Viewpoint – Time flies when you’re having fun

With the local board term now more than halfway through, I have realised just how quickly time goes when you’re kept busy with all the enquiries we get from ratepayers. 

It’s an awesome feeling when issues can be heard and hopefully fixed or brought to the attention of Auckland Council staff to be investigated. 

Not every issue can be solved, as it could be out of our jurisdiction, but we certainly have advocated to the Auckland Council as a local board to have our voice heard. 

In one of the cases I was incredibly pleased that we were able to secure $100,000 for the next three years for the Hibiscus Coast Youth Centre in Ōrewa.

Over the past 21 months I have become aware of just how many charities there are in our community and the outstanding work that so many volunteers are doing, giving their time and energy to help others. Recently we had a volunteer awards evening at the Estuary Arts Centre to honour many people for their most amazing efforts in the different community charities (HM July 14). It was a fantastic night and celebration and I wish to congratulate all those who received an award.

One of the projects that I am working on, in association with our local Community Patrols and the Police, is called ‘Secure Hibiscus & Bays’. This is a project to set up CCTV cameras in our townships throughout the local board area to ensure that there is an element of safety for everyone. Whether it be a stolen car, vandalism, burglary or to track down vehicles, these cameras will be linked to each other, and the Police can tap into the footage to boost a more efficient service.

What I believe is the essence of local board work is to be available, to listen to our constituents, be transparent, advocate on your behalf where necessary and most of all be part of our community. That is why we now have Community Forums and most of our workshops are open.

I’m looking forward in the next 15 months to getting more projects completed and ensuring that our communities are much safer. 

If you see me around, make sure you say ‘hi’.