Work with community: Randall
‘‘It is a privilege to serve, especially the community I was born and raised in. ’’
The new Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board members have a lot of work cut out for them when they take up office next month.
Who better to know this than outgoing chairman Simon Randall. He has served on the local board for six years, four of that as its chair.
Randall says the area is changing rapidly with three big projects - Tamaki Redevelopment, EastWest Link and the Unitary Plan - currently under way.
‘‘The area is changing in terms of ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status and this has a huge impact in the facilities, services and programmes the local board funds and governs,’’ Randall says.
‘‘There is a need to invest to support growth with big funding constraints.
‘‘With the Tamaki Regeneration and the Unitary Plan, our area is likely to see big growth but investment in the area by council into things such as libraries, parks, and other assets is unlikely to fully support this growth.’’
The 34-year-old adds the new board needs to form stronger partnerships with the community in order to support this growth.
‘‘It has taken the last six years to get everything working, and now there is a real opportunity to achieve even more by working closer with the community across all that the board delivers.’’
Randall says he has been privileged to serve the community. He advises the new board to enjoy their roles, the same advice he would have given to his younger self when he first started out.
‘‘I would have told myself to enjoy it more, sometimes the demands of the role can make you lose sight of the great bits of the role.
‘‘You get such a privileged view of our community at its best. It is a privilege to serve, especially the community I was born and raised in, but this is a full-on role that can definitely have an impact on the rest of your life.’’
Randall can confirm that he doesn’t plan to return to politics at this stage, but he doesn’t rule this out in the future.
‘‘I would like to see people of my generation being able to access a range of good quality housing that they can afford.
‘‘I am keen to see the health of our rivers and harbours improved. I am keen to see our young people better make the transition between education and employment.’’