Top 5 Issues

1. Bringing back the buzz
   
   Wellington is a great city to live in and Lambton is the vibrant heart of the city. In the last four or five years the sense of excitement around Wellington has started to wane. The most obvious example of this is the loss of the Cuba Street Carnival. The Carnival was not only a fantastic asset in itself, it was an embodiment of the excitement, fun and diversity of Wellington. It is almost unbelievable that the Council could allow the Carnival to jeopardised. We must bring it back. We also need to make sure that the other fairs and festivals around the city are supported. But the Carnival should not be set against these fairs and festivals. It's not either or. We need all of them. Let's have a council that sees a sense of excitement as an community asset and key part of our brand and strives to protect it. Supporting our Carnival along with the other fairs and festivals needs to be given higher priority than sister city visits and some of the other low quality spend we’ve seen in recent years. If elected I'll make sure this happens.
2. Protecting the community assets we have and building the ones we need
   
   The assets owned by the council belong to the Wellington community. I will oppose sale of our assets and privatisation of our water. But it's not enough just to stop the sale of assets. We need to build more community assets to make sure the needs of Wellington's diverse communities are met. Our inner city lacks good facilities for young families – especially mothers and young children. We also need to look seriously at more all weather pitches for kids to play soccer and rugby in our wet winters. This is not just a council responsibility – we need the codes to partner with us. But the council should show leadership. The Brooklyn and Wadestown (used by Thorndon residents) Libraries need to be protected. The move to designate them “Resource Centres” puts their future at risk. Libraries are important community centres. I will fight to protect our libraries.
3. Promoting walking and cycling
   
   Those of us who live and work in Lambton should be able to walk around our city safe from cars and, as much as possible sheltered from the elements. We need more covered walking zones on the major walking routes. In the lead up to the Rugby World Cup next year we need a safe and dry walking route from Courtney place to the stadium. On Council I would push for walking to be seen as a major part of the transport portfolio. I also find it amazing that as more and more Wellingtonians cycle, both for transport and for recreation, the Council seem to have done little to make cycling safer, for cyclists and motorists, in the Lambton ward.
4. Openness and Transparency
   
   We need to bring more openess and transparency in our council. It's not enough just to make information available to those who request it. Information about council operations should be accessible for all Wellingtonians. We should take advantage of changes in technology. Meetings of council and committees should be webcast live and archived so Wellingtonians can see what is happening and how decisions are made. There are wonderful examples of open local governments internationally. We need to catch up with them. We also need to be more transparent about Councillor attendance and total Councillor remuneration for all their Council activities. This information should be readily available to all. Another aspect of openness that the Council needs to consider is use of opensource software. We have some great opensource developers our city. We should look at how we can save costs and support our own businesses.
5. Sweating the small stuff
   
   We need a Council with a vision, but it also needs to sweat the small stuff. We need to improve our rubbish and recycling systems. Our beautiful city, especially the inner city, is too often marred by rubbish. The recycling system doesn't work for those in the inner city. We need a better approach. We need to recognise that it rains in our city and make sure that our storm water systems are up to scratch. Our footpaths need to be walkable. It’s great to have a strong vision, but it’s the small stuff that we notice day to day and I want to be part of a Council that does sweat the small stuff.

Personal Profile

I'm a passionate Wellingtonian.  I was born in Christchurch, grew up in the Hutt Valley, first in Taita then Kelson before spending 10 years in Brisbane.  I’ve also lived in Auckland and Perth.  But my home for the last 11 years, and the city that I belong, in is Wellington.

I've been working for the Labour Party in Parliament since 2002. I've worked with Helen Clark and Michael Cullen and I'm currently the Policy Director in the Office of Phil Goff.  I'm proud of my time working with Phil, Helen and Michael.  It has been an honour to work with such great New Zealanders and to play a small part in their work building a fairer, more inclusive New Zealand with a stronger sense of pride and identity.

I have a law degree from Victoria University of Wellington and an MA in politics from Auckland University.  I also serve on the Board of Directors of Charlton Brown a medium size private training organisation based in Brisbane.  I have spent time working for Charlton Brown in Indonesia.  Working with Charlton Brown I have had to grapple with the impact of government decision making on small to medium businesses.  I have also seen how commitment, drive and sheer hard work can move a small business to a medium size business.