YouSay

Enrolment counts

With the October election not far away, I am concerned that there will be some people who want to vote but who are no longer enrolled. I would like to push voters in a particular direction but …

So, all I can do is to push people to be sure that they are enrolled and then to vote, preferably early. One of the factors affecting voters who live in a rented house is that they move house often. Thus, when the Electoral Commission sends out its voter roll check papers, many letters will go to their old address, will be binned by the new occupier and the displaced voter will not get a chance to add their new address. This means that when they go along to their local polling station their name will not appear at the correct address. This is one unfortunate aspect of why voting numbers are lower in poorer areas in my opinion. In the more stable communities, this ‘missed roll’ check works, the paper tells you to check the address (and, of course, if the occupier has not moved) to do nothing, recycle the paper, hopefully.

So I am urging us all to check our Electoral Roll status.

Here is the link to the Electoral Commission. You can enrol, check or update your details online here: www.vote.nz

Michael Dymond, Warkworth

How to enrol and vote

You are eligible to enrol and vote if you are 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and you have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life. You can enrol, check or update your details online anytime at www.vote.nz using a New Zealand driver’s licence, New Zealand passport, or a RealMe verified identity. You can also enrol or update your details

AI image

When the Leader of the Opposition spoke at the Warkworth Town Hall recently he assured his audience that he was the real thing, not an Artificial Intelligence (AI) creation. “If I was, I’d be taller with more hair,” he lamented.

So long Elvis

We welcome your feedback but letters under 250 words are preferred. We reserve the right to abridge them as necessary. Unabridged versions can by filling in an enrolment form. Call 0800 367 656 or text your name and address to 3676 to have a form sent to you.

Voting starts in New Zealand on Monday October 2 and polls close at 7pm on election day, Saturday October 14. When voting starts, you can also enrol and vote at the same time at any voting place, including on election day.

Source, NZ Electoral Commission

Do as I say …

It was interesting to read in the latest Mahurangi Matters (July 17), a report on the public meeting by the National Party and its leader Christopher Luxon, with an emphasis placed on restoring law and order.

Seems strange then, that more than a week after that meeting, the local National Party MP Chris Penk has failed to follow that advice by not removing the advertising hoardings for the meeting, contrary to the Electoral Act guidelines for the October 14 election and the Auckland Council bylaws relating to hoardings on council land. While we all abhor ram raids and other such crime, Mr Luxon also talked about ensuring law and order is maintained, including removing gang patches and signage. Perhaps National Party signage is exempt from that rhetoric?

Neil Anderson, Algies Bay

MP Kaipara ki Mahurangi Chris Penk responds:

I’m disappointed that local Labour Party supporters have resorted to making spurious allegations.

Following a very well attended public meeting that I held recently in Warkworth, hosting National’s leader, Christopher Luxon, I followed the rules scrupulously in having signs removed within the timeframe required by law.

The rules say that a grace period of three working days is allowed to remove signs following a public meeting. After that meeting took place on Thursday August 10, there were three non-working days (the public holiday of Matariki followed by the weekend) and then three working days (Monday to Wednesday) at which point the signs were removed. Any remaining supporters of the Labour government in this area would be well advised to consider actual instances of law breaking, rather than making ill-informed allegations against other MPs.

The Electoral Commission advises that election signs can be erected from Saturday, August 12 onwards.

On-ramp disgrace

It beggars belief that red tape is purportedly holding up the opening of the Puhoi southbound on-ramp. Surely someone could have seen this coming and booked the appropriate authorising entity ahead of time? Surely there should be a penalty for the delay in opening?

What price to the health system and a patient’s long term health or even mortality is there to delaying a stroke victim’s arrival at hospital, because the ambulance has had to travel via Orewa to get to hospital?

This is bureaucracy at its finest. A complete disgrace.

It follows the arrogance of not revealing the opening date for the excellent new stretch of motorway under the auspices of preventing traffic jams from sightseers –how stupid do you really think we are? I’m not buying that at all.

You have done a great job with building the motorway and, in a couple of own goals, have completely destroyed all the kudos you should be enjoying.

Good luck to the recipients of your next project.

Diana Schnauer, Mahurangi West Statement from NX2:

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the change to the expected opening date for the new Pūhoi southbound on-ramp.

The Warkworth RSA recently surveyed members on the club’s regular entertainment programme. Of the recent shows presented, the most popular were the Ultimate 80’s, Dire Straits and Neil Diamond. The organisers concluded that “interestingly, it seems that Elvis has definitely left the house ... he trailed the rest of the pack by a very big margin!”

Some people had their own way of objecting to Christopher Luxon’s public meeting signage.

Book winner

We have been grateful for the patience and understanding of our local community and road users throughout the development of the new motorway and all that entailed. We do appreciate that this added delay has been frustrating for many.

Following the opening of the Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway, the onramp was closed to complete the final construction of the ramps. These works could not be completed until the motorway had opened and were necessary to complete the construction of the ramps, which were opened in 2021 for temporary use.

Unlike the northbound Pūhoi off-ramp, the southbound on-ramp represents a change in the road layout so is subject to a detailed signoff process. The opening date will be confirmed once this process is completed.

Wayne Brown, Mayor of Auckland wayne.brown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

No more woolly language

The recent opening of the new AraTūhono Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway is a welcome development for Rodney, making the drive north quicker and smoother. But it does highlight the pitfalls of undertaking a major infrastructure project. This motorway could have been done much cheaper and the savings would have paid to go all the way to Wellsford.

As an engineer, I know all too well that these big projects often run over time and over budget. When you’re planning something on that scale, even small mistakes can have big consequences. Reports of unstable gullies and damage caused by landslides mean that the new road is already in need of a major patch-up job.

That is why my priority is to fix the infrastructure we’ve got before starting anything new. Unfortunately, the politicians in Wellington are obsessed with making big headline-grabbing announcements about multi-billion dollar bridges and tunnels that might possibly happen but for which there isn’t any money. Local communities get ignored and much needed work is neglected. Instead, money is sucked up by consultants who are paid to investigate dubious business cases and write reports nobody will ever read. The rest of it appears to be spent on speed bumps and pedestrian crossings in all the wrong places! Decisionmakers need to rethink what is important.

Take, for example, the terrible Hill Street intersection that I know is the bane of every motorist in Warkworth. It’s a problem that should have been fixed years ago, but there is still no sign of work starting. Then there are the 730 kilometres of unsealed roads throughout the region, not to mention all the potholes. These are easy fixes that shouldn’t cost much.

In the coming months, I’ll be leading the development of Auckland Council’s long-term plan or 10-year budget. It’s more than just a financial document. It is an opportunity for elected members to set a new direction and finally get some things done. The feedback I’ve heard from ratepayers and councillors alike is that they are used to feeling like passive bystanders, rather than active participants, when it comes to council decision-making.

Auckland Council should be more than a rubber stamp at the end of a long bureaucratic process. As mayor, my job is to lead for Auckland, not be led by Wellington. That means getting a fair deal for Aucklanders. Unlike my predecessors, I have no party allegiance or loyalties and it doesn’t bother me who the prime minister is. But with the election coming up in October, I won’t be sitting quietly on the side-lines. I’ll be reminding the parties that they can’t take Auckland for granted anymore. We’ve had enough of woolly language and blue-sky thinking. It’s time for practical solutions. I was elected to get results and that remains my focus.