Wake Up Waitakere- Again

Community Waitakere has issued another call to arms for Waitakere residents, this time to vote in the upcoming local elections, a postal vote that opens September 17 and closes October 9.

Community Waitakere co-led a major campaign against the government’s ‘Super City’ reforms, under the banner of the Community Coalition for Auckland: Voices of Tamaki Makaurau (CC4A) supported by about 70 other community organisations.

“We had over 1000 people in the streets of Henderson within days of the government’s hijack of the Royal Commission’s report on Regional Governance,” said Tony Mayow, Community Waitakere Chair and Coalition spokesperson.

“Our catch cry was Wake up Waitakere,” said Mr Mayow, “and we ran a vociferous campaign to defend the gains we’ve made here against the horrendous model put forward under the influence of the Act Party.”

“We didn’t succeed in stopping it, that was never possible, but the enormous upsurge of community outrage did make a huge difference to the ultimate model, and the opportunity now exists to strengthen and consolidate the Eco City in the larger region, rather than lose it all.”

‘Now we say it again: Wake up Waitakere! Don’t leave it to chance and let somebody else make the decisions for us. Get out there and exercise your vote for the candidates you really want, those who will preserve the Waitakere Way, and make sure it becomes the way the new city works.”

“Only our own apathy will let us down now, there are plenty of quality positive candidates standing. Think through what they stand for, and regardless of who you vote for, exercise your civic right and your pride in Waitakere. Stand up and be counted by voting.”

Community Waitakere has already held a meeting with one of the two leading mayoral candidates, Manukau Mayor Len Brown, and will be meeting separately with Auckland Mayor John Banks in the near future, to discuss the issues of Waitakere’s communities in depth.

Community Waitakere will release assessments of those discussions to help inform voters both publicly and on their website www.communitywaitakere.org.nz .

“We will do our best to keep voters informed, but then it’s entirely over to the community, in this make or break election,’ says Mr Mayow, “As they say, use it or lose it!”

ENDS

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