Final Campaign Post

There are just 24 hours left to cast your votes in the 2013 Auckland Council elections.

We are urging all local people to make the effort to vote. At this late stage you will need to take your completed voting papers to the Mt Roskill (or any other library) and deposit them in the ballot box before 12noon on Saturday.

The Roskill Community Voice team has thoroughly enjoyed the campaign. We've done everything that we can to engage the local community, focussing on important local issues and running an energetic campaign on the streets of Puketapapa/Mt Roskill.

Our campaign has been focussed on a number of key issues:

1) Winning a Fair Share for Mt Roskill
We say that it is simply unfair that our community receives just 74c of funding from Auckland Council for every $1 spent elsewhere. This legacy of neglect must be turned around and we are the team who will fight for a fair deal.

2) Bury the Pylons
The Pylons that march across our communities and harbour are a blight on our neighbourhoods and Harbour. They would not be accepted in the eastern suburbs and the Waitemata Harbour. We have a responsible plan to underground the pylons and our campaign is building momentum.

3) Looking after our environment and restoring our cones
We are the team who has put real energy into looking after our Foreshore, streams, and maunga over the past term. If re-elected we will have a strong focus on restoring Puketapapa/Mt Roskill and Big King/Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta.

4) Reducing harms in our community
The Roskill Community Voice team has consistently stood up to reduce harms in our community and we will push to reduce the harm caused by pokies and corner liquor stores in our community.

Further to this we are the only team to produce comprehensive policy so that voters have transparency ahead of the election. We've also run high energy local campaigns to engage with local people and involve community in local issues, including Bury the Pylons, A Vision for Three Kings, and Fairness for Wesley.

We have been able to achieve a lot with two RCV members on the Board over the past term and we know that a full RCV Board will have the skills and vision to provide Puketapapa/Mt Roskill with real leadership in the next term if voters give us that mandate.

Stand up for a Fair Share for Mt Roskill: Vote Roskill Community Voice for Puketapapa Local Board and City Vision for Ward Councillors.

Campaign shifts up a gear

The Roskill Community Voice team has been hitting the streets across Mt Roskill to encourage local

people to stand up for a Fair Share for Mt Roskill by voting in the Auckland Council elections.

We've done it all this weekend - streetcorner meetings, doorknocking, leafleting, sign waving, and even a cavalcade!

Politics can seem distant to many people so we believe it important to front up to local residents face to face to win their support.

We are especially grateful for the support of local MP Phil Goff this weekend who has been out with us endorsing the Roskill Community Voice team for Local Board and City Vision for Council.

There are now under two weeks until voting closes. We will be out there at any opportunity to speak with the community and encourage people to get their votes in!

RCV Policy on Community Development and Facilities

Council can play a key role in bringing our community together, providing facilities, resourcing, and expertise to help our community develop and grow. We support an active and engaging approach in which grassroots community determines local priorities.

Specific local policy includes:

• Heightened support for local community groups through better access to funding streams, appropriate and timely advice, provision of appropriate space, and creating functional partnerships with Council.
• Development of ‘Garden web’ type networks that bring people together around community projects
• Creation of new community space at Hillsborough/Monte Cecilia and in the restored Mt Roskill Municipal Chambers.
• Advocacy for library services to be provided in the Wesley area, which currently has some of the poorest library access on the isthmus.
• Advocacy for a Living Wage so that work is rewarded, local people can live with dignity, and spending power in our local economy is increased.
• Establishing a local children’s panel to ensure that we receive input from our youngest citizens.
• Provide more small scale community notice boards at local shopping areas to help keep the community connected.
• Supporting local events that fit with community priorities and support local groups to deliver them.

Submission on Volcanic cones Bill

Readers might be aware that Parliament is currently considering the 'Nga Mana Whenua o Tamkai Makaurau Collective Redress Bill'. The purpose of the Bill is to transfer the bulk of Auckland's volcanic cones to iwi and to set up a co-governance structure between iwi and Auckland Council. Full public access to the cones is retained.

We are basically supportive of the settlement. Our cones, particularly in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill have been terribly neglected under sole Council stewardship and we are hopeful that working together with iwi there will be impetus to undertake much needed restoration.

The main concern that we have is that local communities and Local Boards don't get much of a look in under the proposed structure and legislation. We have raised this repeatedly within Auckland Council, but have not received much of a hearing. To try and advance these points we have therefore submitted to the Parliamentary committee considering the Bill. Our main proposals are:

• Guarantee Local Board representation on the Maunga Authority that will govern the cones.
• Require the Maunga Authority to establish localised consultation structures
• Allow groups and people to submit views directly to the Maunga Authority

The full submission is below...

12 September 2013

Submission to the Maori Affairs Select Committee:

Nga Mana Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill

Submitter                           Michael Wood, Puketapapa Local Board Member

Organisation                      Roskill Community Voice

Contact Details                 80 Albrecht Ave, Mt Roskill South, Auckland 1041

                                                09 620 9257 or 022 659 6360

                                                mwood1935@gmail.com

Submission:

1.       I wish to appear before the committee to present my submission, assuming that the committee will conduct hearings in Tamaki Makaurau.

2.       Roskill Community Voice is a community based organisation and political grouping based in the Mt Roskill area. We are supported by Labour, Greens, and community-based independents. We are currently represented on the Puketapapa Local Board by Julie Fairey and Michael Wood.

3.       The Bill is of major interest to the Mt Roskill community. Two maunga from the Mt Roskill area are included in the Bill; Puketapapa/Pukewiwi (Mt Roskill), and Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta (Big King). Both are extremely important in terms of local community identity and recreation, but they have also both been terribly abused over the years.

4.       We broadly support the Bill in its current form. It is appropriate that iwi’s cultural and historic connection to the maunga is recognised through co-governance. We also believe that co-governance could provide the impetus to undertake much need restoration work on our badly degraded maunga. 

5.       Both as a matter of good governance, and to ensure that there is widespread community support for co-governance we believe that there should be provisions in the Bill to ensure that community engagement and transparency are embedded in the operation of the Maunga Authority. This could be achieved through some fairly minor changes to the Bill.

6.       In the first instance we believe that it is important to ensure that there is representation from local communities on the Maunga Authority. If the Authority is perceived to be distant from local communities vis-à-vis its membership this is likely to create community concern. It would also result in important local considerations not being clearly heard in the decision making process. The Auckland Council’s structure includes Local Boards, which are broadly empowered to represent local community interests. We believe that a simple way of ensuring a local voice on the Manuga Authority would be for the legislation to require that at least half of Auckland Council’s membership of the Maunga Authority be made up of Local Board members from Local Board areas that include maunga overseen by the Maunga Authority. Proposed wording follows:

106 Membership

·         (1) The Maunga Authority comprises—

·         (a) 2 members appointed by the Marutūāhu rōpū entity; and

·         (b) 2 members appointed by the Ngāti Whātua rōpū entity; and

·         (c) 2 members appointed by the Waiohua Tāmaki rōpū entity; and

·         (d) 6 members appointed by the Auckland Council, no less than three of whom must be members of Local Boards from Local Board areas that include maunga under the jurisdiction of the Maunga Authority; and

7.       We believe that the role of the Maunga Authority will be large and complex. It will be dealing with policy issues at a high level, and will find it difficult to engage directly around site-specific issues. We also believe that the credibility of the Manuga Authority will be enhanced by strong mechanisms that enable it to connect with local communities. At this stage however, the Bill provides no such direction or framework.

8.       In response to the issues raised in (7) we propose the insertion of a new section in Schedule 4, after the current section 9. Proposed text follows:

10) Local Engagement and Consultation

(1) The Maunga Authority will ensure that local communities are consulted with prior to the development of plans or initiatives relating to specific maunga.

(2) The Maunga Authority will establish a process to enable groups and individuals with an interest in the business of the Authority and maunga-related issues, to make direct representations to the Authority of their own volition.

(3) The Maunga Authority will establish localised structures that enable it to engage with local communities about issues relating to specific maunga. These structures will be on the basis of Local Board boundaries and must include Local Board representation.

9.       In conclusion, we are supportive of the main objectives and structures of the Bill. Its main area of deficiency relates to a lack of provisions that will ensure engagement with local communities. It is important to include such measures in order that the legitimate interests of local communities receive a hearing in relation to local maunga, and also to ensure wide-spread community acceptance of co-governance.

Specifically, we propose that Local Board representation on the Maunga Authority be enshrined, and that it be a statutory requirement that the Maunga Authority engage with local communities. Specific and simple measures are proposed to achieve this.

10.   We thank the committee for the opportunity to submit and for considering the issues we have raised.

The Living Wage - It's about fairness

The Roskill Community Voice campaign is all about winning a fair share for Roskill. Local people deserve the same access to Council services and facilities, we should have our voice heard on important issues, and everyone in our community should have the right to the basics - healthy housing, proper healthcare, and a good start in life.

If we don't aim for those things in our local community then what are we here for?

Pledging our support for the Living Wage last week

The Living Wage is central to all of this. Over 200,000 children in New Zealand live in poverty. A large proportion are actually living in households where parents are working. The problem is alive and well in Roskill - particularly in our Pacific and migrant communities.

The costs of ignoring the problem are huge. We know that poverty increases the incidence of costly diseases, of crime and imprisonment, and of dependence on the welfare system. It all costs real money to 'fix' these problems, and it's not where we should be as a community.

We think that it's time to start at the source of the problem - households simply not having enough money to get by on. It simply makes no sense to allow the problems of low wages to fester, ans then to subsidise it at the back end through public spending. This is where the Living Wage comes in. It's a simple concept that says that people should earn enough to get by on (modestly) and participate in society.

Auckland Council is considering its position, and on the Puketapapa Local Board we have given our support. In the Board's closest vote of the term, both Julie Fairey and Michael Wood supported the Living Wage, and it succeeded on 3-3 split vote with the Chair's casting vote deciding matters. 3/4 C&R members voted against.

The Living Wage is not just about feeling good. It also makes economic sense. People who get paid a fair wage are able to spend more locally, supporting local businesses. Organisations in the UK who pay the Living Wage report big savings as their turn-over rates drop. Here in New Zealand companies like the Warehouse are coming on board for this reason.

It's time for Auckland Council to come to the party. There is a financial cost, but it is relatively modest. It can be paid for out of efficiencies and reductions to increases in executive salaries.

Last week we formally pledged our support to the Living Wage campaign and will actively work to make it happen if re-elected. It's about fairness.

Supporting our campaign

There are now under three weeks until voting papers get issued for the 2013 Auckland Council

elections. Our team is campaigning hard and receiving a very positive response from the community.

We are campaigning for a fair share for Mt Roskill with a particular focus on:

• Winning a fair share of Council resources for Roskill. Our community currently receives 74c of investment for every $1 spent elsewhere. 
•  Burying the Pylons that blight our neighbourhoods and harbour.
•  Looking after our environment and restoring our neglected volcanic cones
•  Reducing social harms with a focus on reducing the number of pokies and halting the spread of bottle shops in our community.

To win a fair share for our community we need to encourage people to vote. You can help our campaign in one of the following ways:

• Donate. Campaigns cost a lot of money and every dollar you give helps us to get our message out.
• Deliver leaflets. Fun work and good exercise!
• Help to doorknock or phonebank. This is our most important campaign activity. Help out to make a big difference. We can provide training.
• Host a cottage meeting. Have friends or neighbours over to meet their local candidates.

Any help makes a big difference. To support our campaign please email on roskillcv@gmail.com or call on 09-620-9257.

Media release: Time to stop the neglect of Mt Roskill

Roskill Community Voice Media Release

22 August 2013

Time to stop the neglect of Mt Roskill - 26% funding gap a shocker 

“Mt Roskill continues to be neglected by Auckland Council, and our election campaign is about winning a fair share for our community”, says Roskill Community Voice candidate for the Puketapapa Local Board Michael Wood.

“Local residents will be shocked to learn that Council systemically under-funds our community. In the Auckland Council Long-term Plan, average funding per capita across all Local Board areas (excluding obvious outliers) is $2.42 per head. In Puketapapa/Mt Roskill, the figure is $1.78 per head – 26% less funding per person*. Looking ahead, the planned capital expenditure for Puketapapa/Mt Roskill is even worse”, says Roskill Community Voice candidate Julie Fairey.

“These are not abstract figures, they mean that people in our community have access to fewer facilities and services, receive lower service standards, and that there is less funding to advance local initiatives. For every dollar spent on these items elsewhere, 74 cents is spent in Mt Roskill. This woeful state of affairs is a result of decades of neglect when there was little energy put into advancing Roskill’s interests within the broader Council structure”, says Michael Wood.

“Our campaign is about turning that around. During our time on the Board since 2010, Roskill Community Voice has spoken up strongly on a range of issues to ensure that Roskill gets heard. Within Council we have pushed for a review of Local Board funding, which is now underway. In our current campaign we are fighting for Roskill to be heard on a range of fronts:
Willing a fair share for our community
Burying the Pylons
Protecting our environment and restoring our neglected maunga
Taking action to stop more pokies and liquor stores in our community"

“Fundamentally, our community needs a team of active and energetic Board members if we want to be heard”, says Julie Fairey.

“Local voters can expect to receive their voting papers one month from today. In that month we will be vigorously taking our campaign for a fair share for Roskill to the people of our community. We encourage all local people to consider the issues and speak up for Roskill at the election so that our community gets its fair share”, says Michael Wood.

ENDS

*Figures taken from Auckland Council Long Term Plan. Average regional figure excludes Waitemata, Waiheke, and Great Barrier Local Boards, each of which have very high per capita figures due to location of regional facilities in the case of Waitemata, and very low populations in the case of the islands. Inclusion of these Boards would have made the ‘gap’ even higher.

Full spreadsheet of figures available on request. 

Contact: Michael Wood – 09 620 9257 or 022 659 6360

No community funding for local boards until July 2011

Published in Central Leader, print edition, Friday 29th October 2010

Last-minute spending dries future community funding pool

A last-minute spend-up by community boards before the supercity election has left newly-elected local board members with no discretionary funding until at least mid-2011.

Community boards were told they had to spend a year's worth of funding, valued at $51,000, in just three months before the election or risk losing the money altogether.

But that decision has left local boards with no discretionary funding to support community group events or other needs until next July at the earliest, when the Auckland Council draws up its new budget.

Even then, there's no guarantee the council will allocate discretionary budgets to local boards.
Puketapapa Local Board member Michael Wood says it's disappointing that money won't be immediately available for the benefit of the community. "It seems to fly in the face of assurances that local boards would represent local communities," the Roskill Community Voice member says.

"It goes to the heart of criticism of the supercity structure to begin with..."

 Click through for the rest of the article, from Stuff.