I have lived in the Orakei ward for over 10 years − and have enjoyed the great parks, beaches, walkways, suburban shopping and community spirit. But we can do more as a proactive and integrated local board. I have worked in banking for over 20 years and know the importance of prudential management of public funds. I am a current Rotarian in the local Harbourside club and secretary of the NZ Chinese Association and thrive on the diversity of our city. I maintain simple policies and fresh ideas. Keep rates manageable, enhance our parks and reserves, listen and embrace the concerns of residents and environmental groups. The Orakei board needs new members, new cultures, and diversity and ability to challenge upwards to the council and mayor. We look around our ward − the buildings, roads, shops and community areas and ask ourselves − what really needs to be done.

Top 5 Issues

1. Traffic management and the cultural shift to public transportation. Each morning David enjoys sitting on the 685 Express bus from Glenn Innes to Britomart and knows that Tamaki Drive would be a wonderful arterial for walkers and cyclists if cars were left at home – and everyone used public transport.
2. Suburban shopping survival and enjoyment. There’s talk we’re coming out of the recession – but when shops in Newmarket, Remuera and St Heliers are closed and empty – we need to promote survival and support to our shops
3. Governing council – CCO – Local Board. Tripartite interaction, planning and cooperation needs to be defined and documented – so the interests of the ward are not lost to an operational management body that does not have the interests of the immediate community at hand.
4. Balancing the rates books. How do we ensure that our rates are maintained, optimized and transparent in terms of calculation. My accounting background always leads me to challenge how much we are spending and where do we actually get the ‘bang for our limited buck’.
5. Water and sewage – although we are fortunate in the Orakei ward to have recently undergone infrastructure re-piping – we need to be cognizant that Auckland wide our population is getting bigger and the demands on our water systems is heavily strained. Again – it is deciding who will foot the bill

Personal Profile

David’s commitments: -

David is keen to see more youth and experience come through on the local Orakei Board – to ensure the governing council body and the Council Controlled organisations are held accountable and are made to deliver on tangible projects. The profile of local body representatives quite often falls behind that of the main council board and hence we lose transparency.

 

David is proud of his NZ Chinese ethnicity and wants to provide a voice to the 15% of the Orakei ward that is of Asian background. The wider Auckland city is welcoming the migrant Asian population and our cultural mix is rapidly changing and we should embrace the diversity.

 

David has had over 20 years experience in the banking industry – currently in the capital management division of the BNZ. Whilst in London in the early ‘90’s he worked in a French merchant bank and experienced the challenges of operating within a financial institution coming out of the share market crash. As an independent – his affiliation is not to a party but to the people of the community; and one key aspect of his personality – he is a listener.

 

The contributions that David has made to the community to date have come through his affiliation to Rotary (immediate past president of the Harbourside Club) which has raised funds for Starship Children’s Hospital and Leukemia and Blood Foundation. In addition David is currently the secretary for the NZ Chinese Association in Auckland and was a key driver to launch the recent ‘Rising Dragons/Soaring Banana’s conference’ at Auckland Business School.

 

With the little spare time he has between banking and community work – David enjoys the occasional round of golf to emphasise to his colleagues that his nickname of Tiger is a total misnomer. And he can sometimes be seen watching his youngest daughter compete in the national cheerleading competitions.  

 

David Wong would appreciate your vote – for change and diversity.