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.

RCV Policy on Reducing harms

Our families deserve an environment in which social harms are reduced. We have advocated fearlessly on behalf of our community and will continue to push for a safe and healthy community environment.

• We will launch a drive towards making Mt Roskill/Puketapapa Auckland’s first pokie-free community. 
• Building on the success of smokefree playgrounds we commit to delivering smokefree parks in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill over the next three year term.  
• We support a sinking-lid approach to the number of off-license liquor stores in our community and more effective controls to prevent abuse of the rules. 
• Work to build relationships with Pacific and Maori wardens to develop a presence in Roskill. 
• Tackling graffiti by ensuring that it is removed immediately, and prevented by the installation of high quality anti-graffiti murals. Work with local community on mural design.  
• Work to make Roskill a synthetic-cannabis free zone. 
• We know that poverty and inequality are the root cause of many issues in our community. We will work to ensure that all of our people receive a fair go through policies such as the Living Wage and provision of good quality affordable and social housing.

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 Statement: Roskill Community Voice straight to work

"The election of two Roskill Community Voice candidates to the Puketapapa Local Board represents an historic shift away from C&R dominance in Mt Roskill. We intend to use our two Board positions to speak up loudly on behalf of our community", says newly elected Board member Michael Wood.

"Our ticket was formed just six months ago, so to win two positions on the Board is a real achievement, and a testament to the hard work of our whole team of candidates and supporters. We would also like to thank the people of Mt Roskill for putting their trust in us. We will work hard on the issues we were elected on", says newly elected Board member Julie Fairey

"First off the blocks we will be taking the fight up for the Monte Cecilia School community. We campaigned to take all lawful steps to stop the wasteful and shameful forced eviction of the school, and that is what we will now do. There is a new Council and a new Board and we are confident that a solution can be found that maintains the school on the site while meeting the objectives of other parties. We will be taking steps on this issue within a week", continues Wood

"We will be fighting hard on many other issues too, including the spread of unwanted bottle shops, improved access to early childhood education, and ensuring that our community gets a fair share of the Supercity cake", says Fairey

"We will be pro-active Board members who will actively campaign on the issues that matter. We will also be constructive where we can, and plan to discuss a number of matters with our C&R colleagues over the coming weeks. We want all residents to be actively engaged in the new Board and encourage them to contact us with any issues", concludes Wood.

ENDS

Media Statement: Roskill Community Voice Supporting Residents Against Bottle Store

“We stand firmly behind the ‘Mt Roskill Against More Liquor’ group to oppose the establishment of the new bottle store on May Rd, and the further spread of off-license liquor outlets in Mt Roskill”, says Roskill Community Voice spokesperson Michael Wood.

“Roskill Community Voice has been concerned about this issue for a long time and we have made it one of our central campaign themes. Throughout the campaign we have warned that the current laissez faire rules are leading to a dangerous proliferation of liquor stores in Mt Roskill”, he continues.

“We are not anti-liquor, we just want reasonable controls in place so that we can keep our community safe. As it stands, we have a huge range of alcohol related problems in Mt Roskill, and yet another bottle shop will just add to the problem”

“We have had a number of calls from local residents and what is making them so angry about the May Rd bottle shop is that there has been no community consultation. The blame for that lies squarely at C&R’s door. In March of this year they block voted against proposals to better regulate off-license liquor stores. C&R voted against the community and to keep the free-market in liquor”

“We will actively support local residents in their fight against this particular store, and we will continue to campaign for our community to have a real say over liquor policy in our own backyard. In particular we will be making it a priority to push on with our call for a local liquor licensing trust that gives the community a direct say over liquor issues here in Mt Roskill”, concludes Wood.

ENDS

Media Statement: Renewed call for return to liquor licensing trusts

"Yet another off-license liquor outlet opening in Mt Roskill is evidence that our call to re-introduce local liquor licensing trusts needs to be taken seriously", says Roskill Community Voice spokesperson Michael Wood. Roskill Community Voice is contesting the Puketapapa Local Board in the Supercity elections.

"Despite the fact that our community is struggling with a whole range of liquor-related problems, May Rd Liquor is being allowed to set up shop in a largely residential area. Local residents have contacted us to express their anger and concern", continues Wood.

"Residents, and Roskill Community Voice are angry that the community has not been consulted about this new bottle shop at all. The blame for that rests squarely with the current Auckland City Council, which specifically voted against local community consultation about off-licenses, four months ago.

"The current process freezes the local community out of having a say. Our proposal to re-establish local liquor licensing trusts would change that. Local communities would be able to elect representatives to manage liquor distribution in the community and to set policies in line with the communitys wishes.

"Mt Roskill has had enough of the failed free-market in liquor policy. The costs in our community are too high. Roskill Community Voice will keep up the fight for a local liquor licensing trust and will make it a priority if elected," concludes Wood.

ENDS

Media Statement: Bring back the Licensing Trusts

“It is time for alcohol in our community to be controlled by the community”, says Michael Wood a spokesperson for Roskill Community Voice, which is launching a policy to bring back community controlled liquor licensing trusts.

“Everyone is concerned about alcohol related problems in our community, but no one is taking decisive action. A big part of the problem is that local communities have very little say over alcohol issues in their own backyard”, continues Mr Wood.

“Licensing trusts are community controlled organisations that have authority to exercise control over liquor in a community. The people of the community elect and hold to account the elected trustees of the Trust. Any excess proceeds made by the Trust are put back into the community. This flow of funding could replace the money that is currently given to community groups by the scourge of pokies in our community”.

“Due to a law change in the 1990s, communities no longer have the right to establish licensing trusts. A Roskill Community Voice controlled Local Board will campaign for the re-establishment of modern Local Licensing Trusts where communities support them, and will seek the support of an MP to introduce legislation allowing for this. If successful we will go to the people of Mt Roskill to seek their approval for the establishment of a local trust”.

“The free market in liquor has failed, and it is time that local communities took some control back. Instead of looking for easy populist solutions like blaming young people for all of our liquor related problems, we need to give local communities the power to work out local solutions. We will be campaigning hard on this important policy”, concludes Mr Wood.

ENDS