Waitakere Councillor Candidate Linda Cooper
1. To make good decisions based on full information for the benefit of the region. Create workable policy that is fair and equitable. Listen to your constituents. Prudent financial management.
2. Of course; that’s the job. If you don’t want to engage constructively with the public then you shouldn’t be in an elected position.
3. Phone, email, letter or face to face.
4. Yes, within reason. 7am til 8pm is fair. If you don’t get any down time with family or for exercise and recreation then it becomes a very unhealthy and you are not fit to do your job well. I am fine with being contacted in the weekends
5. Phone, email, letter or face to face.
6. Absolutely. This region is the most populated and economically important in NZ. The job demands a Councillors full attention. When I was a Waitakere City Councillor I treated it as a fulltime job and more. I expect no less of myself in an Auckland Council position
7. N/A
8. Yes. I am Chairman of three community organisations and one community owned commercial operation and was a Councillor for 6 years.Have also completed IOD Financial Course.
9. The scale is huge however it is an amalgamation of all the legacy councils. There needs to be work to reduce debt steadily overtime rather than continually adding every year with no end in sight.
10. $5.3 Billion
11. Not particularly but I can’t do anything about it unless I have chance to be part of that decision making process. Any addition to debt has to have intense scrutiny and be justifiable against community priorities.
12. Close to $10billion
13. Strong Statements of Intent which are adhered to and asking the hard questions. Watercare is of particualr concern. Many people I speak to, especially small business, are being unfairly gouged in relation the the actual amount of water used.
14. See above
15. Two issues are -Local Boards are not adequately funded. Te Atatu Road residents do not feel they are being fairly treated over land aquistion in relation to Te Atatu Road widening. People feel the West is being left out.
16. Work to advocate for more funds to Local Boards. Work with officers to ensure Te Atatu Rd residents are being treated and compensated fairly by Council. Strong Advocacy at the GB Table is required to make sure the West is able to take it’s part in the region’s success.
Albert-Eden (Owairaka) LB Candidate Sian Robertson
1. Being accessible to constituents, and representing the interests of the local community, attending all meetings and consultation processes and being a champion of the needs of local residents.
2. yes. I will also be accessible to non-ratepaying residents! Including renters, children, and beneficiaries who have concerns or queries.
3.by email and mobile phone – if I am unable to answer I will respond to messages at the next opportunity
4.yes.
5. by email
6.No. I will continue my studies part time.
7.about 20 hours per week, or however long it takes.
8.yes.
9.No, although it isn’t insurmountable. So much money is wasted on top-heavy salaries and useless investments, that we could not only solve the debt, but also the unemployment, the traffic gridlock, and bump up wages. I think it’s less useful to focus on getting rid of debt, than investing in the future of Aucklanders through education, health and clean and efficient transport options, among other things. The biggest debt we currently face is the deficit in education levels, health, and democratic power.
10. about 5 billion
11.No, however, I am not opposed to debt that has a long term view of improving jobs and services for Aucklanders. Unfortunately, the Auckland Council to date has not had the people of Auckland as its first priority, it has been hamstrung by big business interests. This needs to change. Excessive long term debt is totally avoidable.
12.I don’t know but I understand the proposed debt for the year 2022 is 12.5 billion.
13.As a Mana representative in Owairaka I will stand for complete democratic accountability of CCOs. But for this to be a reality, the structure of CCOs needs to change. Council organisations cannot be democratically accountable under the present council structure. CCOs take 75% of our rates and we have no say – the public can’t even get access to their meetings. They must remain 100% publicly owned but must be made 100% accountable.
14.To be honest, there isn’t much I will be able to do as a local board member, but I will take every opportunity to raise this issue and bring it to the attention of councillors (see above).
15.Property developers are unaccountable to the public, there needs to be more public consultation on resource consents, and also more financial transparency. As in the rest of Auckland, housing is increasingly unaffordable, public transport needs huge improvement and wages are not keeping up.
16.attend all meetings and consultation processes, make sure the information is easily accessible by the public, throw a spanner in the works of profiteering property developers whenever it is against the interests of local residents. Make sure the information is easy to access publicly. Push councillors to vote for free public transport, that is reliable and frequent. This can be paid for out of unnecessary roading budgets that would only go towards moving the congestion and pollution around, not reducing it. It’s been successfully done in other parts of the world, and there is no reason Auckland can’t have a world-class public transport system.
Manurewa LB Candidate Toa Greening
1. Local Board A. Managing the local board budget as per the local board planB. Advocating on local issuesC. Advocating on national issues that have a local impactD. Engaging community on the local board plan, local issues and national issues
2. Yes
3. Phone, Email, meetings if required
4. Yes
5. Phone, Email, meetings if required
6. No
7. 5-20 hours per week. But you should also ask what other experiences do you bring to the job as being a community leader on the local board requires community leadership in some type of volunteer organisation. In addition to working full time in my businesses, I am personally involved in four orgnisations from Community Safety, Information Technology and Health as a volunteer executive. I firmly believe that these commitments keep you balanced and in touch as a local board member.
8. Yes. But Auckland Council also provides personal development for this and Council Officers who will explain the budgets to you. An accountancy background is not as important as community leadership experience.
9. No
10. >$6B
11. No. Eventually Council will be forced to significantly increase rates, increase user pays charges and sell assets to repay the accumulating debt in the near future. There is a risk that the continued amortisation of debt, resulting credit downgrades or external financial shocks will put a huge burden on future generations.From my time on the Manurewa Local Board I have noted that there is an opinion that South Auckland is one the biggest contributors of this debt. The biggest debt financed projects are happening outside of South Auckland. It is unfair that significant assets which were historically retained to benefit South Auckland such as airport shares and the large Flat Bush land holdings may be sold to pay for large debt financed projects in other parts of Auckland.
12. >$10B
13. CCOs are controlled by the Governing body and not Local Boards. Some CCO’s such as Auckland Transport and WaterCare are fixed in statute with central Government wanting more central control. Therefore as a Local Board member we are limited to advocating to the Governing body on the level of operational control.
14. CCOs are only accountable to the Governing body and not Local Boards. Therefore as a Local Board member we are limited to advocating to the Governing body for CCO finanical accountability.
15. Like all areas Manurewa has challenges and opportunities. The biggest challenges are the results of decades of central government poor decision making such as buillding large areas of state housing with very little supporting social/physical infrastucture, liberalising alcohol laws to such an extent that it is highly available, building prisons in highly deprived areas which only brings more issues to the area and now the legalisation of synthetic drugs. Each of these has created very challenged communities with community leaders struggling against the decisions inflicted upon them. There are also Auckland Council challenges such as ensuring that local decision making is retained in all aspects of decision making. The opportunity is bringing to life communities that have been neglected but are wanting to change. Often a small amount of support at the right time will produce a huge social outcome. The continuous challenge is to support those opportunities and speak up against poor central decision making.
16. A. Managing the local board budget as per the local board planB. Advocating on local issuesC. Advocating on national issues that have a local impactD. Engaging the community on the local board plan, local issues and national issues
Henderson-Massey LB Candidate Tracy Kirkley
1. To listen to the many and varied views across the communities and take that knowledge and information into the decision making process.
To understand the priorities and projects in the Local area
To remain connected and accessible to the various local community groups, organisations, residents, business groups.
To be innovative in finding solutions & savings.
To lobby, ( governing body and others ) and strongly represent the LB area
2. Yes
3. By contacting me (email/ Ph/ Fb) and being available to meet locally. I also attend many of the various community network meetings and events scattered around the LB area.
4. Partially.
5. I attend many meetings, events and resident led gatherings outside normal business hours, and during weekends.
6. Close to it. Yes. I gave up a full time job, so I could devote my time to the Local Board area as the demands of the role, if you want to do them well- require you to be connected, local and continuously engaged in the area. The responsibilities and hours of meetings, workshops, briefings, events etc make it impossible to hold down a “ regular” job. Anyone who thinks that they can give the role the justice it deserves, is dreaming if they plan to do this on a part time basis.
7. Ebbs and flows, average 30+ a week, with heavier peaks in Annual Plan, submissions, hearings, consultation periods. Adding up all the hours I average in a week- meetings, community engagement, projects, reading, listening, responding to emails/ratepayers, workshops etc… its full time.
8. Yes, Financial and banking background.
9 No
10. $6.2 b –
11. No
12.
13. I butt heads regularly with various CCOs on many issues. The difficulty for LB Members, we are often at the bottom of the information chain. Decisions have been made, and we hear about them later. Our role is advocacy.
14. I will continue to advocate the local issues and their effects to the CCOs , however new legislation would be required to make the CCOs accountable.
15. Much. Long standing local knowledge and intense learning curve in first term elected. I also know much about the successes and great things being done in our area. It’s not all bad!
16 Continue to Lobby Governing Body, CCO’s The Mayor’s office, CEO, Councillors on the various issues that crop up… and keep working hard to bring improvements and better resources for our Local Board area.
Accountability in Auckland Council 