Auckland's City Vision leader Councillor Cathy Casey and her Roskill Community Voice ticket must share in the responsibility for the closure today of the Mt Roskill PostShop and Kiwibank says council candidate Mark Thomas.

Today is the last day of NZ Post site's Mt Roskill operation - following a succession of shops deserting the town centre and adding to what a business owner calls a "dead" atmosphere.

"Casey and her Roskill Community Voice team have led economic development in the area over the last six years. A period which has seen the decline of the village with a succession of shops, including banks, shutting down."

Thomas first flatted down the road from the shops more than twenty years ago and he remembers a vibrant area.

"Councillor Casey's failure to persuade council's development arm Panuku to organise it for redevelopment has hastened the downturn."

"Roadworks which have just started in the area are a case of too little, too late. If Casey and her team had prioritised this investment earlier, the PostShop and other businesses may not have left Mt Roskill."

Thomas says the lack of focus on core council activities by Casey and her group is also witnessed by their plans to reduce green open space at Hillsborough's Monte Cecilia park, as confirmed in a recent council report.

"On council's Vote Auckland website, Casey prioritises an age-friendly city, volcanic cones, animals on public transport and a buy-back of Ihumātao (despite having voted for the housing development). Thomas prioritises more effective transport, sorting out planning/environmental problems (including town centres) and getting council working better."

"Mt Roskill voters have a clear choice if they want their town centre issues more effectively addressed by their next councillor."

"At the August Governing Body meeting, Councillor Casey said she had decided this term to focus on the areas she gets enjoyment from. This has obviously not included the Mt Roskill town centre and is another addition to the Cathy Casey 24-year council legacy."

ENDS

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