Council meetings coming to a suburb near you

04 October 2010

Jim Anderton has today pledged that, if he is elected Mayor, there will be weekly Council meetings held in all the seven wards of Christchurch before Christmas, starting with the wards that are the most earth quake damaged.

“If I am Mayor, I will be immediately holding weekly Council meetings in all the seven wards of Christchurch city. The new Mayor and Councillors will be coming out from the Council Building in the city to the suburbs in order to listen to what people have to say and to understand what issues and problems they have as a direct result of the earthquake,” Jim Anderton said today.

“We will be able to cover all the ward meetings prior to Christmas. The meetings will be held in a local hall if it is big enough – or we can hire a marquee if necessary. The important thing is to get the ball rolling with active information sharing and decision-making which includes the people most affected.

“The first meeting will be followed up by a second meeting as soon as possible to report back on the issues that arose from the initial meeting and how problems are being – or going to be - solved.

“I know that there is a feeling around, understandable in my view, that people will simply be told what is happening to their homes, their neighbourhoods and their suburbs. I can guarantee that won’t be my way as Mayor.

“As an Auckland City Councillor, I called a Council meeting where over 1000 people turned up – so I am not stranger to large Council meetings. And I am sure our meetings in the affected areas of Christchurch would have a high degree of public interest.

“Council will be moving out from its central city headquarters to meet the people in affected communities where big decisions are going to have to be made. I know people are anxious and stressed and to feel that they won’t have a proper hearing or a say in what happens to them and their neighbourhoods is unacceptable to them – and to me.

“These local meetings will be a first step in a new shared relationship between the people and the Council on issues directly facing them,” Jim Anderton said.

Contact: For further information, phone Jim Anderton on 021 777 680
Or Jacqui McCabe (campaign press secretary) on 021 251 1801
Website: www.JimAnderton.org.nz Facebook: Jim Anderton: The People’s Mayor

ENDS

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