I am a self-employed house&landscape designer as well as the co-ordinator of the Shetland Street Community Gardens / Conservation Nursery. I have been an environmental and social justice activist for over 30 years and am still determined to make a difference. Local issues such as global warming , coastal erosion , sewage treatment , habitat protection , water quality , public transport , healthy homes , student celebrations , local employment and community facilities all rely on the Council hearing your voice , your vision for the future ! Community VISION was formed to offer voters socially just and environmentally sustainable policy that will enhance the health and wellbeing of all our citizens . Resources available for new initiativies are limited due to overspending on large scale capital projects . We want Council to be transparent and financially responsible . The challenge for the future will be to do more with less. I want to be your voice at the Council table !

Top 5 Issues

1. Transparency & True Democracy
   
   * Less closed Council meetings.
   * No charge for reasonable requests for
   information of Council proceedings etc .
   * Require independent surveys of public
   opinion
   * Investigate expanding Community Boards
   across the whole city eg NE Valley , South
   Dunedin , Adersons Bay / Waverly ,
   Central City , Brockville / Wakari etc
   To ensure its not too costly all community
   boards may only have 4 members and one
   Councillor . The posibility of reducing the
   number of councillors to just one per
   community board plus the Mayor may also
   be worth considering. Grass-roots
   representation is essential to maintaining
   community cohesion.
2. Environmental Sustainability
   
   * Develop a long term action plan in
   responce to climate change, resource
   depletion and habitat destruction.
   * Continue with the secondary and UV
   upgrade of the SewageTreatment plants
   and the sewer pipes.
   * Encourage residents to install water tanks
   to help mitigate peak stormwater flow.
   * Provide information to residents on how
   to minimize stormwater contaminents.
   * Require Council and Council contractors
   to dramatically reduce the use of
   chemical sprays where-ever possible.
   * Continue supporting groups & individual
   landowners with biodiversity and habitat
   restoration projects.
   * Public transport needs to be promoted
   across the board. Bus fares need to be
   more affordable and convenient to get
   people out of their cars. Bigger discounts
   for regular travelers using Go-card [ 20% ]
   would be encouraging. Also off-peak
   discounts of 50% to community card and
   Gold-card holders may help .
   * Cycle ways need to be extended for
   reasons of safety and pleasure and will
   hopefully reduce the use of cars.
   * Walkways are also a positive way of
   providing options to car use and
   encouraging a more active lifestyle.
   
3. Social Justice
   
   * Move back towards a more progressive
   rating system so that low income
   residents are not so unfairly burdened.
   The rates subsidy would remain in place
   to ensure all rate payers having
   difficulties can get assistance.
   * Ensure that South Dunedin receives the
   a revamp of the retail area and a new
   library as proposed.
   * It is desirable that the Citys resources are
   distributed fairly around the suburbs.
   
   
4. Community Health & Wellbeing
   
   * Council can assist goups keen to set up
   community gardens and plant fruit trees
   by identifying appropiate public ground
   and developing policy & guidelines to
   assist public consultation. School grounds
   may also be suitable and developed in
   partnership with the schools and
   complement existing edible gardens.
   * Community Sheds & Gardens and other
   community facilities all require ongoing
   support so its critial that Council retain a
   generous budget for the Community
   Grant Scheme as well as providing
   assistance to apply for grants from
   elsewhere.
   * Activity Centres / Playgrounds for the
   elderly and disabled is also overdue for
   consideration.
   * All opportunities for people to participate
   / volunteer should be encouraged . Its
   both beneficial to the community and the
   wellbeing of the individual. The concept of
   a V-card that rewards volunteers by giving
   them maybe 50% discount on busfares etc
   would be helpful.
   
   
   
   
5. Financial Responsibility
   
   * Tripple [ Quadrupple ] bottom-line
   accounting should be standard practice
   for all of Councils activities. This principle
   should also apply in all consent hearing
   proceedures.
   * Exceeding Council spending beyond the
   cost of inflation should require Candidates
   /Councillors to seek a mandate to do so
   prior to being elected. If they have not
   done so and vote in favour of extra
   spending we can hold them to account!
   
   

Personal Profile

I was born in Holland and immigrated to Australia at the age of 5 with my family. I arrived in Aotearoa / New Zealand in 1972. Due to a disfunctional childhood and being expelled from 2 schools I decided to returned to school as an adult student and did very well. I have studied Education , Archecture and Fine Arts. and in later years i have done papers in Environmental Studies and Economics. I have worked as a set designer for Fortune Theatre , a display artist for the Otago Museum and a landscape draftsperson for the Dunedin City Council. I am now a self-employed house&landscape designer as well as operating a small native plant nursery [ Manuka Farm Nursery ] My envolvement wilh native habitat restoration has been extensive. I have assisted , managed and initiated many projects on the Otago Peninsula. In recent years as a trustee of the Dunedin Environment Centre Trust and the co-ordinator of the Shetland Street Conservation Nursery I have extended my focus to the restoration of streamsides within the urban area . We have planted many sites along the Kaikorai Stream such as the Shetland Street Reserve and the Kaikorai Commons. Our next project is the restoration of the Kaikorai Estuary. We also continue to support many other projects both public and private. My other passion is promoting perma-culture and organic gardening. Many school and community groups visit the Shetland Street Community Gardens to either look around or participate in planting projects. I also co-ordinate volunteers wanting to learn and participate in growing both vegetables and native plants. I am very supportive of both setting up community gardens and planting fruit trees all around Dunedin as well as assisting edable gardens in schools. I am pleased that the DCC has continued to provide funding to assist the Enviro School program. I have been envolved with many campaigns and protest over the years .eg Anti War ; Protection of Native Forests & Habitats ; G E Free and the Save Aramoana campaigns. During the 1980ies during high un-enployment I was also a founding member of the Coastal Otago Barter System [ COBS ] and initiator of the Otago Peninsula based Work Co-operative focused on self help and assisting on community projects. With un-employment surging again and an increase in retiries its a concept worthwhile revisiting. I also helped to set up the Kohanga Reo at the Otakou Marae nearly 20 years ago. My interest in Ti kanga Maori is still very strong. I believe in empowering people at the grass-roots level. Positive change is in our hands.