Alan McCulloch is standing for Auckland mayor in the 2010 local body elections. He provided this statement:
I live on a small 'life-style' block with my wife Shirley. My three sons each have a house on the land and three of our young grandchildren live here also. What joy!!
My work life has been spent in commerce, then education then house building.
Shirley and I are both Aucklanders born and bred, she a Salthouse from Narrow Neck and I from the other side.
We came to live in East Coast Bays when it was a raw Bach area in the late 60's. We'd been living in South Africa for two years while I studied race-relations. I came to the conclusion that any country which divides its people in terms of race or culture is heading for disaster. You may imagine how I feel about my home country today.
After settling in Torbay I was elected as an East Coats Bays councillor and six years later I was elected Mayor and served in that capacity for 9 years. Interesting times. East Coast Bays City grew very quickly in those 9 years. We stopped borrowing; we progressively paid off the public debt; we progressively reduced our rates against the national average.
We bit by bit bought back the land behind our beaches for beachfront reserves. We bought and developed our 'village greens' and encouraged community groups in Art, Music and Sport and of course, Churches to reach out and grow. We didn't actually give them ratepayers' money so they had a strong sense of community pride and 'ownership' because they did it themselves.
I've never been personally important but some of the things I've been involved with have been.
I took over from Barry Curtis as Chairman of Regional Planing and also concurrently chaired Civil Defence, Regional Parks and Regional Water Board.
I also served on the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority, Rangitoto Board of Governors and after the 1989 forced amalgamation of Local Government spent 2 terms on the North Shore City Council.
I came to hate, loathe and detest the bureaucracies which took over after the amalgamations in 1989. They grew like magic in Auckland, Waitakere, North Shore and Manukau.
Government by legislation and cunning designed Local Government to fail, and of course, they caused many public assets to be sold? off.
And now the Super City.
It is of course, just another Wellington scam.
Until 1989 Auckland did indeed speak with one voice. The Auckland Regional Authority built the dams and the pipelines, created the Regional Parks network, fixed the sewage system, planned and built regional roads, created the Auckland International Airport, owned and ran the major bus services etc.
Government hated its continuing influence and success.
Well now Government has created by statute the 'Super City' - doesn't it make you cringe!!
But they've made a mistake. They've given the Mayor unheard of powers believing of course, that the Mayor will be 'one of them'.
So this is what I plan to do if you give the chance.
1. Change my title from Mayor to Chairman Auckland Regional Authority.
2. Have each Community Board elect one of their members as Mayor of their area.
3. Prepare and run referenda right through the region to determine what boundaries and names people want for their Local Authorities.
4. Replace all Government appointed directors of CCOs such as WaterCare, with people committed to the Auckland Region.
5. Ensure no public assets are sold and no contracts longer than 3 years are entered into.
6. Have no overall rates increases.
7. No borrowing.
8. Progressively reduce the size and power of the bureaucracies.
9. Make every member of staff a servant of the people and directly answerable to you.
Together we can do it!
