Local Election Fiasco

The effects of last weekend's local body elections continue to be felt with a recount of votes and an inquiry into the local elections. 

In the lead up to this year's local body elections, the Minister for Local Government Chris Carter claimed they would be historical - well, they have certainly proved to be that! 

In 2002, Local Councils were given the option of choosing STV as their preferred method of voting. The Labour Government also mandated the use of STV for electing our District Health Boards. 

Local Government Minister, Chris Carter, trumpeted the new voting method in the months before the local elections.  He said the implementation of the system was a partnership between local and central government. 

Yet, in the debating chamber this week, he shied away from taking responsibility for the election debacle putting the entire blame on Datamail, a subsidiary of NZ Post. 

One must ask the question, where is the partnership when the Minister backs away from taking responsibility for one of the biggest voting botch ups in history while taking credit for the existence of dual voting systems.   

National's Local Body spokesperson, Dr Nick Smith, revealed yesterday that 100,000 votes could be discarded because voters filled out the forms incorrectly. 

Results for many Health Boards are yet to be released, and in Dunedin, voters waited 33 hours to find out who their new Mayor was. Looking at the results, Peter Chin would have won and been declared Mayor on the election night under the First Past the Post system. 

What a shambles!

Last December, the Labour Government said the STV voting system would make our Health Boards more representative of the community.  The presiding Health Minister, Annette King, said it would give voters more power.  I suspect many voters felt anything but power when it came to filling out the complicated voting forms. 

Local Government Minister, Chris Carter, has announced an inquiry into the elections.  I hope the result is not another white wash.  So far the Minister has distanced himself from responsibility.  This is typical of his Cabinet colleagues who are more than happy to take the credit, but do not front up when things go wrong.

Giving local councils the choice of different voting systems is confusing and unnecessary. This has led to further reduction in the turnout of voters. 

National will introduce one system for all Councils and District Health Boards- we will make it easy and simple to elect our Mayors, Councillors, District Health Board and Community Board members. 

How do you feel about the problems surrounding local body and District Health Board elections? 

Email me: pansywong@national.org.nz

Getting Auckland moving 

Conflicting reports are emerging about the newly elected Auckland City Council and the Eastern Highway proposal.  

Deputy Mayor, Bruce Hucker says the highway will not be going ahead and has indicated a shift to public transport.  However, Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard says he supports a scaled down version of the route, and wants the Council to study the cost benefit analysis again. 

Despite the different views on the road, two issues remain the same.  More cars are driving on our roads every day, and congestion is costing $1 billion a year.    

One of the solutions being thrown around is the concept of 'flexi-time'.  It has been suggested that schools, universities and businesses could change the way they operate to make sure traffic flows more effectively. 

Present congestion levels were predicted back in the 80's. Various solutions were offered, yet nothing was done. 

The only way to get traffic moving is to improve our transport systems - now. 

Improving public transport or building the eastern highway will cost ratepayers either way and the longer our city continues to talk about the pros and cons of either option, the more it will cost in the long term. 

A National led government will not continue discussing various options and delaying the process further - we will get things fixed.   

A major factor delaying solutions to our transport problems is the Resource Management Act.  National will amend the Act to remove unnecessary time delays in reaching decisions. 

Instead of having seven different organisations deciding how the roads are funded and how public transport is run, we will have a single agency in charge. 

While talks about the city's transport woes continue, we stand firm and clear on our commitment to Auckland.   

It is great that new faces mean new ideas, but it is also time to act.  I hope the new Council will respect the opinions previously voiced by ratepayers about how to fix our transport problems and I also hope they can work together for the benefit of our city. 

Places to meet, eat and treat 

The Centre of Gravity at 11 Mayoral Drive delivers a unique experience for your passing sci-fi 'fix' or even a boardroom meeting at its vault-like, subterranean location.  

Without its clean lines, minimalist décor and moody lighting, one could envisage FBI interrogations or bridge scenes from Star Trek  - in reality, it is a pleasant escape with the clink of latte mugs and tempting coffee aromas to greet you at the door.

NB. No floatation devices provided