I have been asked to stand again for the Waitematā & Gulf ward, Aotea Great Barrier, Waiheke, most of the Gulf Islands, and Auckland Central (Waitematā).
I am the current ward councillor, a founding member of the Auckland Council in 2010. Before that I was a member of the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) and chairman from 2004 to 2010. I am a long-term Waiheke Island resident.
My association with the Barrier goes back to 1973 when I bought a section in Mulberry Grove. Twenty years later, in 1992, Barrier people helped elect me to the ARC. Over my time of service I successfully battled to stop the dumping of dredgings within the Gulf, led the successful campaign to secure Motu Kaikōura into public ownership, successfully lobbied AT to complete sealing the main road between Awana and Okiwi, played a key role in the purchase of Glenfern Sanctuary, and championed the campaign to clear rats off Rakitu, where DOC’s Fletcher Beazley has now released tieke/saddlebacks – with more taonga to come. I’m also the chair of the Motu Kaikōura Trust, which has successfully eradicated a suite of pests from the island, including fallow deer, cats, and ship rats, and is now targeting the last pest, kiore.
As your ward councillor I have worked closely with your Local Boards, so capably led by Paul Downie and in recent years by my good friend Izzy Fordham.
Recently, after three years of trying, I succeeded with the full support of the Aotea Great Barrier Local Board in getting Auckland Council to initiate a plan change to make helipads on Barrier (and Waiheke) a prohibited activity in settlement areas and discretionary for private use in rural areas. Unfortunately, due to an abuse of standing orders, I was unsuccessful in achieving the same for the city – but I won’t be giving up.
Next year the council intends to begin folding the Hauraki Gulf Islands District Plan into the Auckland Unitary Plan. As council and government have announced plans to enable potential consented dwellings for a projected Auckland population of 7 to 9 million people, the stakes are now very high. The amalgamation process presents a serious risk for the Gulf Islands. We must be on guard to ensure our unique island way of life is not overwhelmed by the priorities of this potentially huge future city.
I am aware of the increasing burden of rates impacting residents already caught in a cost-of-living squeeze, contrasted with what I consider to be inefficient and frankly wasteful spending by the council. This is why I have consistently voted over the last three years against these rates increases. I am opposed to the sale of public assets and determined to hold on to our port, which just announced a profit of $85m. Mindful that Barrier residents pay some of the highest fuel prices in the world, I am working to support a proposal to break the monopoly on fuel supply to the island and lower the price for Barrier consumers.
With a majority of councillors I successfully blocked the Mayor’s plans to effectively sell the Port of Auckland (100% owned by the people of Auckland) to Dubai. Its latest announced profit is $85m. We need every dollar of funding to take the burden off ratepayers.
