Letter To Manukau

Royal Commission Report on Auckland Governance | The recession | Collaboration on youth gang issue | Cultural Hive

Royal Commission Report on Auckland Governance

We have received the Royal Commission's report on Auckland governance and the bold promise they have delivered is beyond where I believed they would go.

They have, in their proposal, suggested an Auckland Council based within the present Auckland region area. 

This council will be a 23 person council, led by a Mayor elected at large. Underneath that council will be six local councils - Manukau being one.  The three Community boards in the wider region include includes one for the Central Business District, one for Waiheke Island and one for Great Barrier Island.

The Manukau Council would lose its rural area - primarily the Clevedon ward - and take in the urban area of Papakura, totalling a council for around 380,000.

The primary change is that the Auckand Council will be a unitary authority with, in effect near total power over local government in the Auckland region. The local councils will have some degree of delegation for local action, but significantly less than what the present city councils have in the Auckland region.  In effect, they will be similar for the delegations which presently reside with the community boards.

This is extraordinary change for the people in our community and gives rise to concerns that need to be addressed through discussions in coming weeks, as to how we preserve and maintain the very best of our city and the work that has been carried on within our boundaries in recent decades.

I'm in particular reflecting on the leaders of our council, the Chief Executive Officer, the leadership team, Councillors and staff who have poured their ideas and love for their community, into building our city and embellishing our way of life in Manukau.

I'm also reflecting on the mums and dads, the children and young people, the small business men and women who have built these communities and our city.

My hope is that we as a community become a part of a bigger gain which has in effect, been in play for the last 100 years -  the bringing together of all the region's communities into one Civic body.

My expectation is that we remain committed and passionate about what makes us unique, what gives us our identity and what has driven us forward over the years and we take those values and love of our community into the new essence that we will know as Auckland. 

This decision will cause many across our community some grief, and it certainly causes me personal pain.  However, you can all be assured that we will wake up tomorrow and life will continue.   In these times of significant changes,   we need to find opportunities and use them as a springboard to drive our community forward as part of this new unitary authority of Auckland.

The recession

I went to Papatoetoe High School's school assembly the other morning and, as I was waiting to go into the assembly, I met two brothers – both students at the school, and we discussed various topics.  The most interesting issue for them was the recession - they were worried about what was going on.

I was taken back by this comment as young people don't generally talk to me about the recession or anything to do with the economy.  When asked if it was having an impact on their home life, they said no.  Their mum and dad were both employed and their jobs seemed to be safe.  Asked what it was about the recession that worried them, they said their future.

I was moved by this simple conversation and it reminded me of the importance of the work we need to do to ensure we come through this recession. We need to keep our eye on the ball and do everything we can to assure the younger generation that we are focused on the future and leaving to them a legacy of a strong and growing economy and a hope for their educational and employment futures.

Collaboration on youth gang issue

Two years ago, the Government of the day responded to the difficulties we were suffering in our community at that time, with the proliferation of youth gangs and issues relating to young people.

Part of the response was launching the 26 Point Plan to improve outcomes for the young people in our community. This plan brought together work from across all the social agencies, focusing on minimising the involvement of young people in gangs as well as general issues relating to law and order and family stability.

Recently a review highlighting progress made has been released under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Development.  It was a strong and positive review.

We recently had a focused gathering of many of those actively involved at the coalface, working with youngsters and families in trouble, and those who penned the report.  It was a brilliant meeting.
It gave providers and community leaders the opportunity to reflect and provide feedback on the overall work being done in the community to help youth in difficulty, through agencies, schools, on the streets, in the workplace and at home. 

We want an all encompassing approach across all sectors, from government, non-government and community groups, to lift our young people beyond finding social, psychological and spiritual sustenance in  gangs and anti-social behaviour. We will be meeting again in coming weeks to build on the consensus we have got, and deliver a plan for our future action in this area.

Cultural Hive

Our city is the cultural capital of this country, and this was highlighted by three events I attended over the past week.   

The first was the opening on Saturday of Green Gables - a beautiful 1930s cottage in Howick which has been purchased by our council. It was a great occasion.  Our Howick arts group will be the resident tenants and I'm sure they will continue to look after this important piece of Howick's history.

We were also at the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple's first year celebrations in Papatoetoe on Saturday.  Members of the wider community, including visitors and the broader Indian community, were there to celebrate this fantastic event.  It was great to acknowledge the contribution of the temple leadership, Dr Kantil Patel and his wife Ranjna and those who helped ensure the building of this iconic temple in Papatoetoe.

These events came off the back of attending the 2009 ASB Polyfest on Friday.  What an amazing event this has become.  Last year we had 90,000 people turn up to watch hundreds of groups from more than 60 schools performing. This year, I suspect the crowd numbers would have been close to 100,000.  The event was well organised, peaceful, fun and full of colour and energy.  The performances were brilliant.

Finally, don't forget to turn off your lights for Earth Hour tomorrow at 8.30pm.  New Zealanders will be the first in the world to turn off their lights at the start of an extraordinary act of global solidarity and co-operation.  This will involve nearly 3,000 towns and cities and a billion people around the world.  I encourage our community to be part of this global effort. 
Enjoy the week!

Len Brown

Mayor of Manukau

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