I am Ewen Darling and have lived in New Plymouth all my life. I have been self-employed for 33 years. I am a Christian, holding strong moral values and have wanted to serve my community for many years. I am now at a stage where I can dedicate the time required for this role.
I've become frustrated with the debt that has been put onto the ratepayer. I believe a council should be run like a business. Spending should only happen after proper consultation with existing funds. I disagree with dipping into the pockets of ratepayers to satisfy unneccessary extravagances. I am advocating for families, hard working people, the elderly, ratepayers and renters, and our childrens futures. If elected, I will be the voice in the room for common sense, decency and holding the council accountable to their employer - the ratepayer. I pledge to be the publics voice.
Yes
What?
The Len Lye Centre is costing the ratepayer too much money. We need to explore ways for it to become self-sufficient. Maybe reduce opening hours to weekends and public holidays which is when we would expect to see out of town visitors.
No
What?
We need to be supporting oil and gas exploration as the country is and will be heavily reliant on fossil fuels for many years to come. We cannot transition away from something without having something to transition to.
No
Why?
NPDC needs to be protecting its citizens and businesses by dealing with the rough-sleepers. It should be engaging with the services provided by local government and police to deal with this problem which is growing.
No
Why?
Why do we need to change from what we do now? Why are we modelling water delivery on other cities that don't have a mountain delivering all the free water we need? Why do we keep trying to fix what's not broken? More storage is all we need.
No
Why?
We don't need to waste ratepayer resource on this matter. NZ contributes so little to global pollution compared to countries like India, China and USA. It is up to our government to lobby these countries to reduce their emissions.
No
Why?
This is a huge expense at a time when the Council is over $400,000,000.00 in debt. It is reckless spending at a time when our ratepayers and businesses are struggling. It is going to be a noose around our necks for a very long time to come.
No
Why?
They are poorly designed and dangerous. They have caused accidents with cars and bicycles while destroying the livelihoods of businesses near to them. They have taken away parking for residents and visitors who can no longer park on the street.
Remove
Why?
We should all be equal and one people. Kiwis. We should all achieve positions in society through our own merit, hard work and achievements. Consultation can still be achieved with iwi without the need for Māori Wards.
In the past we had great events in NP, particularly at the Bowl. We need to look at how things were done 15-20 years ago. We have also become too bogged down with health and safety policies which has made it too hard to arrange or facilitate events.
1. Clear the debt so we're not wasting ratepayer money on interest payments. We should only spend what we have and stop borrowing. 2. Focus on doing the core services well and stop increasing rates to fund unnecessary projects and the nice to haves.
