Key Issues
"Thinking Regionally Acting Locally"
With the introduction of Auckland Super City there appears to be a lot of speculation that next in line will be a Wellington Super City. In fact there are avid supporters for this to be a reality.
PM John Key has announced any further amalgamations will need to be community led.
I recently attended Local Government Conference in Auckland. The clear messages from those speaking on the Auckland situation for advocates of further amalgamations were "to urge caution and to make sure we have genuinely identified problems not just irritations, to seek out collaborative opportunities and talk to our communities about any plans to change".
In fact in the words of the local government Minister, Rodney Hide he said, speaking on Opotiki.
"Mayor John Forbes showed me the value of a small council that knows its community and more importantly, a community that knows their Mayor and Council. Walking the streets of Opotiki with him demonstrated the value of local in local government. We need to value that. We must protect it. It's not about bigger. It's about better."
I agree and will not be supporting or advocating amalgamation, instead my approach is to seek opportunities for inter-council collaboration. We don't need reform to make this happen, we simply need leadership.
Rate Dependency
Currently 93% of Council income is from rates and fees. We need to be innovative to reduce this dependency. We can do this by promoting shared services across the region and concentrating on further opportunities for inter-council collaboration. A good example of this is the Palmerston North City Council's after hour's phone service, which is used by seventeen other Councils around New Zealand.
Recently your Council initiated "a service and cost review" this identified potential savings that have been implemented and further changes are planned.
Maintaining and further improving infrastructure assets will be significant issues for Porirua, balancing need and affordability.
Clearly there is a need to investigate private-public partnerships and looking for commercial opportunities while retaining the uniqueness of Porirua if we are to reduce our rate bill.
Attracting white collar jobs to our CBD is a key element of the City Revitalisation Plan and will bring rewarding economic and social gains to our City.
I am committed to making these two key issues a priority if elected as your Mayor.