Mayoral bid –
Northern Advocate – 22nd December 2012
Time for change.
Whangarei
has been faced with the failure by the Whangarei District
Council to do proper repairs and maintenance on roads, footpaths and bridges
and other key basic infrastructure, coupled with incompetent financial
management which in turn transfers debt incurred to the children, grandchildren
and great grandchildren.
Should the
future generations be born into carrying this much burden, being responsible
for the debts inherited?
In my
opinion, this style of governance is the road to ruin.
You don’t have to look at Greece or Kaipara; you need to look no further than Forum North.
If anyone
believes that the Hundertwasser, the Chinese bridge
and a hotel will save Whangarei, then will they
believe anything?
There must
be a strategy to change to financial sanity, with a realistic policy to protect
the infrastructure for our future generations.
That is why
I intend to stand for the position of Mayor of Whangarei
in 2013, in the hope that new councillors will be elected to put the needs and
priorities of the Whangarei public first.......and
not fantasize about visiting, big spending, wealthy overseas tourists, being
our saviour.
Hopefully
new councillors will not expect the next generations to foot the bill.
Hopefully
they will put the everyday needs of the general public and business community who
live here before the reckless spending on poorly planned loss-making monuments that
many are attempting to push through at ratepayer’s expense.
Would it not be better to let those that want such
projects, build and pay for them as commercial investments and not force the
ratepayers to fund their dreams through irresponsible decisions being made on
their behalf?
You do not
necessarily have to have ‘big money spends’ to make a place vibrant. There are many
people who have fantastic ideas to achieve this, as it’s the people and the
natural environment that give Whangarei or any other
town the ‘wow factor’.
Overheard
at the library the other day by viewers of the ‘Car park to park’ project’;
“Where are they going to get the credit card from?” Well you and I know!
So, it’s
time for a change.
Warren Slater
Maunu
(Items that were abridged by Northern Advocate are in italics, for their published copies)