Currently there are a number of major infrastructure issues confronting the Whangarei District Council which involve considerable sums of capital expenditure. 400 people were asked to rate the importance of the new bridge, spill-free sewage, and improved traffic flows on a scale of 1 to 10.

Ratepayers, when asked to prioritise the projects, ranked the athletics pavilion first (31%), the multi sport events centre second (27.3%), and the new Kiwi House third (20.6%).
Trailing was the Hundertwasser museum on 13.5%, and converting the old Library into an Arts Museum (7.7%).

How do we think Council should manage our money, and how should they listen and respond to us?

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In summary, this measurement has touched a voter nerve at several points… read more

The second in a series of surveys I have commissioned draws the conclusions that “the public sees an out of control situation developing in local governance by their elected representatives.”

In a survey I commissioned of Okara residents, the Whangarei constituency overwhelmingly said that councils disregard the public voice, with nearly two thirds (65.3%) convinced that councils are deaf.

In a survey I commissioned, my concerns were confirmed: close to three quarters of Whangarei ratepayers are opposed to Council selling land at the Town Basin (71.4%). Only 16.6% were in favour of selling and it would appear, informally, from reservations expressed by some respondents to the research interviewers, that there were a number of qualifications necessary before those in favour of selling were in fact satisfied. Read the full survey results here: