Roskill Community Voice

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Wesley keeps its name

After a developer tried to use the Wesley name for a new residential suburb in Franklin in 2017, the local community campaigned to show what the name means to them and why it needed to stay central. We supported them with public meetings, coordinating the campaign, and working with the Mt Roskill Puketapapa Historical Society to promote an online petition, as well as door-knocking in the area for more signatures.

The developer withdrew their application for the name, and the Wesley community then applied, through local Member of Parliament Michael Wood, to make their name official. It was gazetted in November 2018 and officially approved in early 2019.

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The Great Puketapapa Bus Survey 2018

The Great Puketapapa Bus Survey 2018

After the New (Bus) Network was rolled out in the central Auckland area by Auckland Transport, we were hearing a lot of concerns about how it was working. So we surveyed the local area and produced this report summarising the around 300 responses. It includes recommendations for Auckland Transport to consider, some of which are site-specific improvements and others are changes people would like to see to frequencies and so on.

On the whole people liked the increased frequencies, the simplicity of the network, and double decker buses. Concerns remained, after a few months of operation, about several changes in particular the loss of two express routes (267x and 258x) and the 299 link to Newmarket.

At the moment we are awaiting Auckland Transport’s response to the recommendations and report.

We’re also considering making the survey an annual campaign, so that we can see how things are improving (or not!)

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Fairness for Wesley

Mt Roskill has not had it’s fair share over the decades, and Wesley has been particularly badly affected.

In 2013 we pledged to progress Fairness for Wesley through: (updates on each area since 2013 are in brackets):

  • Better library services (We are advocating for Wesley to be the priority for new library services on the isthmus)
  • Education and jobs for our people (Examples include supporting local projects such as Project PETER that focus on skills development in the area, advocating for local employment to be included in the Te Auaunga Awa stormwater programme contracts)
  • A Living Wage (We commited the Puketapapa Local Board to the Living Wage and seeking for all employees and contractors working on Puketapapa projects and work programmes to be paid at least the Living Wage)
  •  Upgrading our parks (Examples include major upgrades of Walmsley and Underwood Parks coming with the stormwater project, including a new playground; improved sporting facilities at Mt Roskill War Memorial Park including the resurfacing of the Lovelock Track)
  •  Fair treatment for housing (Examples include trying to work with Housing New Zealand to encourage good quality state housing, supporting Healthy Homes initiatives, investigating local Warrant of Fitness scheme for rentals)
  •  Traffic safety (Requesting traffic calming be put in on Wesley streets such as O’Donnell and Farrelly, new pedestrian refuge outside the Wesley Community Centre)
  •  Rail to Roskill (Advocating for this project to be on the priority list for Auckland Transport

In 2016 we are updating this list, watch this space!

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Final Campaign Post

There are just 24 hours left to cast your votes in the 2013 Auckland Council elections.

We are urging all local people to make the effort to vote. At this late stage you will need to take your completed voting papers to the Mt Roskill (or any other library) and deposit them in the ballot box before 12noon on Saturday.

The Roskill Community Voice team has thoroughly enjoyed the campaign. We’ve done everything that we can to engage the local community, focussing on important local issues and running an energetic campaign on the streets of Puketapapa/Mt Roskill.

Our campaign has been focussed on a number of key issues:

1) Winning a Fair Share for Mt Roskill
We say that it is simply unfair that our community receives just 74c of funding from Auckland Council for every $1 spent elsewhere. This legacy of neglect must be turned around and we are the team who will fight for a fair deal.

2) Bury the Pylons
The Pylons that march across our communities and harbour are a blight on our neighbourhoods and Harbour. They would not be accepted in the eastern suburbs and the Waitemata Harbour. We have a responsible plan to underground the pylons and our campaign is building momentum.

3) Looking after our environment and restoring our cones
We are the team who has put real energy into looking after our Foreshore, streams, and maunga over the past term. If re-elected we will have a strong focus on restoring Puketapapa/Mt Roskill and Big King/Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta.

4) Reducing harms in our community
The Roskill Community Voice team has consistently stood up to reduce harms in our community and we will push to reduce the harm caused by pokies and corner liquor stores in our community.

Further to this we are the only team to produce comprehensive policy so that voters have transparency ahead of the election. We’ve also run high energy local campaigns to engage with local people and involve community in local issues, including Bury the Pylons, A Vision for Three Kings, and Fairness for Wesley.

We have been able to achieve a lot with two RCV members on the Board over the past term and we know that a full RCV Board will have the skills and vision to provide Puketapapa/Mt Roskill with real leadership in the next term if voters give us that mandate.

Stand up for a Fair Share for Mt Roskill: Vote Roskill Community Voice for Puketapapa Local Board and City Vision for Ward Councillors.

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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.