Do the Local Stuff Well and the Rest Will Follow
Media Statement
30 April
2013
Do the Local Stuff Well and the Rest
Will Follow
“Do the local stuff well,
and extend access to free swimming pools for more local
residents”.
That is the message conveyed by the
Manurewa Local Board to today’s direction-setting meeting
with Auckland Council.
Speaking before the Council,
board chairperson Angela Dalton said the Board’s position
was unequivocal and reflected a growing consensus of
community opinion in favour of finishing local projects,
supporting Board initiatives to encourage economic growth in
Wiri, and extending the free-pools policy to the disabled
and Super Gold Card holders.
“The Board has put
money where its mouth is to progress the development of
Mountfort Park, Riverton Reserve in Randwick Park, and the
redevelopment of Netball Manurewa. But we cannot do it
alone; we need Auckland Council to come to the table.
Finishing these projects is far more important to the lives
of young people in Manurewa and Clendon, than white water
rafting at the Vodafone Events Centre.
“The Board
supports the extension of the free-pools policy to disabled
users. And we encourage the Council to adopt the proposal
advocated by Cr Calum Penrose whereby the free-pools policy
is extended to Super Gold Card holders,” Angela Dalton
said.
Deputy Board chairperson Michael Bailey said
the Council needs to balance transport and economic
development priorities with a need to hold down the
ever-growing cost of local government.
“Instead
of trying to tax Aucklanders to the tune of an extra $10b to
$12b to fund massive new transport projects, we want to see
the existing regional arterial network
finished.
“The Council needs to join with the
Manurewa Local Board to secure the New Zealand Transport
Agency’s agreement to redevelop the Takanini Interchange
and build an extra south-bound lane on the southern motorway
starting at Redoubt Road,” Michael Bailey
said.
Fellow Board member Simeon Brown said the
Council needs to support the expansion of Wiri as a job-rich
industrial hub.
“This includes adopting a
variation of the district plan to unlock commercial land at
Puhinui Road west of Roscommon Road and State Highway
20.
“The Council does not need to spend tens of
millions of dollars on Council-backed projects and
industries. Millions of dollars and thousands of jobs can
be created if the Council simply got on board with
commercial land owners and allowed them to invest their own
money to capitalise their landholdings in Wiri and
Puhinui,” Simeon Brown
said.
Ends.