Humpty Dumpty in Memorial Park. We used to have Humpty Dumpty and all the kings men on the wall beside the pump shed for the fountain. Now we have a new Humpty Dumpty all on his own. We also have a new rocket slide.
Another query from a local resident.
I’m so glad to read that you think the rates are too high, and that we need better roads. You also mentioned water – what did you mean by that? Are you concerned about the fluoridation of our water which goes against the referendum held in 1992 where the people voted against fluoride in our water?
What are your thoughts on Tauranga becoming a, ” Smart City” ?
What will you do about Tauranga’s increasing debt and increasing rates?
I would also like to know your thoughts on the new museum planned for the city, and a new stadium.
Do you think it’s democratic to have a Maori Ward?
Well there is quite a lot to there to answer so I will do my best.
Water. I am talking about the changes to three waters, and amending the long term plan (LTP) to properly account for water and transport. We will have to produce an amended LTP by mid 2025. The current LTP was rushed and is not affordable. We should be scrapping most of the city center projects where we can. Keep the Domain, Otumoetai pool and the QE center at Memorial Park. There is over $3 billion dollars of water investment required over the next ten years. There is also about 4 billion dollars of unfunded transport projects.
Fluoridation has been a hot topic since I was a teenager, which seems to be a long time ago now. I do have concerns myself about fluoridation of our water. The results of the previous referendum were pretty clear, and I would prefer to respect that referendum.
However, the three waters legislation gives the government powers to mandate water treatment. The government has now mandated that Tauranga Council, and presumably all other councils in New Zealand, is to implement water fluoridation by November of this year. It is now a legal requirement for council to fluoridate our water. Any debate about fluoridation is now moot.
Possibly, if that was a Labour coalition mandate, the National coalition might be open to changing it?? Something to explore.
I have had that clarified. “Smart Cities” are the same thing as 15 minute cities. In principle it sounds like a good idea, to have everything within a 15 minute radius of where you live. The trouble is how is it going to be implemented. There seems to be a strong element of big brother involved. The fact that it is being promoted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) doesn’t add any confidence. It is being trialed in Oxford in England. We should watch carefully how it develops.
To me, “Smart City” means running Tauranga efficiently and cost effectively. We need water, roads and facilities. We need to prioritise our expenditure, and spend wisely and carefully. To me that is “Smart”. Reducing waste and spending wisely is much better value for the ratepayers (Smarter) than just increasing rates.
I am a fan of putting jobs and amenities closer to where we live so that we don’t have to drive so far. It is silly to concentrate so much spending in the city center, while we ignore the suburbs. The LTP has one billion dollars of capital spend for the city center, while closing other community facilities.
We only hear about increasing rates and debt. Nobody seems to talk about reducing costs and making things more efficient. I think that there is a huge potential to cut costs, and increase efficiency. I think that people would be very surprised at how much we are over paying for what council does. If elected I would like to have a very close look at our priorities. We need to be ruthless about scrapping nice to have projects, trimming projects to remove unnecessary extras, and improving the councils contracting strategy.
We need to live within our means, spend wisely and carefully, and reduce waste and unnecessary spending. We have to reorganise council. it is bloated and ineffective. It is not fit for purpose, and we are not getting value for money. Tauranga will not be able to move forward unless we can control council spending. We must reorganise the council.
We have projected average total rates (city, water and regional) of over $12,000 by 2034, and an estimated debt of over $3 billion. That is unsustainable. We have to control council spending.
I am opposed to the stadium and the museum. I think we should stop all work on those projects and enter into negotiations with the developer, Willis Bond. Unfortunately, Tauranga Council has previously signed a very disadvantageous contract with Willis Bond, so that these projects seem to be costing two to three times more than they should. I think all of the city center projects should be scrapped, if that is feasible. We do need to tidy the city up, but that should be done by consensus, and at a reasonable cost.
I personally do not like the idea of Maori Wards. I do not think that it is democratic. We should all be equal, rather than some being more equal than others. See my post on Maori Wards.
Tauranga is in a bit of a mess, made worse by the commissars. I am standing because I would like to do something about that. I have thought for a long time that SURELY someone sensible is going to come along and sort Tauranga out, but nobody has, so I have decided that maybe that somebody is me.
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