A message from Helen White.
The role of government has a great deal of importance. For many issues, the best place and way to govern is locally. All councils, including our own Auckland Council, play a role in promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of their communities.
These are written into law in the Local Government Act 2002, which includes a specific commitment to the consideration of future generations. This is a long-term view which I think is really valuable.
In 2019, this Government introduced the first ‘Wellbeing Budget’ for New Zealand, founded on the idea that financial prosperity alone is not a sufficient measure of the quality of life.
Rather than just a relatively high rate of GDP growth, we also measure and focus on what New Zealanders value – the health of our people and our environment, and the strengths of our communities. Success is making New Zealand both a great place to make a living, and a great place to make a life.
These principles have played out through policies like the Winter Energy Payment, increased mental health support, additional financial aid for families, and funding for support to our wider ethnic communities.
The discipline of always asking, ‘how will this improve wellbeing?’ is a great contributor to developing a fairer country when creating any budget.
I understand the desire to keep rates down and I don’t underestimate the difficulties our councils face in determining their budgets.
However, I was alarmed by the proposed budget cuts announced by the Auckland Council and particularly the risk they pose to the wellbeing of our city. With that in mind, I recently hosted a public meeting on the subject.
I invited councillors to come along and listen to representatives who talked to the value of the work being funded and the impact of some of the proposed cuts.
Kate Anderson, a senior manager from the Auckland City Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), told the audience about the value of the work CAB do.
The organisation fears that proposed cuts will detrimentally impact the wellbeing of Aucklanders during times of crisis. For example,
if your marriage breaks up, you may need counselling, lawyers, housing, banking or budgeting advice, and CAB can explain how to access this help. In fact, CAB relationship advice was recently valued by a consultancy set up by former Prime Minister Bill English and found to return $13 in value for every $1 invested.
We also heard about the value of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited in nurturing the hospitality sector during Covid-19, and Sir Bob Harvey talked about the value of libraries and the arts in building our community during a time of need.
He discussed our human need for joy and hope, which can be found through fostering human connection in places like our libraries. I couldn’t agree more.
Councillors Julie Fairey and the Honourable Christine Fletcher shared that they saw the draft budget as a starting point rather than a fait accompli, and all the councillors present agreed there was room for significant change.
My advice is to actively engage with councillors about your views on the budget, and make sure they know what you value for our city.
(HELEN WHITE, Labour List MP based in Auckland Central) www.labour.org.nz/helenwhite
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PUBLISHED 5 MAY 2023