By BERNARD ORSMAN
A drive around the congested streets of Auckland City suggests there is little life, let alone passion, in the council elections.
There are fewer billboards than in previous years and what billboards have gone up hardly reflect the good, the bad and the plain ridiculous by council wannabes
rushing to promote their virtues in the lead-up to the polls.
Unlike 1998, there are no defining issues for voters to grasp. Britomart has been tamed and the Hero Parade secured. Public transport, red wheelie bins and an indoor arena hardly rate alongside the eerie events in the United States and the collapse of Air New Zealand.
Even so, there is strong competition for the mayoralty, and interesting battles in council wards like Hobson, where the right has got itself into a pickle, and Eden-Albert, where Green candidates have entered the fray.
Auckland Mayor Christine Fletcher faces a threat to a second term from her former National Party colleague John Banks. Other candidates who could influence the outcome are the Alliance's Matt McCarten and the Greens' Metiria Turei.
Here is how the main candidates, their policies and campaigns shape up:
Christine Fletcher:
Slogan: "I've tackled the tough issues and I'm not finished yet."
Campaign: Distributing a four-page tabloid-sized newsletter to 150,000 homes detailing her achievements, including a timeline of where the region has got to and needs to go on public transport.
Policies: Complete Britomart; light rail in central Auckland; and greater involvement by the council in the economic growth of the city.
Quote: "I don't believe Aucklanders are looking for entertainment"(reference to Mr Banks).
John Banks:
Slogan: "Auckland Needs Leadership."
Campaign: Door-knocking, street-corner meetings, postcard and leaflet drops to more than 120,000 homes.
Policies: Complete the eastern motorway and State Highway 20; buses ahead of trains for public transport; zero tolerance of bad behaviour in Queen St; reduce business rates to the same as household rates within three years; sell council carparks and airport shares.
Quote: "This is a big-noting, big-spending council that needs leadership."
Matt McCarten:
Slogan: "The only choice Left."
Campaign: Humour, advertisements depicting Mr Banks and Mrs Fletcher as two dull, failed ministers and an Alliance Party Machine "built out of local government in Auckland".
Policies: A single transport authority to integrate all of Auckland's roads and public transport; keeping Auckland's water, ports and airport in public hands; doing more to clean up sewerage; and declaring Auckland a GM-free zone.
Quote: "Do I take the issues seriously? Yes. Do I take myself seriously? No."
Metiria Turei:
Slogan: "Auckland City. Clean, Green and Moving."
Campaign: Low budget with creative ideas, such as Genie, the genetically modified fibreglass Friesian cow.
Policies: A GM-free city; no more motorways; more council housing, health and education initiatives; and a greater understanding of issues like biculturalism.
Quote: "I'm about giving people a real choice about what it is they are voting for."
The other mayoral candidates are Walter Christie (Independent One NZ), Felicity Coggan (Communist League), Tony Gibson (Independent), Sue Henry (Independent), Phil O'Connor (Christians Against Abortion) and Fran Van Helmond (Independent).
Links
Chris Fletcher
John Banks
Matt McCarten
Metiria Turei
Auckland Citizens and Ratepayers Now
City Vision
Team Auckland
By BERNARD ORSMAN
A drive around the congested streets of Auckland City suggests there is little life, let alone passion, in the council elections.
There are fewer billboards than in previous years and what billboards have gone up hardly reflect the good, the bad and the plain ridiculous by council wannabes
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