HELEN WHITE, NZ LABOUR

Helen White: Why does the local Labour MP matter to the future of Auckland Central?

We have had an extraordinary few weeks in politics, on top of an extraordinary year in New Zealand.

I want to pay my respects to the Honourable Nikki Kaye who is retiring. I am utterly genuine when I say that I got to know Nikki last election and got on well with her. From doorknocking our community, I have seen how well loved she was by many readers. I know she worked hard to gain that respect and she worked hard to help Auckland Central residents both locally and in Government.

It is no secret that Nikki has been through a lot personally with her health. It wasn’t until I stood in the seat that I realised just how hard it would have been to keep going in the role. She is tenacious and I am sure she will go on to do interesting things.

I am also sad to see Nikki Kaye leave politics. For me, she represented the potential for a more compassionate approach by the National Party and it would have been good to have a more nuanced debate keep people employed and keep us moving in the right direction.”

about what support Government should and can give to Auckland Central. Unfortunately, it seems her departure and the change in leadership has left voters a starker choice.

It is all very well for people to throw around the word “compassionate” but what do we mean? As far as I am concerned “compassion” is linked to a genuine connection with people and following through on supporting and empowering others. I can see how that connection could get lost even by good people in the national political arena. It is easy to lose such a connection in any high-pressure environment; yes some will be blinded by ego, but many people just lack experience 1971. I have seen its radical change, but I also know it has remained

with the struggles of everyday people.

Being an employment lawyer connecting with people at times of crisis has been my bread and butter for 25 years. I am not a career politician and I am proud of that! It has been incredibly important to me to keep my feet firmly on the ground when practicing law. Jobs are a very important part of any person’s life. They are the way we all feed our families and they are important to our mental health.

Right now, lots of people are struggling because their employment or their business is under threat or has been lost. I appreciate the gravity of this. The wage subsidy has kept many small businesses and workers afloat, and I think everyone can recognise that the year ahead will be very tough.

The role of the constituent MP in Auckland Central is critical right now. Let me put this bluntly: this electorate needs a voice in Government making sure that it supports the economy and residents in practical ways. Government money needs to be spent wisely, being mindful it is

Auckland Central needs its MP to say: “this specific shovel ready project will help a lot of people; it will make Auckland City, and therefore the country, a better place to live and do business. It will

I know that Auckland Central cannot afford to slow down on its enlightened plans to become a better, more desirable, healthier place to live and work for people of all incomes. It still needs green spaces and a new school. I know this, because I know this community and the people that live here.

I grew up in Freemans Bay. I have been a part of this community since hard to earn and hard to pay back.

a place of creativity and tolerance, and strong Labour values. It has always been an exciting, vibrant place to be. This electorate is a very diverse place. Waiheke and Great Barrier have their own very special needs and culture. Advocating for Auckland Central requires a person elected with their feet on the ground but a clear vision for what will make our community stronger.

I was very close last election to winning the seat back for the Left. It is very important that voters understand just how close we were and how important it is that Auckland Central has a strong voice inside a Labour Government. Below is an accurate representation of the candidate vote just in case you didn’t know.  PN

www.facebook.com/HelenWhiteLabour

Authorised by Dianna Lacy, 160 Willis Street, Wellington.

AUCKLAND CENTRAL CANDIDATE VOTE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS

*Data taken for the electoral commission website. Based on three highest polling candidates.

Recently three generations of the Leys family talked about their ongoing family connections to the Leys Institute Library and Gymnasium, even though the family handed the buildings over to the council in 1964, along with property and a maintenance fund.

Leys librarian, David Gunn, arranged for Vivienne to be interviewed on family history concerning the Leys a couple of years ago.

According to Vivienne, “they wanted to hear from me while I was still around.”

Her children have also maintained connections to the Leys. Philippa attends a French language group which met at the Leys until its closure. Sons, Mark and Lloyd, and Philippa and Vivienne have consulted with council and were informed late last year that the buildings would need to close.

Lloyd Leys attended the local protest held outside the library in February. He said, “if there are conservation plans and engineering reports already available, why doesn’t the council apply for Covid-19 project money to go ahead with strengthening? It would create employment and provide jobs. After all, the family carefully provided for its upkeep, gifting funds and property to the council. If the council doesn’t want to look after the Leys Institute and repair it, can the family have it back, please?”

Lloyd’s daughter Anna, a student at UNITEC, feels the family connection to the Leys Institute. “It’s such a beautiful building – the first time I went into it I immediately felt at home. I do hope it can be restored as a library again.”

Vivienne Leys, 93, son Lloyd Leys and Lloyd’s daughter Anna Leys

The Leys family are concerned with the fate of the Leys Institute and feel a sense of sadness that their family legacy to Auckland, lovingly maintained by the family since 1905 until recent decades, is now mothballed, possibly for the foreseeable future.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of Friends of Leys Institute can email co-ordinator Helen Geary at heleng@maxnet.co.nz and follow the Friend of Leys Institute Facebook page.  PN

Expat buyer interest gathers momentum in Greater Ponsonby’s residential property market

The growing flow of New Zealanders returning home from lives abroad as a result of the global disruption caused by Covid-19 is beginning to impact on Ponsonby’s real estate market.

Bayleys Ponsonby leading salesperson, Blair Haddow, said there was now a noticeable number of genuine enquires “on the ground” being made by parties involved with Covid-19 New Zealand relocations.

These included an increase in the number of open home inspections from Kiwis who have recently returned home from various overseas locations over the past two months, along with a former-UK-based Kiwi lawyer who came through Blair’s listing at 3 Farrar Street in Grey Lynn shortly after she had completed her two-week quarantine isolation period. Then there were the parents of a Qatar-based telecommunications executive who went through another of Blair’s listings – a substantial family home at 24 Buxton Street, Point Chevalier - with a view to purchasing the home ready for their son and his family to move into on their return to Auckland in the next few months.

“What started as a trickle of email enquiries from ex-pat Kiwis talking about coming home in April and May has now evolved into direct personal enquiries in person since June and into July,” said Blair.

“With a reported number of over 30,000 New Zealanders having returned to New Zealand over the last two months, it’s reasonable to expect that most will be looking for homes to buy in Auckland - where corporate job opportunities are most prevalent, and where most new businesses are being started.”

The new wave of Covid-19 linked expat home-buyer interest in Ponsonby, Herne Bay, Westmere, Freemans Bay and Grey Lynn comes simultaneously with a string of high-value sales through Blair at Bayleys Ponsonby. In the past eight weeks Blair has sold over $27,000,000 in residential real estate, with an average sale price of $2.75M. These sales include a chic six-bedroom/four-living room residence complete with fitted-out commercial office space for a small business/enterprise at 14 Crummer Road which had been on the market for more than three years with other real estate agencies.

Replacing these listings, and reflecting a pair of lifestyle-focused opportunities for returning Kiwis to the Greater Ponsonby area, are Blair Haddow’s latest two listings which have just come onto the market as this edition of Ponsonby News went to press.

The first is at 74 Vermont Street, Ponsonby, and showcases a Balinese-styled swimming pool and cabana outdoor entertaining area surrounded by lush mature landscaped grounds. The second is an architecturally designed upmarket 298-square metre four bedroom townhouse at 53B Wellpark Avenue, Grey Lynn, which backs directly onto the grassed area of Wellpark Reserve.

“With both homes offering exceptional outdoor living – one with a sub-tropical garden setting and the other a stereotypical Kiwiana suburban park, prospective purchasers are looking past the immediacy of winter, and ahead to settlement dates which will have them in either of these beautiful summer lifestyle homes by spring in time for the warmer summer season,” Blair said.  PN

www.facebook.com/blairhaddow residential