My principal place of residence is in the New Plymouth District Council area.
I am also standing for the District-Wide Councillor.
I get told often that you can't change things within the council. 'They will continue to act like they do', they say. Well, my mother always tells me I can do whatever I put my mind too. So here I am.
I want to change the mindset of this council, teach them how to listen, teach them this is not their money they are playing with. This is people's livelihoods.
I ask myself, 'how do I put more power into the community, how do I protect the less fortunate, help the pensioners, and also help the community get the things needed'.
It's simple.
The wants of the community we will be raised utilising the facilities and staff we have, not forced upon them. The public will have an option of what they put their hard earned money towards, and we will assist them.
I would cap pensioners rates without discrimination.
No. I disagree with Neil Holdom, Sam Bennett and Dinnie Moeahu who voted for this. There are other ways without forcing people into hardship. We can raise money without dictating and harming those not so fortunate. Let’s fix the poor allocation of funds.
No. This is not about helping the community and more about control. Money needed to be spent on maintenance, and upkeep, the things the community don’t see. This has happened because of priorities being in the wrong place and it’s happened for years.
Yes. I think it’s always good to be proactive and look at better ways of living – however, I do not approve of spending millions of your money doing consultations about it. New Plymouth District occupies 0.82% of the land in NZ and NZ last look, contributed 0.17% to the world’s emissions.
Yes. The businesses of the New Plymouth District are what keeps this place alive. Decisions on the latest LTP have really affected businesses. The best way is to get out there and listen to them. Ask them, have an easy platform where they can make suggestions.
Yes. There should have been someone who understood the needs of Maori from the inception. This is not about co-governance which I strongly disagree with. This is about having someone at the table that understand Maori needs. Being a Mayor is about looking after everyone, not just the majority.
Ask and listen first, not LAST! Just like the current issues with Urenui Treatment Plant and the LLC. The problem with councils is that they think they know what’s best for the community without consulting the community. Ask the questions, listen to the Community.
You can’t “cap” a project like this because you can’t have it unfinished. I personally think this should be community raised voluntarily, not by forcing rates up. People are struggling enough. This project would be amazing, but clearly we can’t afford it by the massive rates hikes imposed.
Looking after people by using funds for Core Infrastructure. Putting a Rate Cap for pensioners, instead of forcing them out of the family home. By raising money for the wants like communities used to operate. We have amazing facilities, which are underutilised. Raising the efficiency of money spent.
