Anyone’s race in bellwether ward
Recent boundary changes are expected to play a part in election
Maungakiekie-Ta¯maki is considered a bellwether ward that could reasonably be won by Labour’s Josephine Bartley or National’s de facto candidate, Josh Beddell.
The ward has been held by Labour’s Richard Northey and Denise Krum, who briefly held the seat before becoming National’s MP for Maungakiekie at a byelection in 2017.
The addition of Ellerslie and the eastern part of St Johns at this election adds about 7500 potential centre-right voters to create a roughly even split between left- and rightleaning voters.
The well-to-do suburbs of One Tree Hill, Ellerslie and St Johns hug the city side, the working-class suburbs of Glen Innes, Pt England and Panmure lie east and the industrial areas of Southdown, Westfield and Mt Wellington sit south.
There’s a massive housing programme in the suburbs of Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure to replace 2800 state houses with a mix of 7500 public and private homes, the council’s development arm, Panuku, is leading a regeneration of Onehunga and work is under way on the longplanned Eastern Busway.
Despite these big issues changing the face of this diverse and growing community, the fight for the ward seat has a lot to do with who is the best person to represent Maungakiekie-Ta¯maki, the sitting councillor Josephine Bartley or Josh Beddell, standing under the Communities and Residents ticket.
O¯ra¯kei Local Board deputy chairwoman Carmel Claridge is also running. She is standing under the Better Auckland ticket for the ward seat and a seat on the O¯ ra¯kei Local Board after not being re-selected for the Communities and Residents ticket.
Panmure Historical Society president Patrick O’Meara is the fourth ward candidate.
In February last year, Bartley, who was chairwoman of the Maungakiekie Local Board, won the seat vacated by Krum, beating Beddell by more than 1500 votes.
The first woman Pasifika councillor, Bartley lives by a Samoan proverb, “o le ala i le pule o le tautua”, which translates as “the path to leadership is through service”. Life for Bartley, who grew up in Ma¯ ngere and has lived in Ta¯maki for 13 years, is all about community. From a young age she was a volunteer at Women’s Refuge, the SPCA and a law centre, and active in the Catholic church.
The boundary changes, said Bartley, would absolutely be a factor at this election but she hoped voters in the right-leaning suburbs of Ellerslie and St John would look beyond party politics and look at the candidates and their track records.
Bartley said the main issue she was picking up for people was traffic, due in part to delays caused by Watercare works to improve infrastructure in the Ta¯maki area and more people moving into the western side of the ward and clogging up roads.
Bartley wants people to be able to go to the beach without swimming in sewage and is keen to tackle homelessness. Breathing life back into Glen Innes town centre is another goal.
Beddell’s connection to the ward goes back to the 1950s when his grandfather got veteran housing in Glen Innes. He was born in the ward and lives in Onehunga.
He worked for Maungakiekie MP Sam Lotu Iiga for three years and is on leave working in the electorate office for National’s finance spokesman Paul Goldsmith.
There, Beddell works with community groups and stakeholders, saying it is a passion to help people struggling to get a better deal with Government and council.
Beddell is a young man cut from the traditional C&R cloth of cutting costs, keeping rates down — but he doesn’t say by how much — and reprioritising spending.
Asked where the council should cut costs, Beddell has no specific answers: “The first thing they have to do is open the books. You can’t tell me Auckland Council is running as efficient as it can.”
“It’s a must-win seat. If we don’t win here we won’t get change that everyone is calling for and end up with the status quo,” he said.
The No 1 issue at this election, said Beddell, was Auckland Transport, saying every suburb was having an issue with the council-controlled organisation, which needed to be brought under control. He disagrees with AT “demonising the car owner and slowing traffic down”.
The other big issue is the cost of living and the regional petrol tax, “which Josephine voted for but for me, it is a poll tax”.
“It’s regressive and fundamentally hurts the poor”.
He wants the tax gone and the Government to pick up the tab.
Beddell opposes light rail down Dominion Rd and mayor Phil Goff’s stadium plans. Locally, he opposes a poorly designed cycle lane in Ellerslie that is “not used and not safe” and wants a masterplan and better community facilities for Mt Wellington.
Claridge describes herself as a fiscal conservative. She believes “carcentric” policies are a mistake and backs more spending on public transport, cycling and walking.
One issue that excites Claridge is the growth in Glen Innes and Panmure, but she is concerned about how dense the housing is. “That is fine as long as it is balanced with provision of good parks, good playgrounds and access to public transport.”