Celia Wade-Brown is an approachable, fair and inclusive leader. Her positive Council contribution, community work and business background offer a good combination of skills. She has protected heritage and open space, led significant energy and water conservation initiatives, and supported economic development, public housing and libraries.
Council decisions over the next three years will affect our health, wealth and wellbeing for decades ahead.
“My vision for Wellington includes light rail for less traffic congestion, and safer walking and cycling. Creative enterprise, fair trade, fast broadband, and clean new technologies provide good jobs. Our compact and beautiful capital is where we choose to live, work and play. Green hills and healthy oceans surround our cosmopolitan heart.”
Make Celia your first choice for Mayor.
He aha te mea nui? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing? It is people, people, people!
www.celiaformayor.org.nz 938 6691 027 483 6691
Top 5 Issues
- Good transport choices
Freedom to walk, bike, ride the bus, train, light rail or drive safely.
Wellington is a beautiful compact city. The next three years will see decisions for cleaner buses, light rail and active transport - my preference over costly flyovers and tunnels bringing more cars into the city, looking for parking.
- Good technologies
Clean modern technologies offer fulfilling jobs and solutions to environmental issues.
Renewable energy including drawing on the awesome forces of the Cook Strait and local biofuels will make us more resilient as carbon prices bite and the era of cheap oil ends.
The creative sector and our magnificent food businesses are far better for the local economy than a casino. - Local community action
Community wisdom can help answer many complex social and environmental issues.
Community gardens, skills transfer of mending, cooking and carpentry can reduce the cost of living for families of all sizes.
Council must support the social infrastructure of community centres, libraries and reserves and involve local communities in local planning.
Partnerships with schools for pools and sportsfields are a cost-effective way of providing community facilities. - Trust and inclusion
Whether it's resource consents or rates, decisions must be fair and seen to be fair.
Safety in the city, conservation and alcohol management all work best if people are trusted and included in decisions. I do not support a city-wide liquor ban.
Wellington is a beautiful city but not everyone has a warm dry home. Upgrading Council housing, encouraging private homes to be insulated and working with community organisations to provide third sector housing are all necessary to meet increasing demand. - Quality of development
Our compact city needs good public spaces. Private development must also provide quality space for people to thrive. A mixture of housing options including affordable housing is essential.
I opposed the Hilton on the Outer T and fought for heritage protection on the waterfront, in the central city and in residential areas.
Tacky signs, leaky buildings and wind-blown litter must be cleaned up - for good, not just one year.
Personal Profile
I was born in Paddington, London, and grew up in a Council flat overlooking the trains.
At the end of school with successful Science 'A' levels, I took a gap year in Cape Coast, Ghana
I graduated with an Honours degree in Philosophy, while thoroughly enjoying university life in Nottingham
At IBM UK I began my career in computers.
I came to Wellington in 1983 and fell in love with this compact city and its wild spaces - and a man from Invercargill!
After a career in IT programming, consultancy and teaching I was first elected to the City Council in 1994.
Working hard wih like-minded councillors, we have improved Council housing, created a marvellous network of open space and tracks, expanded our branch libraries, begun work on Climate Change initiatives and made Wellington a much more accessible and lively place than it was in the 1980s.
I chair the Waste Forum - Wellington Region so I know Councils can co-operate without forced amalgamation.
I’m proud to have taken a leading part in the development and continuance of community computer access, the pre-1930s rule against demolition, a number of heritage areas, Sustainable Building Guidelines, employment of an Energy Manager and the initiation of the Environmental grants.
Wellington's community gardens, orchards and revegetation projects are a tribute to volunteers and it’s been a pleasure to ensure official support where necessary.
I successfully fought for bus lanes and shelters, Safer Routes to School, our cycling and walking plans and more walkways and signage in the city.
I opposed the Hilton on the Outer T, and argued for the retention of historic buildings on the waterfront.
I'm improving my French and te reo Mãori. I also enjoy kayaking gardening and walking.
I love this beautiful city of Wellington!
Authorised by Celia Wade-Brown of 101 Wakefield Street, Wellington
Questions answered by Celia Wade-Brown
Question
Celia Wade-Brown's Reply
1. Challenges
These may include post-traumatic stress, separation from loved ones, language difficulties, racism, lack of knowledge of kiwi systems (formal and informal) and poverty. Discrimination at job interviews, lack of understanding of e.g. sports clubs can perpetuate a lack of opportunity for the next generation.
While refugees may have diverse challenges, I suspect the most difficult is that NZers fail to recognise the skills and talents that refugees bring here. Maintaining language and culture.
2. What measures?
I would ensure that I talked regularly with a range of people who are refugees and who work on resettlement, together with the Social Portfolio Leader.
A safe warm home is the first essential - without which jobs, education and culture cannot thrive.
Social housing is a very useful start but many refugees are looking to move into their own homes. In addition to our own social housing stock, I would support housing trusts that are run in conjunction with tenants. Council contribution could be land or partnerships. I will advocate to Regional Council and Kiwirail that medium density housing is built at railway stations such as Johnsonville, Tawa, Naenae and Taita, for example. This would make the stations safer and could be a mix of ownership structures from public rental through housing partnerships to fully private flats.
I support a wide range of cultural festivals and particularly the multicultural one because it enables people to enjoy and share in each others\'\' cultures.
Considering the needs of different ethnic communities is important and should be embedded in operational as well as policy decisions. For example, I had to ask for the women\'s\' showers at Kilbirnie Pool to have curtains added - staff were responsive once they recognised there was an issue. Perhaps there could be an audit of Council services to determine whether they allow fro the needs of refugees.
An assessment of progress against the 2006 Wellington Regional Action Plan for Refugees Health & Wellbeing should be made.
Council must make stronger efforts to connect across different groups rather than set groups up to compete for funding.
WCC\'s job experience programme was worthwhile but very small. I\'d see whether WCC and other large employers could make this commitment. Leveraging volunteer experience to develop into job experience is one bridge I\'d support. I would expect Council\'s own workforce to resemble Wellington\'s wider diversity more closely.
I support the libraries efforts to make mother-tongue books and other resources available. Libraries (including on-line services) and community centres form an essential base of community infrastructure to help both integrate new residents but also an avenue to keep the knowledge and customs alive. For many refugee communities, sport (especially football) offers a way of acceptance and enjoyment, so sports facilities are worth our investment but WCC and other organisations need to work with different ethnic communities to encourage participation. Same with arts facilities - it would be interesting to see how many of Toi Poneke\'s studios are rented by non-NZers.
Expand the format of the Ethnic Forum so there is the opportunity for getting to know each other better by adding some workshop/open cafe style meetings.
If elected, I would ensure that part of the Social Portfolio Leader\'s role was to connect with refugee communities and would expect all councillors to attend at least some Ethnic Forums.
Continue the telephone interpreter service.
3. Experience
I have travelled widely though not generally in countries in strife. Nevertheless, working in Ghana and travelling in other parts of Africa and Asia, often by public transport and on my own, has given me the beginnings of insight into the wonderful cultures that the world\'s people can enjoy and an appreciation o fteh long cultural histories of what we patronisingly call \"developing countries\". I visited a Tibetan refugee centre in the north of India which was a humbling experience. While I enjoyed a good life in the UK and came to settle in Wellington by choice, I share some of the issues of not having grown up in New Zealand and not having a family network here.
On a lighter note, I have been happily humiliated in every annual Invitational vs Refugees soccer match!
I\'ve met people who are refugees from a number of different countries. This has been through Council housing issues, artists exhibitions, my work with making computers available (including Newtown Network Centre), the Wellington Multicultural Council (formerly the Ethnic Council), Changemakers and Refugee & Migrant Services. I think I have attended all of the Ethnic Forums that WCC has run.check out other candidate's answers
Water is managed by a Council-owned company and we oversee their costs and charges through the CCOPS committee. They essentially deliver water at cost to Wellignton City. Council directly owns all the water assets. For services like parking enforcement, we have tenders and contract management.
Regards
Celia
check out other candidate's answerssee other refugee question/answer
check out other candidate's answersI agree that Churton Park needs community facilities. The community space is in the budget for 2011/12 I understand, as the shopping centre is developed. In this financial year construction of Westchester Drive will commence. We have also agreed the reserves plan for teh Stebbings area, including walkways and bush so that should be an attractive amenity. The Johnsonville mall developer has a resource consent and so it\'s up to their financial assessment when to start.
Thanksfor asking these questions.
Regards
Celia
check out other candidate's answersI oppose the flyover at the Basin Reserve for several reasons.
First of all it\'s unattractive from both an urban design and a cricket watching point of view.
Secondly adding road capacity for general vehicles will increase traffic (the induced traffic phenomenon).
Thirdly, there are immediate possibilities for Basin Reserve public transport priority (north/south) involving bus lanes and bus priority at lights that can be done right now. The separate Pirie St bus tunnel offers priority for Eastbound buses including the Flyer. Emergency vehicles could of course make use of the bus lanes so ambulances would eb less likely to get stuck in traffic.
Fourthly because latest estimates of almost $100million could be better spent on public transport, walking and cycling to make our transport system more affordable, less oil-dependent and to reduce traffic congestion in our city and town centres.
Finally because it offers east to west cyclists nothing but great danger in high winds.
check out other candidate's answersWellington City Mayor
Results - Final
- Celia Wade-Brown
- 24881
- Kerry Prendergast
- 24705
- Jack Yan
- 7426
- Bryan Pepperell
- 5954
- Bernard O'Shaughnessy
- 1174
- Al Mansell
- 542
Al Mansell
Bernard O'Shaughnessy
Bryan Pepperell
Kerry Prendergast
Celia Wade-Brown
Jack Yan
