Posted on 30-7-2004
Consensus
Better For Auckland
Press release from Christine Fletcher
“People are turning away from participation in the democratic
process
because of a sense that it makes no difference,” said
Christine Fletcher,
on the occasion of a book launch in Auckland today.
Fletcher is among the contributors, along with former political
colleagues
such as David Lange and Winston Peters, to a book promoting
citizen
participation in the New Zealand democratic process. “There
is a
perception that if you vote, you are buying into a dishonest
system,”
commented Fletcher. “It’s only a generation or two
ago that politicians
were respected and were expected to ‘serve the community’.
Now, we have
obvious cronyism and significant disrespect for the political
process as a
result.”
She said that such cronyism damages the credibility of the political
institutions themselves. “People are especially cynical
toward political
parties, in particular at local government level. That’s
the reason I
choose to stand as an independent,” said Fletcher. “The
Mayor of Auckland
needs to be able to unite the city across increasingly wide
fault lines
which have developed under the Banks administration," she
said. “We need a
consensus on the way forward for Auckland, and you can’t
achieve consensus
by bullying people. “I’m totally committed to changing
people’s perception
of Auckland City so that they know they can be heard, that their
views
will be given their proper weight. Real democracy means that
each person’s
vote counts. Political opponents dismiss this kind of political
accountability. I say it’s an absolute requirement for
a committed and
serious politician,” she said.
“Only 43 per cent of Aucklanders voted in the last Auckland
City Council
election. I believe a critical component of encouraging participation
in
the democratic process is to strengthen the role of Community
Boards,”
Fletcher said. “As part of my commitment to the democratic
process I will
reinstate the Complaints Office at Auckland City which was dumped
by John
Banks. This office was an important avenue for citizens to have
their
voice heard. It listened to their issues and investigated them
as
appropriate.”
Chris Fletcher believes that there are issues of great public
importance
to Auckland City residents which could be best addressed by
a binding
referendum. “I challenge John Banks to put the Eastern
Motorway to a
referendum. It’s clear he is not listening to what the
public are asking
for on this issue. When the true costs and benefits of the proposed
motorway are weighed against the benefits of a world-class public
transport system at significantly lower cost, I have no doubt
whatsoever
what the public of Auckland will choose.”
|