Roskill Community Voice

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Winning the 191 bus for Lynfield

Many years ago, when the old Auckland City was deciding about putting a new library at Lynfield or Blockhouse Bay, a bus route connecting Lynfield to the west was promised. After some advocacy it looked like this would finally be delivered as part of the New (Bus) Network Auckland Transport was rolling out, but they changed their minds and took it off the map again. We worked with Lynfield locals, and others keen to use such a service, and managed to win the new 191, which started in February 2019 as an hourly service.

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Last chance to vote – take it to the library!

Postal voting has now closed, but you can still vote by taking your papers in to your local library (or a council service centre).

In our area your closest library is most likely to be the wonderful Mt Roskill Library (pictured right), refurbished in 2011/12 and a great place to spend some time, not just vote.

You have until 12noon on Saturday to drop your vote in, after that it is definitely too late.

Results will start to come out on Saturday afternoon.  Thanks for all your support and help.

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Fairness For Wesley

The below is from our Fairness For Wesley campaign – a leaflet we have been sharing around Wesley for the last fortnight.

We are speaking up for fairness, for the whole Mt Roskill community, and especially here in Wesley.

Fairness means that people in our community have equal opportunities, support when it is needed, and a fair go.

Unfortunately, over a long period of time we have not been treated fairly. Did you know that for every $1 that Council spends in other communities on facilities and services for people, only 74 cents gets spent in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill? That isn’t right and we are here to fight for a fair deal.

Roskill Community Voice is your local team standing for the Puketapapa Local Board, working with City Vision candidates for Ward Councillor positions, at the Council elections. We are running a ‘Fairness for Wesley’ campaign to ensure that local people get a fair go.

Below you will find our policies to win Fairness for Wesley. We are the only team presenting a complete set of policies about local issues to the people of Wesley this election.

Our campaign to win Fairness for Wesley means a Local Board and Ward Councillors who will work with the community to achieve:

  • Better library services – We need to instill a love of reading and learning in our young people, but Wesley has some of the poorest access to library services in Auckland. We will fight to bring better library services to Wesley. 
  • Education and jobs for our people – We believe that Council can play a more active role in helping our young people into education, training and work. We will work actively to try and attract a tertiary education provider into our community, and develop pathways for young people to move through into apprenticeships, training, and good paying jobs. 
  • A Living Wage – It is a matter of justice that people get paid enough to live on. With good incomes we can ensure that our families can afford good food, healthy housing, and adequate healthcare. We are the only team in Mt Roskill that is fully committed to the Living Wage. 
  • Upgrading our Parks – We will take action to advance the upgrade of Walmsley/Underwood Park to better meet community needs. Members of the Roskill Community Voice team are also leading work to upgrade the Mt Roskill War Memorial. 
  • Fair treatment for Housing – New Zealand tenants and neighbours Housing New Zealand is looking to make major changes to its housing stock and may look to intensify Wesley. We need to ensure that the voice of the local community is heard and that we retain public housing in our community for local people. 
  • Rail to Roskill – We are the team who is leading the charge to bring Rail to Roskill. A train line from Avondale to Dominion Rd, with a station at Stoddard Rd would bring huge convenience and opportunity for our local community. 
  • Traffic safety – It is time to take action on traffic safety issues in Wesley. We will back the local community and push for changes to improve safety on Sandringham Rd, O’Donnell St, and other areas of concern.

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RCV Policy on Community Development and Facilities

Council can play a key role in bringing our community together, providing facilities, resourcing, and expertise to help our community develop and grow. We support an active and engaging approach in which grassroots community determines local priorities.

Specific local policy includes:

  • Heightened support for local community groups through better access to funding streams, appropriate and timely advice, provision of appropriate space, and creating functional partnerships with Council.
  • Development of ‘Garden web’ type networks that bring people together around community projects
  • Creation of new community space at Hillsborough/Monte Cecilia and in the restored Mt Roskill Municipal Chambers.
  • Advocacy for library services to be provided in the Wesley area, which currently has some of the poorest library access on the isthmus.
  • Advocacy for a Living Wage so that work is rewarded, local people can live with dignity, and spending power in our local economy is increased.
  • Establishing a local children’s panel to ensure that we receive input from our youngest citizens.
  • Provide more small scale community notice boards at local shopping areas to help keep the community connected.
  • Supporting local events that fit with community priorities and support local groups to deliver them.