LETTER: Political platform | Auckland Opinion | Local Voices from Auckland, New Zealand

We don't need parties and their party candidates in our new super city.
The whole idea of this new super city is to get better consultation with the residents than we had before, via the new layer of local boards. If we don't get this we are back with the old unsatisfactory system. So have parties worked in the past? Let's take the area most in need, Otahuhu.
The Aucklander raised the point with Mayor Banks two weeks ago as to what he had done for Otahuhu. Well he, united with a majority of C&R on the council, put sand on St Heliers, Mission Bay and Kohimarama Beach for them. Your reporter asked about the swimming pool planned 30 years ago in Otahuhu. Well one might say C&R aren't exactly from Otahuhu so they didn't see it as a priority maybe because they didn't get votes from Otahuhu. Well don't the Labour local body parties have more concern with Otahuhu and their wellbeing? Mr Hubbard had a City Vision dominated council so they would have started something surely? Well they did. They pulled out good trees and spent $70 million on upgrading Queen St. (Is there a Queen St in Otahuhu? Could they have got them muddled up?) So C&R or City Vision? Doesn't make any difference. Otahuhu is still 30 years behind on a pool and still behind on a library. That's over 10 elections.
Does anyone really think the parties will be different in this new city set up?
I don't believe that any local board or council candidates, who have signed up to a party policy that binds them to preset policy, can fulfill the requirement of coming to the council discussions with an open mind. The open mind criteria is made to point out that if a board member or councilor has taken a position on a point of discussion before a council meeting, they must enter the discussion with an open mind to reach a considered decision. That's okay. But when these party candidates have signed a declaration or promise to abide by set policies, they cannot claim to have the freedom to comply with the 'open mind' criteria.
We have of course ignored this in the past, when we had eight councils, as a not unreasonable way to achieve a level of co-ordination among the eight councils. Now we have one city, one council that is dependent on local board members listening to suggestions from the residents and councilors viewing the proposed projects, whatever they might be, on a balanced project evaluation. This will not and clearly cannot occur. Ideas differing from the 'party policy' will not be recognised. Eighty suggestions along the same lines will be ignored one at a time. This is not the way the Royal Commission expected the local boards to work. I don't believe any party local board member or party affiliated councillor has a right to speak on any matter covered in the party policy they signed up to follow. They clearly cannot comply with the 'open mind' requirement.
Even worse, I object to the attempt to win every seat on the council and local board. Both parties are trying a takeover of our city. Both parties have totally missed the whole point of this new super city. A party dominated city will be the same as before. Full of acrimony and fighting for control. Cameron Brewer has already said the first year will be full of political fighting. What should be there, is a great desire to consult within the local board areas with residents so that at end of year one projects can be included in the Mayor's spatial plan and the year two plan so there is a chance to get those projects completed before end of year three. Party controlled local board members and councilors are exactly what Auckland doesn't need on this new city setup. We need to pull together. Look after the widely dispersed new areas of our new city. The clear record of old party policy continued, as evidenced by Otahuhu, will not reassure Wellsford or Pukekohe residents that their needs will be taken seriously. I want a city where the local residents are involved in a grass-roots up planning system. Local residents know their area. They have experience and many have more qualifications than city planning departments.
I'm standing as an independent Mayor determined to see that the local boards do listen to their residents.
These local boards also don't need administration jobs as some candidates propose. There are others who can carry out the areas requirements. Power for the local board is in raising the issues and having others get it done expeditiously. That is why I have included a review of city service levels in my policies. The past councils have no great council performances to boast of. We want and need a new city council performance service level. There are excellent commerial service levels to utilise.
We have such an opportunity with this new super city. We mustn't foul it up from the start by electing party compromised local board members or councillors who don't have the freedom to perform as we need them to, namely concentrating on residents needs and the best outcome for them.
Hugh Chapman
Mayoral candidate