Controversial Maori Leader to Stand for Auckland Council

Ngapuhi leader and outspoken public commentator David Rankin has announced his intention to stand for the Auckland Council in next year's local body elections.

"This Council is broken - it lacks imagination and integrity, and is driven by Len Brown's vanity projects, which will drive Auckland bankrupt" says Rankin.

Rankin will be basing his campaign on a simple five-point plan. The five policies are:

1. Put an immediate end to the inner-city rail loop, and invest the funds instead on roading.

2. Extend the urban limits of the city to allow the supply of more land for housing. The aim will be for a radical drop in land prices due to a huge supply of residential-zoned land.

3. Disband the current Maori statutory board and replace it with a five-member advisory board with a total budget of $150,000 p.a. Its function will be to advise on Council policy.

4. Restore the access to all the volcanic peaks as it existed in 2011.

5. Halt all future cycle lanes, and remove existing ones where they obstruct traffic. A bicycle registration system will be introduced so that future cycle lanes will be built when the fund accumulated from cyclist registrations allows for it.

"Aucklanders are sick of the Council being dominated by marginal interest groups", he says. "It's a form of corruption and it has to stop. What Aucklanders are demanding is a return to basics by its Council and that's what I plan to deliver" says Rankin.

Rankin admits that some of his policies are controversial, but his response is direct: "tough times call for tough measures."

ENDS

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