My decision to stand this year as a Franklin Ward candidate for Auckland Council reflects my view that voters must have the opportunity for a fresh voice and a fresh set of eyes.
The role of a councillor is to represent to the Council the views and voice of residents, not the other way around and I will do that. Our community is gripped by the worst cost a living crisis in a generation and Franklin residents and businesses cannot simply pay ever-increasing rates to fund council staff while at the same time see important local services cut and maintenance levels drop away.
Franklin’s elite soils must be protected to the extent that can be permitted. Gobbling up hectare after hectare of precious elite soils is no way to resolve a housing crisis. The Government’s directions to Auckland Council that we must amend the Auckland Unitary Plan to allow urban intensification must surely provide some meaningful planning controls that helps prevent the endless sprawl currently occurring.
Private vehicles will be the primary mode of transport for generations to come. It is past time that Auckland Council directed Auckland to complement the lives of Franklin people rather than trying to dictate the travel movements of our farmers, market gardeners workers, and tradies. A one size fits all approach does not work to an area like Franklin.
As your Franklin Ward Councillor, I will champion road maintenance and footpath maintenance. This is a core function of local government. No more wasting money on reallocating roads to build cycleways or on installing planter boxes in carparks. I will ensure our local road corridors are safe to drive on.
Much has been made of the so-called Three Waters reforms, which are being rail-roaded through Parliament. The Three Waters model is a shambolic mess that will need to be repealed.
Auckland contributes 90 per cent of the population and 93 per cent of the asset value of the new mega water company, but its share of governing votes by democratically elected officials would fall to 28 per cent at best under the new scheme.
I do not believe in creeping confiscation of council assets by central government or anyone else for that matter. Restoring local control and local oversight is important to our community and it is important to me too.
Decision-making must include all people – which is what I will seek to argue around the Auckland Council table. I want to pay tribute to retiring Franklin Ward Councillor Bill Cashmore and acknowledge his years of public service. Bill cares deeply about the well-being of our community and our region. I wish him and his wife my very best wishes for his future endeavours.
Now is a time for new leadership and a fresh approach to issues affecting our rapidly growing community. My candidacy provides an opportunity to give that fresh leadership that many Franklin residents are seeking.
The Franklin Ward literally wraps around much of the urban footprint of the south from the Awhitu Peninsula to Waiuku, Pukekohe, Bombay, Ararimu and Paparimu, across to Orere Point, and all the way to Clevedon, Beachlands, Maraetai, and Whitford. It is a beautiful community. As a resident of Kaipara Road that pretty well places me in the geographic centre of Franklin, and I am comfortable with that.
I will be a Franklin Ward councillor on the basis that our community is the sum of all parts. Everyone should have access to their elected representatives, and I will work to be your voice around the Council table on that basis.
Authorised by Ian McDougall, 1/50 West Street, Pukekohe. Phone 021 135 4652
Independent Franklin Ward candidate Keven Mealamu makes the case for a new perspective and fresh ideas for Auckland Council.