No

Aside from the fact that there is I understand no central government funding available and this project would cost many millions and burden rate-payers for decades, I dont think it solves the problems we will face over the next few years, let alone for decades to come.

Nelson faces two traffic issues - the first is that of total traffic volumes is mild and I believe that even if we did nothing, that problem would eventually go away, as motoring costs become more and more expensive and peoples ability to travel one person one car is compromised.  Travel Demand Management and public transport will speed and smooth the transition to less-fuel dependant lives easier. In short, flow can be reasonably easily controlled.

The other problem is that of the heavy traffic along Tahuna/Rocks Road which is of course undesirable, and has undeniably got worse in a short time. The   changes at the Tahuna Traffic Lights & the majority of those around our beach area seem to cater not for the Tahunanui Community or others living within walking or cycling distance, but for those in vehicles either wish to simply pass through or drive from elsewhere to the beach - all in all, an expensive mess.

In trying to find the solution to heavy-goods traffic, we need to focus on the problems we will face in the future, not keep looking at the ones we have faced in the past, because I think we are in a time of change. I don\'t think extrapolating the last five or ten years gives a meaningful prediction of what is to come.  Firstly, all of the projections for traffic volume increase and heavy traffic increase contained in the arterial study are based on oil price assumptions that are about as rosy as you can get and if even slightly more realistic numbers are used the volume figures would look quite different. There were many solutions on the table some time ago (18 I believe) and one of the criteria for picking which options were pursued was that they had to cope with increased flow - I wonder then if some good options were prematurely discarded at that time, and if we are even asking the right questions now.

Secondly, nowhere during this whole roading debate has there been any discussion about the impact that the ongoing credit crunch and peak oil will have on all our primary industries  They are already adjusting to complex changes in world trade, and all these factors are likely to radically change the dynamics of their business because they are all so dependent on cheap fuel (heavy machinery and transport) - bearing in mind that it is these very industries that are responsible for the bulk of our heavy traffic, I would have thought that was an important point.   Does it mean these industries will disappear? No it doesn’t, but it does mean they will have some massive headwinds to contend with, so to assume they will continue to grow in some linear fashion based on what we have seen in the past is just plain wrong. We might for example better focus on exporting value added goods rather than selling cheap \'logs\' for processing overseas.

If we get the transport question wrong in this town by looking backwards instead of forwards we will spend a huge amount of money that we need not have, and do a good job of dividing our city in the process.  I don’t want that to happen, and I don’t believe anyone else does either.

Not at this time. I don’t think the tens of millions it would take to build a PAC and the huge predicted annual losses it would suffer are the best way of stimulating cultural and economic growth in Nelson.  There are many innovative people in Nelson that create great festivals and events on an incredibly tight budget and I would like to see them better supported, which often is merely matter of only a few thousand dollars.  I would like to see a huge increase in funds available to initiatives like the Community Assistance Funding before a PAC is back on the table.

Against

Aside from the fact that there is I understand no central government funding available and this project would cost many millions and burden rate-payers for decades, I dont think it solves the problems we will face over the next few years, let alone for decades to come. Spending tens if not hundreds of millions to move the problem rather than solve it seems pointless.

Nelson faces two traffic issues - the first is that of total traffic volumes is mild and I believe that even if we did nothing, that problem would eventually go away, as motoring costs become more and more expensive and peoples ability to travel one person one car is compromised.  Travel Demand Management and public transport will speed and smooth the transition to less-fuel dependant lives easier. In short, flow can be reasonably easily controlled.

The other problem is that of the heavy traffic along Tahuna/Rocks Road which is of course undesirable, and has undeniably got worse in a short time. The   changes at the Tahuna Traffic Lights & the majority of those around our beach area seem to cater not for the Tahunanui Community or others living within walking or cycling distance, but for those in vehicles either wish to simply pass through or drive from elsewhere to the beach - all in all, an expensive mess.

In trying to find the solution to heavy-goods traffic, we need to focus on the problems we will face in the future, not keep looking at the ones we have faced in the past, because I think we are in a time of change. I don\\\'t think extrapolating the last five or ten years gives a meaningful prediction of what is to come.  Firstly, all of the projections for traffic volume increase and heavy traffic increase contained in the arterial study are based on oil price assumptions that are about as rosy as you can get and if even slightly more realistic numbers are used the volume figures would look quite different. There were many solutions on the table some time ago (18 I believe) and one of the criteria for picking which options were pursued was that they had to cope with increased flow - I wonder then if some good options were prematurely discarded at that time, and if we are even asking the right questions now.

Secondly, nowhere during this whole roading debate has there been any discussion about the impact that the ongoing credit crunch and peak oil will have on all our primary industries  They are already adjusting to complex changes in world trade, and all these factors are likely to radically change the dynamics of their business because they are all so dependent on cheap fuel (heavy machinery and transport) - bearing in mind that it is these very industries that are responsible for the bulk of our heavy traffic, I would have thought that was an important point.   Does it mean these industries will disappear? No it doesn’t, but it does mean they will have some massive headwinds to contend with, so to assume they will continue to grow in some linear fashion based on what we have seen in the past is just plain wrong. We might for example better focus on exporting value added goods rather than selling cheap \\\'logs\\\' for processing overseas.

If we get the transport question wrong in this town by looking backwards instead of forwards we will spend a huge amount of money that we need not have, and do a good job of dividing our city in the process.  I don’t want that to happen, and I don’t believe anyone else does either.

Councillors and Council staff certainly have a tough job to do with many eyes on them, and the current Council certainly inherited some problems.  I think the Council made an effort not only to take on stewardship of this town & surrounds, but also to move them forward which I applaud. At times, from the sidelines, I think some of their grander visions lost touch with economic realities, and were pursued on the misguided basis that the regions growth would be linear or expodential. I am sure they have made many positive changes along the way, but perhaps took their gaze a little high at times losing sight of core services and the basic role of Council.

Nelson Marina is a wonderful local facility and I would not want access to be lost for those who live in the Region.  Many assets that have moved from Public to Private ownership have done so at a loss of choice for \\\'the people\\\' and I would expect that that any plans to alter the current situation would go through an open and wide-reaching consultation process.

The marina is certainly under-utilised and I could see it really coming to life down there with a little imagainative planning, and I welcome the Heart of Nelson intentions to connect it to the city by walkways and cycleways. 

I have twenty five years experience of managing risk, both for investment banks and for myself

After college, I joined Ackroyd & Smithers as a ‘blue-button’ on the London Stock Market floor. I progressed through the ranks as the firm was taken over by Warburgs, and was made a director in ’92, at that time the youngest in the firm. I worked as a trader in UK equities from 1984 to 1994 until I moved to Amsterdam to run the Netherlands trading operation.  SG Warburg was taken over in ‘95 by Swiss Bank Corporation and European trading was restructured and the risk management was relocated to London.  Back in London I ran the equity and derivative trading for the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium until  ‘97. I left the firm after 13 years in 1997 aged 32. At the time of my departure, I was responsible for a professional staff of 10 and ran a risk exposure of up to nine figures.

In 1999 I began my own client advisory business, fully regulated by the UK Securities and Futures Authority, giving stock market advice to private clients, until 2003 when my wife and I moved to New Zealand.

In the past twelve years I have traded a range of markets, including stocks, indicies, currencies, commodities, precious metals via a number of financial instruments including futures, options, CFDs, and spread-betting. I have strong financial analytical skills, and a good understanding of National And International Commodities, interest rates, Foreign Exchange and Economics.  I have specialised in trading using technical analysis and charting, giving me the ability to discern patterns or fractals over multiple time-frames.  I have a particular interest in the Psychology of Behavioural Investing and the interplay between finance and sociology.

Aside from my professional financial skills, for four years I have been a member of Nelson/Tasman Urban Search and Rescue Teams as well as the Land Search & Rescue & Mountain Safety Council.  I love living in Nelson and I am happy to make my contribution here in any way that I can serve.

I have the proven ability to work under pressure, to keep a clear head, to work as a team and also to stand alone when needed