It is a huge honour to have been elected Chair of the Rodney Local Board at our swearing-in meeting in early November.
Last terms’ Chair, Beth Houlbrooke, has been a tireless cheerleader for Rodney. She developed an excellent working relationship with the Mayor and Councillors, staff and management and most of all with the Board. Beth has most importantly ensured we maintained a focus on delivering our three-year plan, and worked with the Board to form a consensus on our goals, clearly demonstrated by the fact that in three years only three votes weren’t unanimous.
I am encouraged to see that the Mayor intends to take a hard look at Council Controlled Organisations (CCO’s). Auckland Transport is a source of frustration for many in Rodney. There are some great staff in that organisation who are as frustrated as I am with the mixed results. In a democracy, you cannot have an organisation spending billions of ratepayers dollars that appears not to communicate, engage or be accountable to the community that funds its activities.
It is now almost two years since the Local Government Commission released its report on the North Rodney breakaway application. We have yet to see meaningful progress on the recommendations which included better engagement and communication; Local Board offices in Rodney so our community has better access to our meetings and Board members; and a balancing of the funding inequalities we have compared to other parts of Auckland due to Rodney District Council constrained ability to fund facilities. I would like to see these recommendations need to be acted upon over the next twelve months.
Over the last five years, the population in Rodney has grown by over 10,000 making us the second-fastest growing ward in Auckland. This growth is set to continue. The Local Board must ensure we are focused on meeting the needs of our growing towns while not neglecting our rural residents, this requires thoughtful balancing.
I look forward to continuing the excellent work of our previous Chair and the Local Board to maintain productive relationships, consensus and a focus on delivering results for all Rodney residents.
The RUB* 