Column: Affordable Growth in Auckland

Verve magazine – July 2013 edition – By Rob Thomas – Candidate for Waitemata & Gulf Councillor:

Auckland Council will be posting out your 2013-2014 rates bills this month which will include an average rate increase of 2.9% across the region. Be warned, for most property owners around the inner city, including myself, we are likely to be hit with another harrowing 10% cap on our rates bill as we come to the final year of the regional rates equalisation.

However, I was shocked to read in the 2011-2012 Annual Report that the total Auckland Council debt had increased by more than $1 billion, from $6 billion to $7 billion, in just a year. If you are one of the 514,000 Aucklanders that pay rates we now share in the debt of over $14,000 per person. The Council’s Draft Long-term Plan for 2012-2022 proposes an increase in our net debt as a percentage of total revenue limits from 175% to 275%. That’s debt of $22,000 per rate payer.

For affordable growth to occur in our city it’s crucial to set both the rates and debt levels together which forces us to prioritise projects.

Auckland has some big financial decisions to make especially on getting our city moving. I was thrilled to hear last month that the Government will be coming to the party to jointly fund the inner-city rail loop. Now, Auckland Council needs to get serious on how it will fund its proportion. We need to have the right financial policy in place. I believe we need a financial policy that has a rates target and sets a debt to asset or rates ratio. This should be a financial policy that creates predictability and ensures our legacy assets are protected.

If you have any rates related issues please Contact Me 

市政议员Rob Thomas关注在奥华人群体利益 撰稿人：田思禹。

每三年一次的奥克兰市长和市议员选举已经进入紧锣密鼓的筹备阶段，各候选人亦都全力以赴地展开竞选活动。作为此次奥克兰市中心地区议员候选人之一的Rob Thomas格外关注华人群体在奥克兰地区的工作和生活现状。

现任奥克兰市中心地方委员会成员的Mr. Thomas从 14年前开始为奥克兰市议会工作。他不仅在惠灵顿市议会担任过重要职位，而且也曾担任奥克兰青年议会主席职位。在这些年中，他游历过中国的很多城市，特别是奥克兰的姐妹城市（广州，宁波，青岛）。因此他对中国文化产生了浓厚的兴趣。

近年来，华人群体在奥克兰的数量和影响力逐渐增加。根据最新数据统计，有近10万中国人目前居住在奥克兰。Mr. Thomas 认为“华裔群体对奥克兰的经济，文化等各方面的发展有着至关重要的意义”。 此次Mr. Thomas作为无党派独立人士参与了奥克兰市议员的竞选，他希望能够更深入的接触到奥克兰的华裔群体，了解华裔群体的生活状况并得到华裔各方面人士对奥克兰市中心地区发展的意见和建议。

近期他首先组织了与奥克兰大学和奥克兰科技大学的华人学生代表两次谈话会，借此聆听了华人留学生的声音，关注他们所面临的种种问题。在这两次交流讨论中，华人学生代表向Mr. Thomas 反映的几个问题引起了他的格外注意。Thomas也承诺 “如果成功当选，定会制定相应的政策来帮助解决这些问题”。

首先是就业难题，很多学生认为，他们在求职时会遇到来自雇主选择偏向，自身工作经验缺乏和职场文化差异的三大瓶颈。一方面，很多（洋人）雇主偏向雇佣本地（洋人）学生，使得非PR的留学生和本地学生之间存在着不平等的就业机会；另一方面，很多工作的门槛较高。很少有雇主愿意给刚走出校门、缺乏工作经验的留学生一个培养和实践的机会。 同时，职场文化的差异也使得华人留学生较难融入本地的就业市场。最后，就业机会少也给很多希望留在新西兰长期发展的华人学生带来了打击. 而Mr. Thomas认为“应该给这些在新西兰接受过良好教育、有才能的华人留学生提供更多平等的就业机会，吸引他们留下来，以达到留学生自身发展，与奥克兰总体发展双赢的局面”。Mr. Thomas表示“将大力支持奥克兰与其三个中国姐妹城市在经济，文化等各方面的交流活动，并希望通过这些交流来促进中新双边的理解和互信，进而达到加强双边经贸往来，增加奥克兰本地华人就业岗位的目的”。

Thomas还了解到华人留学生对安全问题的担忧。例如周末晚上街道上流窜的酗酒人士给住在市中心的留学生在夜间出行带来了很大的安全隐患。出于对自身安全的考虑，一些学生不得不绕弯道走在较明亮的区域，甚至走在马路中央的隔离带上，以避免受到酒鬼的骚扰。除此之外，市中心的安全问题同时还包括吸毒，抢劫，人身侵犯以及不断恶化的车辆被砸，车内物品被盗的治安问题。尤其是在一些不安全的地带，如Albert公园附近和Hobson 街周围，，这些问题显得尤为严重。根据奥克兰警局的最近统计数据，奥克兰近7%的犯罪和11%的车窗被砸事件都发生在此区域。针对这些现象，Mr. Thomas表示在他当选之后会支持修建一条明亮的人行道通过Albert公园并通过安装更多的照明设施，监控和增加更多夜班巡警的方法来改善。

交流中，学生们表示，交通也是困扰他们的一大问题。堵车，落后的公交系统也很难满足学生的日常交通需求。针对此问题，Thomas表示 “会适当增加晚上公交车次和修建更多的自行车车道的办法来改善”。除此之外，Mr. Thomas还表示 “他会大力支持修建奥克兰地铁的项目提议”。延伸Britomart地铁至更多的区域以缓解上下班时段堵车的问题。事实上Thomas对于交通系统的建设有着丰富的经验，早在几年前，他就作为设计者之一参与了Britomart的建设。

除了就业，安全和交通问题，Thomas也承诺将会继续在奥克兰推广多次多彩的中国文化。在和华人学生代表的接触中，学生们也持有同样看法。他们认为 “除了灯笼节以外，中国的其他传统节日也应该得到更广泛地介绍，比如中秋节和春节“。

Mr. Thomas作为年轻一代地区议员候选人希望能得到更多华人群体的支持。作为奥克兰市中心发展的重要组成部分之一的华裔群体在以往的市政议员选举中通常参与度不高，对市政规划和发展项目也缺乏了解的主动性。但事实上，Thomas认为 “华裔群体的声音与奥克兰的发展是息息相关的”。Thomas希望能够通过与华裔群体的深入接触来提高华人与奥克兰地方政府的互动性和参与地方事务的主动性。同时本报也希望大家能更积极地参与到今年10月份奥克兰地区议员竞选的投票活动中，为我们华人群体整体利益争取更多，更好的机会。

Column: The Cash Cow Diet

Ponsonby News – July 2013 edition – By Rob Thomas – Candidate for Waitemata & Gulf Councillor:

THE CASH COW DIET
Auckland Council will be posting out the 2013-2014 rates bills this month which will include an average rate increase of 2.9% across the region. For most property owners in our community, myself included, we are likely to be hit with another harrowing 10% cap on our rates bill as we come to the final year of the regional rates equalisation. However, I was shocked to read in the 2011-2012 Annual Report that the total Auckland Council Group’s debt had gone from $6 billion to $7 billion. So, if you are one of the 514,000 Aucklanders that pay rates we share in the debt of over $14,000 per person.

The Auckland Council has been able to grow debt levels as it continues to borrow against its guaranteed income. According to the Council’s Draft Long-term Plan for 2012 -2022, it proposes to increase debt as a percentage of total revenue from 175% to 275%.

Simply put, if you had a guaranteed cash cow would you borrow against it to deliver what you want now or take a more cautious approach and save for the future? The Auckland Council must live within its means and have a fixed debt ceiling that balances out the need of our community today and for the next generation.

RED, BLUE, GREEN, INDEPENDENT– HOW LOCAL GOVERNMENT AFFECTS YOU

Being aligned to a central government party should not determine who you vote for in local government elections.

Central Government and Auckland Local Government are in loggerheads over the future of Auckland’s transport. This election we need a strong independent Councillor that can work across the political spectrum, working with the next Mayor of Auckland and Central Government to deliver a reliable and appropriate transport plan for Auckland. In fact being an independent is a blessing because you are not predetermined by your decision, you can work with the community and avoid towing the party line.

Waitemata needs a champion who passionately understands that great cities have a vibrant and growing heart. We need a Councillor that represents the dynamic and changing face of the Waitemata. As the only independently elected member on the Waitemata Local Board I have proven that you can be influential and effective without hammering colours to a wooden post.

The Waitemata ward has a population of around 72,000 individuals and employs 70 per cent of these residents. This highlights the importance of voting for Local Board Members and Councillors that reflect community experience, knowledge, age, ethnicity and diversity of opinion. There are many issues across our inner-city community that include parking, public transport, heritage and character protection, supporting business districts and sewage on beaches.

With current local government voting statistics sitting around just 40 per cent, local residents and community associations need to be adequately informed about the upcoming elections and how their vote can bring about constructive change

Nominations for local government elections open on Friday 19th July and I will be standing as your strong independent Councillor for the Waitemata & Gulf Ward.

Media release – More diversity required on Auckland Council

Nominations for our Mayor, Councillor and Local Board Members open this month. If you are passionate about our community, if you want to bring about positive change, I would encourage you to visit the website www.voteauckland.co.nz and get nominated.

There are hundreds of issues across communities that include parking, public transport, sewage on beaches, heritage / character protection and supporting business districts. You do not need to be part of a political party to solve these issues. However, you need to be an effective decision maker, deciphering complex information and financial reporting, be an effective communicator, finding the right avenues for advocacy, not shy away from the public spotlight, be accessible and have time up your sleeves. Be prepared for that phone call on Christmas Day.

As the only independently elected member on the Waitemata Local Board this has not hindered my ability to influence and be effective. In fact being an independent is a blessing because you can avoid the party politics, you’re not predetermined in your decision and you have the ability to work between political spectrums on behalf of your community.

At the the end of the day you need to be able to look at yourself in the mirror knowing you made the right decision.

I believe that it’s critical your elected representatives reflect your community. The average age of the Waitemata & Gulf Ward is 30 years old and we certainly need an injection of more creative and vibrant young people into local government. We need to bring to the table representation across a diverse group of ages, ethnicity, gender to derive the best possible outcome for our community.

Nominations for local government elections open on Friday 19^th July.