Palino launches public safety policy

August 2016

Too many residents across Auckland do not feel safe at home, at work or travelling in between and it is time the Auckland Council took these concerns seriously, said Mayoral candidate John Palino.

Not enough emphasis is being placed on the safety and security of our most vulnerable, while millions of dollars are set aside for what constitutes little more than vanity beautification projects in safe, well-serviced areas.

The council has its priorities all wrong. Basic housing, transport, water and safety for Auckland residents trump points on dubious global liveability surveys.

It’s time the Auckland Council used its position as the place-based governing authority to bring together different arms of government and the community to make our neighbourhoods safer.

Current approaches to safety are not integrated because government departments are all funded and governed separately. As a spatial authority, which looks at the world in terms of ‘place’, the council is uniquely placed to bring diverse sectors together to tackle problems in defined areas.

As mayor, I’ll fund local boards to oversee safety initiatives in their areas. I’ll expect local boards to go away and think about what safety issues are confronting their communities and then to allocate time and resource to bring together the necessary parties.

Local boards, working with their local councillor, will be able to bring police, health, education and transport representatives to the table with relevant community leaders to target security problems in their location.

Local boards will devise local safety plans and the council and Auckland Transport will fund our share of initiatives needed to ensure residents feel safe in council-managed areas like local roads and parks.

I’ll lend the mayor’s weight to ensure central government also comes to the party where issues are identified in Crown activities like health and education.

Local boards will in time be benchmarked according to their measured impact on local issues, with extra funding available for higher performing areas. Learnings across board areas will be shared and used to drive better regional performance.

This is a low cost approach to long standing issues and rounds out my focus on ensuring all Aucklanders enjoy a dignified standard of living.

Says John Palino
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