Hon. John Banks, QSO.
Speech to the Opening of the Auckland Citizens and Ratepayers Now Campaign, Novotel Hotel, Greenlane Sunday 9 September 2001 1:30pm.

I salute every candidate stepping forward and stepping up.
I have a vision for Auckland. I want this city to be the finest place in the world to live, to raise a family, do business, relax and enjoy life. Our city needs dynamic leadership to promote us as a contemporary and vibrant city.

We need and expect a well-managed infrastructure. We must promote Auckland to the world as a destination for innovation and investment. We don’t compete with Wellington or Christchurch. We compete with Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The role of the city Council is to facilitate investment, jobs and economic security. This will deliver social cohesion and social prosperity. Residents should be able to go about their business without worrying about the little things like rubbish, water and transport. To do these things requires leadership, direction, focus and action. The time for hand-wringing is over. I stand for less committees and less meetings. The time for leadership is well overdue. I can make a difference – a big difference.

We need more focus. We have lost momentum, - this city has lost its way. We lurch from crisis to crisis. Auckland is going backwards. Together we can change this. Together we can get Auckland moving.
John Banks stands for local government that is more accountable, more transparent and restricted to core business. Auckland City Council must get back to basics. Doing the right things and doing things right.

I want to celebrate Auckland’s success in business, sport, the arts, tourism and social cohesion. I am committed to a City that is safe for all citizens. I want zero tolerance for graffiti and bad street behaviour. Auckland needs energy and leadership.

We have got to get the basics right.
- Complete the Auckland motorway system, Highway 20 and the Eastern Bypass.
- Provide efficient services.
- Protect and enhance the environment.
- Stop the squandering of ratepayer’s money.
- End bureaucratic arrogance and waste.
- Clean up the streets, the parks, our beaches and the harbour.
- Abolish differential rates – stop competing with business.
- Treat ratepayers with respect and consideration.

As mayor of Auckland I will bring a sense of urgency and determination to get things done. I have been in business here since I was 16 years old. I am still employing a lot of people. I have served in local government and on the front bench of the Government in Wellington with your support – we can make a big difference.
A change for the better. A change for Auckland. Its on the way and it can’t come quickly enough. We’ve got to work hard. We must stay focussed. We are in this to make a difference. Lets step forward together.

End

www.johnbanks.co.nz

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>