I starting volunteering for Labour over 10 years ago because I wanted to help make New Zealand a fairer place; create opportunities for everyone, protect our environment, and maintain an independent and principled foreign policy. Now, as an MP, I have the privilege of working towards those goals.

I am passionate about issues that affect young people in New Zealand, in particular, ensuring we have a youth justice system that focuses on early intervention, and getting the 58,000 young people who are not currently in employment, education or training on the right path so that they can have a successful future.

I'm equally as passionate about the city where I live, work, and hope to represent: Auckland.

In 2011, I will be seeking election in the Auckland Central electorate, which includes the beautiful islands of Great Barrier and Waiheke. Auckland Central is the heart of Auckland; it's diverse, vibrant and culturally rich. It is also a region that faces some enormous challenges. The super city was an opportunity for us to strengthen Auckland; instead, we have are now seeing that the strong and bold vision being presented with one voice by Auckland is not shared by this Government, especially when it comes to the environment, public transport, and the economy. Aucklanders know how much potential their city and region has, but it will only be realised if we build strong communities, focus on sustainable development, encourage and support our rich diversity and culture and protect our environment.

Here are a few ways in which I believe we could make Auckland an even better city to live in:

Having a world class public transport system that we can be proud of

Like many folk in Auckland Central, walking is one of my main forms of transport. However, not everyone is able to do the same: we live and work across a city that has a whopping 36,000 cars coming into the CBD at peak hour every single morning. That has an impact on the environment, on health, on productivity, and on people’s blood pressure. People who live and work in central Auckland know we could be doing things better, but creating a change to the ways in which we get around Auckland is going to take a bit of effort from everyone and it needs to start by giving people more options. The starting point though, has to be improving our trains.

Building the city rail link would turn Britomart into a through-station, extending the railway line under the CBD through to Mt Eden, and adding three new underground stations on the way. This project would allow up to 46,000 people an hour to move in and out of the city, freeing up our roads and ensuring that we are a world class city that can hold world class events. The National party has said no responsible government would invest in the city rail link, in Labour we believe it would irresponsible not to.

Protecting our city’s heritage.

Auckland is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing cities but while it’s important to plan for the future, it’s equally as important to protect our past. With so many iconic heritage buildings in Auckland, we need to ensure that we incorporate as much of our history as we can into our urban planning.

Being a leader, not a follower, when it comes to the environment.

Auckland Central is home to some of the most stunning scenery in Auckland. From the beaches of Waiheke to the forest and bush lands of Great Barrier Island, Aucklanders are extremely passionate about conserving New Zealand’s clean, green image. There have been threats in recent times to protected conservation land in Auckland, including the Government’s proposal to mine parts of our most precious conversation estate. The governments back pedalling on this decision was largely driven by pressure from NGOs, political groups and the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who voiced their concerns by marching down Queen Street, but speaks volumes about their position on our environment.

Enough housing for everyone

Anyone who has tried to buy a house in Auckland knows two things: that a lack of supply means that there aren’t nearly enough houses available, and that the ones that are available come at astronomically high prices. With leaky buildings, the recession reducing the number of apprenticeship opportunities available and the fact that it has been estimated that to meet Auckland’s current housing demands, we’d need to build 27 houses a day, it’s obvious that we are facing a serious problem when it comes to finding qualified people to help alleviate our housing shortage. We need to ensure that everyone in Auckland has a safe, dry place to live.

I am both excited and privileged to be given the opportunity to work with the people of Auckland Central and to work towards making it an even better place to call home.

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