Children at the heart of it
It turns out the next generation of ratepayers has the same concerns as the current crop of eligible voters when it comes to local government.
Given the opportunity to quiz mayor Len Brown ahead of this year’s local body elections select pupils of Balmoral School raised concerns about the state of the footpaths in their neighbourhood, a lack of quality sports fields and concerns about public transport and housing intensification.
Mr Brown visited the school on Monday to help launch the Tick for Kids campaign which encourages election candidates to commit to an agenda for children.
Local government and district health boards are obliged by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure children’s best interests are a priority.
The campaign will call on voters to ensure they are enrolled to vote so that they can support candidates who are committed to progressing children’s interests.
Mr Brown told the youngsters they were at the heart of what the Auckland Council does.
‘‘In this new city of ours in which we have came together the first thing we decided was the children came first,’’ he says.
‘‘We want to do great sports fields and pools, and libraries with great kid spaces and build safe town centres – that’s what a city does.
‘‘The thing I love the most about what we’ve done is it symbolises our focus on you children.’’
The event was also attended by Every Child Counts chairman Dennis McKinlay who encouraged the pupils to talk with their parents about the upcoming election.
‘‘Because you can’t vote it’s important that the politicians who are elected are interested in the things that concern you,’’ he says.
At the end of the visit Mr Brown took questions from members of the school’s Philosophy for Children programme, which encourages children to develop strong opinions and to question things. The year five to eight pupils threw up some crunchy questions for the mayor.
One was concerned about the quality of asphalt used in local roads, which melt in hot weather.
Another raised concerns about the haphazard patching of footpaths creating a bumpy surface, making scootering to school difficult.
Sports fields, road congestion, public transport, tagging and a lack of public toilets in parks were also discussed.
Mr Brown was impressed by the standard of the questions.
‘‘I’m loving all these practical question children. This is the heart and soul of local government.’’