By BERNARD ORSMAN
Auckland Mayor John Banks was not present yesterday to hear what Mary Pace had to say about the sale of pensioner houses. Nor was deputy mayor David Hay.
"Either he is too busy or he doesn't want to hear about things," said Mary Pace, a longtime Otahuhu resident, who was among the first people to have a say on Mr Banks' first budget.
Councillors travelled to Otahuhu, one of Auckland City's poorest suburbs, to take the public pulse on a raft of controversial issues sprung on ratepayers by Mr Banks' new council with help from former National Party finance minister Sir William Birch.
The reason Mr Banks gave for skipping the hearing in the Otahuhu Town Hall was a busy diary, which may also keep him away from today's hearings at Three Kings.
He said he planned to go along during the five days of hearings.
Mr Hay was miles away at Keith Hay Homes, the family business in Mt Roskill, when submitters took the chance to be heard in Otahuhu.
"I do have some other responsibilities for council and I think we need to pace ourselves to go through five days of hearings," said Mr Hay, who will be at today's hearings.
Mr Banks' first budget targets the poorest households with a rates rise of 8.5 per cent. Pensioners face net rent increases of between 5 and 12.7 per cent.
There is money for progress on a convention centre and indoor arena, and $260,000 for an America's Cup welcome and victory parades.
What's more, the strategy and governance committee yesterday resolved to give another $150,000 to the America's Cup. The money will be spent by Competitive Auckland to lure foreign investment arising from the cup.
"The whole value system is wrong when needs of poorer people are ignored," Mary Pace said in a submission, neatly handwritten with the help of her husband, Peter.
The Paces are among 12,477 people to make submissions on controversial issues in the budget, ranging from the sale of the pensioner and general housing to selling the airport shares and cutting Pacific Island and Maori scholarships at a saving of $62,000 a year.
The vast majority of submitters oppose the sale of assets and cost-cutting measures.
Carol Over, who has lived in Mt Wellington for 28 years, said the local pensioner units had been provided by the old Mt Wellington Borough Council for the deserving in the local community and should not be sold to fund projects of little consequence to those living in the area.
And Auckland Citizens and Ratepayers Now councillors, who control the council, got a poke from one of their own members, Catherine Harland, to reconsider the sale of pensioner houses.
She said 31 per cent of the council's 1564 pensioner units were in the Tamaki-Maungakiekie ward and were a long-established part of the community.
"Removing them from public ownership could significantly disrupt the balance that exists in local areas and remove the opportunity for people who have extremely limited financial means to live their later years within their communities," said Ms Harland, a former Auckland City councillor.
She is now a member of the Auckland Regional Council.
Voices of people missed by Banks
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