A new council - A new bloke

Since arriving from South Africa in 2002, Auckland has been home, giving me so much that I hold so dear that I am now committed to giving back. It is my privilege to do this by standing for the Kaipatiki Local Board.

As a home owner with a young family and demanding job I share many of the same concerns for Auckland's new dawn as my fellow residents on the Shore.

Always striving to be ‘Fair and Reasonable’, ‘build value’ and ‘brighten the future’ my voice will be champion for the community at large including those who don't vote.
With support from the community, my family values, financial nous, management experience and personal determination I will strive toward better solutions for all.

Sometimes off beat and even a little contrary I am always open minded and will have no difficulty making the peoples’ voice heard. 

No agenda. No affiliation. No Politics.
Just balanced common sense for all on the Shore.

Not your usual career path candidate
An African Kiwi bloke looking to give back to the Shore.

Fresh eyed, pragmatic service provider
Delivering your freight as well as your local governance

No political history No Political baggage

Just a lot to say when I get going

I have been reviewing all the candidates and am very pleased to see they are of such a high standard.  Most with years of board and council experience and public service.  I look forward to learning local body politics from them and working alongside them toward a brighter future if given the opportunity to do so by the voters.

I ask myself whether a candidate such as myself 'belongs' in the 8.   I truly believe I do.

Important as all that prior experience is, it is just as important to bring new, fresh attitudes, ideas and approach to the new council.  And I know that what I fit that bill as a minimum.

Further I consider the voter apathy out there in respect to local council.  It is indeed quite worrying.  How many votes go to a name or face that the community recognise rather than to candidates they know something about.  I am confident that the right candidates will get the top rankings with their historical performance however I ask all voters who take this seriously to consider me for their vote simply to ensure a balanced council ready for the new day. 

Vote Spilhaus - just a bloke putting his hand up - your alternative vote.

 

Top 5 Issues

1. Fair and Reasonable
   Lets all stop, think, and bring back reason and common sense to our decisions and actions. Let’s take off the auto pilot, stop spooning in what is put in front of us and take responsibility and accept accountability. Let us start giving back. Make a plan and fix things rather than leaving them broken.
   This is what is driving me to stand for Local Board.
   
   I'm not 100% sure this is an 'issue' in the traditional sense but it’s what makes sense to me and driving me.
   
2. Community
   As a community we are stronger together.
   Let us take responsibility for our community and work together, step by step, to build a brighter future.
   Let it be said that we on the Shore are proud.
   Let our families find support when they need it and lend support in turn.
   Let us embrace our cultural diversity and common humanity.
   Let us all be sober drivers and responsible drinkers.
   Let us be empowered to expect of ourselves and others the upholding our agreed standards and bylaws for our mutual benefit.
   Lets us all inspire more from each other.
   
   This may all seem a little utopist but as a community we are in many respects complacent and tired. Caught in the day to day routine. I strongly believe council can help break through this mode.
   
   I recently attended the Balloons over the Waikato event and was amazed to see something so simple bring so many people together in such a peaceful and enjoyable success.
   This led me to wonder, where is our Balloons over the Shore? Where is out lantern festival.
   
   I want to see similar community events such as sports days, cultural expos and food events, themed street parades and parties. Let's use our wonderful environment, skilled businesses and talented people on the Shore to come together and enjoy life.
   
3. Consumption
   I have been pondering our society’s default setting of consumption of late.
   I myself last year changed my default food setting from consumption to balance and thankfully lost 55kg since, feeling much the better for it I must say.
   So I want us as a council and community to find ways to change our default from consumption to better alternatives.
   Let’s walk away from each opportunity knowing we added value and built a brighter future. Let’s give more than we take.
   Lets develop initiatives such as community gardens, activity/sporting clubs and beautification teams who not only get to do something they enjoy but at the same time give of themselves for the benefit of the community.
   Lets us take our own strengths and success stories and use them to inspire others.
   Let us use our land and buildings for not just places of consumption but places of growth.
   
4. Erosive and anti-social behavior
   While central government tackles criminal aspects of our community with legislation let us as an empowered community ask more from ourselves and those who wish to be part of our community with change driven from inside our own homes and local boundaries.
   This can be licensed establishments who allocate some of their margin to taxis at the end of the night or incentives for the sober drivers thus keeping our streets safer for us all.
   This can be local business and schools working together to give students real world work experience during their holidays improving their value to a future employer rather than running rampant without direction adversely impacting the community.
   This can be local special interest groups opening their doors to the wider community to engender understanding, tolerance and appreciation for each other.
   This can be a council who works for both those who vote and those who don’t.
   This can be an early child care facilities that offer their facilities to young families in the evenings to come together so they know they are not alone.
   
   I want to see us all asking more of our own social responsibilities as we create a safer more harmonious community where we feel at home.
   
5. Transport
   Transport seems to be a big topic for Auckland and working in the trucking and freight industry I will have a slightly biased opinion. Using our road, rail and coastal network as productively and efficiently as possible to gain the best returns is the goal. This includes provisioning greater capacity where cost effective, bigger loads (heavier and longer) resulting in fewer journeys and greater productivity, smarter options that better use capacity. Public transport is essential to achieving these goals too. I do think that we need to be honest about our current public transport reality. Lack of coverage is the first issue I come across. I attempted to search out a solution on Maxx to get me from home in Hillcrest to work in Onehunga arriving by 7am on a weekday and low and behold - computer says "Sorry, no journeys match your current selection". If I'm happy to take over one and a half hours and arrive late then now worries. Then when suitable services are offered is there community uptake. An empty bus is a worthless bus. We need to look to look to ourselves and inspire others to make the change when a suitable public alternative is offered.
   I am heartened with the massive uptake of the Northern Bus Route and believe we can continue this success with community buy-in and additional service offerings.
   Although I enjoy the gorgeous views our northern motorway offers across the harbor, especially in the morning sunrise, initiatives such as TV or Wifi on the bus quickly help turn downtime time into productive time and would be readily supported if cost effective.
   

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