Viewpoint – Youth in the focus

We recently learned that the Hibiscus Coast has been hit hard by youth unemployment, with statistics showing that it has risen by almost 25 percent locally. We must find ways to keep young people positive about the future. Thankfully this term we have had a youth focus, and prioritised activities that have kept youth proactively engaged in the community.

Our wheeled play options consultation was met with strong feedback from interested locals, and I am pleased to share that the board supported the construction of a permanent pump track facility at Red Beach park. Our temporary pump track had been on a “world tour” around the Hibiscus and Bays and it is awesome to see a pump track finding a permanent place locally, bringing youth and families together.

We have also had plenty of great feedback highlighting the need for safely designed mountain bike tracks in appropriate locations. We are in the process of delivering something on the Coast to meet that need. Activations like the permanent pump track encourage youth to get outside, off devices, and physically engage in healthy activities.

The board also led a trailblazing youth panel project that was an Auckland first, and I was humbled to be the Hibiscus Coast representative for the project. The kids panels give our youth the opportunity to have their voices heard through deliberative democracy, and their feedback will impact the design and play elements in local parks. One active example of this is the play trail that we are developing in Mairangi Bay Reserve, thanks to feedback delivered through the kid’s panels.

During this term we have faced some of Auckland’s worst weather recorded in recent history and the local board has supported the development of local civil defence groups, who have set up local shelters that are equipped, resourced and ready to go – something that was totally absent when we needed it most. 

Facing financial challenges and budget cuts, we have ensured that we have kept on doing the basics well, and where service levels have fallen short, I have been an advocate for our community, leveraging the relationship with our council partners. We have prioritised keeping our libraries open seven days a week, and our parks maintained as standard in the face of rising costs.

The threats of our wastewater networks being underfunded, public transport routes being removed, and our local board area being amalgamated to an “Albany Local Board” are not trivial, and still remain, as well as the question of will happen to the future of our beloved Ōrewa Beach Reserve.