Rodney Ward - Tom Ashton

Tom Ashton’s heritage is rooted deeply in Rodney. His family has lived in the area for six generations. After finishing school he enlisted in the RNZAF and trained in electrical/electronics. Later, he was appointed projects executive with Anchor Price, later Fonterra, overseeing capital projects worth millions of dollars. His private business ventures have included construction of food processing factories all over the world and high-speed food packaging. More recently, he has run a small civil engineering company and been involved in a number of local residential subdivisions.

The message is clear – a vote for Tom Ashton is a vote for local government reform, starting with the bureaucracy.

“The reorganisation of Auckland’s local government is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think the fact that I’ve never been an elected representative is in my favour. We want to leave the old system behind.

“I’ve had a lot of business experience and a lot of experience dealing with local government, and if ever there was a need for an elected representative with strong business acumen, it’s now. Keeping the council controlled organisations (CCOs) as proposed accountable is going to take some doing and I can’t think of anyone better to do the job than me.”

Tom says that for too long, local government has been run from the ‘top down’, with councillors setting out what they want and then charging rates accordingly.

“This needs to be flipped to a ‘bottom up’ approach that delivers an equitable rating system. We need to determine what we think is a fair rate and then programme our works around what we can afford. Sealed roads, proper footpaths, potable water and effluent disposal should unquestionably be the priorities.

“When we have those things right, then we can think about additional services.”

Tom says there is no justification for charging a grandmother on a fixed income, living in a home that has been in the family for generations, $8000 a year in rates just because a community has grown up around her in a fairly nice location.

Likewise, a farmer at Tapora who receives little in the way of services should not be paying thousands of dollars more in rates than a family in Wellsford that has town water, sealed roads, a rubbish collection and sewerage. The present rating system is medieval and is inequitable in the way it targets particular groups such as farmers and businesses.

Tom is also critical of Rodney’s effluent disposal systems, particuarly Snells Beach, Warkworth and Waiwera. He says Matakana is essentially releasing raw sewerage into the Matakana River.

“I think we might get a much better deal for some of these infrastructure issues under the new council.”

If elected, Tom would like to see senior Council staff put on a three-year contract in sync with the triennial council elections.

“At present, it’s the organisation that runs Council not the Councillors. Senior staff need to be accountable and Councillors need to have the opportunity to get rid of the ones that aren’t performing. I could give you numerous examples of staff who have over-stepped their responsibilities and roles.”

Under Tom’s Council model, council officers would need a Councillor’s signature before issuing an abatement or infringement notice.

“A huge part of compliance is education and issuing notices doesn’t achieve anything if you don’t understand why a particular situation has arisen.”

Council officers would also be required to have a customer service focus. He says the Resource Management Act is essentially a good piece of legislation, but it’s been hijacked by bureaucrats.

“Too much of the RMA is left to the discretion of planning officers. If interpretation is required, then it should favour the resident or ratepayer.

“In the last 12 to 15 years, the population of Rodney has almost doubled but staff numbers have gone up ten-fold. It’s one of the reasons we can’t get anything done.”

Tom says local government gets involved in a lot of senseless activities that are not its core function, citing some recent road safety campaigns as an example.

“It’s the same sort of culture that has lead to the phantom pedestrian crossings in Warkworth, that have been designed with a social agenda rather than a commonsense engineering approach.”

Tom says the eight authorities making up the new Auckland Council employ around 7500 staff. He says the number should be around 3500, which would free up monies for Council services.

He welcomes the establishment of Local Boards, which he believes will have both input and influence. He doesn’t believe Rodney is in any danger of being ignored.

“I know some groups have been left feeling disenfranchised by the way the boundaries were set. I think we could have had the boundary at The Dome if Rodney District Council had not pursued the unitary authority, which was never going to fly anyway.

“In three years time we get the chance to revisit the issue, but my hope is that by then we will have seen that joining Auckland wasn’t the bogey that we thought it was going to be.”