, aged 5 and 11, he'd like to know how more community facilities can be provided for teenagers.

Graeme Tremain is president of the Probus Club of West Auckland. The retired dental surgeon lives in Te Atatu and is married with two daughters and four grandchildren.

The 76-year-old believes people do not have enough information about the changes and is concerned about the "cavalier attitude" shown to the Royal Commission.

"Our leaders need to have integrity and they need to be politically astute - but not in a crafty way. We need someone who has experience in local government and have had experience running a big organisation.

"This is going to be a big job and we need someone who can handle the responsibility. I think a lot of people think they have something to contribute and good intentions, but we need people who have the skills to do the job."

Kubi Witten-Hannah chairs Waitakere Community Board but will not be standing for a local government position in the elections. The Karekare 57-year-old is a patrol captain with Karekare Surf Lifesaving Club, and the station officer of Karekare's rural fire service. Apart from his community work, he is a careers advisor at Waitakere College.

He enjoys his day job too much to continue as an elected member and his job doesn't have the flexibility to fit around the community board's role.

"Board members will have to be strong advocates for their communities. The most important qualities I want to see in the elected members are good listening skills, honesty, integrity, the ability to sift through large quantities of information and the strength to put forward solutions to problems - even if that means standing up to administrators and other staff."

He says local people are wondering who they will take their worries to come November 1. "Ratepayer representatives have asked me how local board members will promote community views and solve community problems with city staff spread across the area of the greater city."

What it's all about

October's local body elections represent a historic moment for our region. For the first time voters from Te Arai Pt to Pukekohe, from Piha to the Pohutukawa Coast will choose one Mayor and council. They will also choose the members of 21 local boards (see Page 2).

The Aucklander's readers will know we have not been impressed with the way Prime Minister John Key and his handpicked Local Government Minister, Rodney Hide, have gone about this process.

However, we have drawn a line under that argument. It's time to make the best of a very badly botched job. We urge every qualified Aucklander to vote in the polls. And here's how we will put the "local" into these local body elections:

Each of our four editions - North, West, Central, South - has mustered a panel of six "Voices of the Community".

They comprise grassroots leaders like school principals or board chairs; perhaps a community board member who is not standing for re-election; officials of major sports clubs, elderly and social support groups, and everyday Aucklanders.

Each edition's panel reflects the residents of the wards in its area.

Each participant has affirmed they are not aligned to, or supporting a predetermined candidate or bloc.

Their role will be to watch the election issues in their local area and in the regional council and mayoral election.

We will go to them several times during the campaign for a snapshot of what's happening in their area, and how they perceive the trends in the regional campaign - as observers, not as political pundits or forecasters.

We will return to them for their reactions after the vote. You'll read their thoughts in coming issues of The Aucklander and here on our website.