Stephen Berry Announces Council Candidacy

Small government advocate Stephen Berry is entering the 2013 Auckland City Council elections, standing as a candidate for Councillor of the Waitemata & Gulf ward. “Affordability is quickly becoming the number one issue in this election campaign. Affordable living, affordable housing and affordable rates are not being delivered by Len Brown and the big spending councillors who support him. Those councillors include Waitemata & Gulf incumbent, Mike Lee. ”

“The current Auckland City Council thinks that affordable living can be obtained through spending on monuments, events, swimming pools and uneconomical public transport schemes. However all the money for their spending has to come from somewhere; the increasingly frustrated ratepayer! Continuous annual rates rises coupled with hundreds of millions of dollars of borrowing are a life sentence for future ratepayers burdened with decades of interest payments for projects too crazy to attract private investment.”

Thirty year old Berry, a lifetime resident of the Auckland region is one of thousands of young Aucklanders being priced out of the housing market by policies which have the support of current Waitemata & Gulf Councillor, Mike Lee. “Mr. Lee supports policies that make Auckland living unaffordable by increasing council meddling in the lives of individuals. Mr. Lee supports restricting the supply of housing through building intensification, resulting in rapid house price increases. He advocates for rigid council regulation of land use and allowing any busy body to object to what you do on your property. He protects the arts and heritage slush fund that wastes rates on ugly sculptures and unpopular genres of music. Finally, he ensures future ratepayers will be saddled with crushing interest costs through voting for massive borrowing to fund unprofitable public transport schemes.”

“I am going into this election with the message that an affordable Auckland is the result of a council which does less, not more. A council that taxes less, spends less, borrows less and regulates less is one that will result in all Aucklanders having more in their pockets.”

Rumours are also circulating that Mr. Berry’s candidacy may not be an independent one by the start of the voting period. Stephen was one of the principle organisers of Liberty Conference 2012, which looked at a number of options for New Zealand liberals following the meltdown of Act.

“There is no doubt that at national level, there is an opening for a liberal movement providing an alternative to big government bankruptcy. The same can be said for Auckland local body politics where C&R is a shadow of its former self and some of its few remaining councillors vote regularly with Len Brown, Mike Lee and the leftist majority. All I can say at this stage is: watch this space!”

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