Working for a Community Voice

City Vision has an established record of working for the communities in Auckland city, and now we pledge to continue to work as an effective community voice for our wider region.

We will work with other like-minded groups and individuals across the region to ensure that our community assets such libraries, parks, pools and water are kept in community control and ownership.

What is City Vision?

City Vision Logo City Vision is Auckland's centre-left local body political group. It represents the local Labour, Green and Alliance Parties and other progressive people who are active and keen to represent their communities but do not belong to any political party (community independents).

City Vision was formed in 1998 as a political grouping to work to protect and develop our city and communities. From the start, we have championed policies to grow Auckland into a beautiful, healthy, economically and environmentally sustainable city for ourselves and our children. Since 1998 we have contested elections at City Council, Community Board and ARC level. You can see all our elected members for 2007-2010 here.

City Vision has worked closely with Labour Councillors and Community Board members in Tamaki Maungakiekie.

Thank you for voting for City Vision in 2010

We really value your support. The official results are available on the Auckland Councl website. Click here to read them.

City Vision is committed to making the new Auckland Council and its Local Boards work as an effective voice for the communities of Auckland.

We stand for public owner of our assets, better public transport and empowered local boards. Our policies and guiding principles are here. Our candidates have a strong track record of service to ratepayers and Auckland's communities. Read more about City Vision here.

Thank you for your VOTE for a strong community voice and an Auckland that works for all of us.

City Vision 2010-2013

City Vision members are elected in the Auckland Council wards of:

City Vision candidates are elected for the Local Boards of:

City Vision Health has 2 elected members on the Auckland District Health Board which covers the 'old' Auckland City boundaries including Orakei and Maungakiekie-Tamaki Wards.

If you live in theAuckland City Ward of the Portage Licensing Trust, City Vision has 2 elected members.

Our history in Auckland City Council

2007-2010

In this, the last term of Auckland City Council, City Vision has advocated and fought vigorously, together with the Labour Councillors, to maintain and develop projects and policies that are sustainable, fair to all areas and groups within the city, reflect Auckland's diversity, protect our heritage and environment, promote community development and maintain public ownership and open accountability.

The 2007 election restored conservative mayor John Banks and a substantial Citizens and Ratepayers majority on Council, but retaining Cathy Casey and Glenda Fryer in Eden-Albert and electing Graeme Easte in Western Bays for City Vision, and with Labour Councillors Leila Boyle and Richard Northey (caucus leader) and Independent Hauraki Gulf councillor Denise Roche, as allies.

The new Council, under the anodyne slogan "Affordable Progress" slashed spending in the Community Board areas they did not control, particularly Tamaki, which lost its Otahuhu Pool and Glen Innes Music and Arts Centre, and moved this spending into prestige projects like: re-sanding Judges Bay, purchasing Monte Cecilia School for a car park; on Rugby World Cup parties and banners; and a history of their achievements on Auckland City Council. They more than doubled Uniform Annual Charges on all properties, a poll tax which increased the rates burden on the poor by more than 15% while actually reducing it for some of their business friends. They cut back on partnerships with, and funding for, community organisations like the Citizens' Advice Bureaux; eliminated most tree protection; volcanic cone protection budgets; reduced the roles of Community Boards and of the communities they represent; cut back on events and projects that reflected Auckland's diversity; drastically reduced school safety projects and walking and cycling projects; allowed cars to travel in bus lanes; reduced spending to cut sewage outflows into the harbour; and enthusiastically supported Rodney Hide's plans to corporatize Auckland's governance.

City Vision Councillors actively exposed and opposed these damaging policies during Council and Committee meetings and continually to the news media. On every occasion City Vision and Labour proposed constructive, practical, fair, principled and often visionary alternative policies. Often our Councillors shamed Mayor John Banks and his Citizens and ratepayers Councillor mates into backing down on their extremist agenda.

City Vision achievements included:

cutting $100 per year off the proposed uniform annual charge on all ratepayers;
a last minute restoration of protection budgets for Mt Eden, Mt Albert, Mt Roskill and Mt Wellington;
restoring much of the budget cut for the CABs;
saving library projects in Mt Roskill and Waiheke;
rescuing the Q Theatre project in the South Town Hall;
saving the Onehunga and Grey Lynn free festivals; and
restoring protection to many character buildings in our leafy suburbs.

You can see all our elected members for 2007-2010 here.

Western Bays Community Board

City Vision represents the majority on the Western Bays Community Board with Chairman Bruce Kilmister, Councillor Graeme East, and Community Board Members Kate Stanton, Leigh Kennaway, and Jo Robertson. The Board has made some remarkable achievements in the last three years with completing the sanding of the Western Bays and making Pt Chevalier one of the cities attractive recreation spaces. In Coyle Park the Board has successfully added to the creation of a fully inclusive playground where children with disabilities are particularly catered for

Creating safer roads has been a Board focus in this term. Not only have we added pedestrian refuges along Ponsonby Road we have reduced the speed to 40kph. We developed a "pocket park" at the corner of Angelsea Street and Ponsonby Road making the grassed and seating on the corner a pleasant viewing corridor through to the city. The installation of bike racks into Grey Lynn, West Lynn, and other parts of the ward have added to the encouragement for locals to add pedal power to their modes of transport.

Significant improvements to our community centres have been funded from the Board and we were delighted to see another floor added to the Grey Lynn Community Centre. Walking tracks and mountain bike tracks have been funded and installed into Arch Hill giving locals an added use for their local park.

Heritage is a particular responsibility of the Board as we are the guardians for one of the biggest architectural collections of Victorian / Edwardian housing in the world. We are keen to see the areas of Ponsonby, Herne Bay, Grey Lynn and other areas retain their link with the past by protecting as much as we can from exploitative developers.

Eden-Albert Community Board

In Eden-Albert, the City Vision team of six on the Community Board (Chair Christopher Dempsey, Phil Chase, Simon Mitchell and Rochelle Rees, and previously, Eleanor Harvey, and two Councillors, Glenda Fryer and Cathy Casey) is very active.

The Board has tackled 18 years of neglect of Maungawhau/Mt Eden. A new Conservation Plan and Management Plan has been completed from extensive community consultation to protect the historic and cultural values of the Maunga, and to provide a quality visitor experience, fighting council to ensure sensitive redevelopment of the historic Langtons tea kiosk We have funded community volunteers that care for the maunga, which has resulted in extensive planting, and maintenance. We have also funded 'Love your Maunga' days, an annual celebration of Mt Eden/Maungawhau that is fast becoming a popular event. At Owairaka (Mt Albert), the Board secured $400,000 in funding for much needed maintenance and general minor works on the maunga, which, like Mt Eden, has been sadly neglected.

The Board has fought for the new park in Owairaka Ave to be accessible and available to all, not just restricted to one sporting code. Our fight has been vindicated; visitors to the park are greeted by families with small children playing on the play equipment, older residents and couples determinedly marching around the perimeter of the park to keep fit, groups of boys playing pick up basketball at the half-sized basket-ball court, while another group of boys and girls aged from 8 through to 18 patiently wait their turn at practising skating tricks on the new skate park. The vision of Council was for two rugby fields complete with lights, and change rooms, and nothing else.

We have funded traffic calming measures to make several streets in the Hendon Ave area safer and supported 40km speed zones around several primary schools, and travel plans for others, to encourage healthy and safe alternatives to private car transport. Our local shopping centres such as Kingsland and Sandringham have benefited from parking plans and minor street upgrades. We have protected the historic character of a number of town centres in the ward; Kingsland, Eden Valley, Mt Eden, Balmoral, and Sandringham.

We have given active support to local business associations. The Board Chair initiated transformation of the Kingsland Business Association into a more formalised and council funded Business Improvement District. We have insisted that local residents and businesses have a say about changes to the Eden Park/Kingsland area in preparation for the Rugby World Cup.

Public art enriches a city immeasurably. The Board funded installation of utility box artwork at a number of sites across the ward. Art work, typically photos, is screen printed onto an adhesive wrap, which is then carefully 'wrapped' around utility boxes (which attract graffiti). Christopher Dempsey insisted on the use of a photo of Auckland city's only waterfall found on Oakley Creek / Te Auaunga on several boxes (see photo).

At Rocket Park, dozens of mums and dads bring their children to play on the much loved and well used play equipment. This park has become a meeting spot for many parents and guardians; however, a too short fence put toddlers at risk of running out of the playground directly across the park to busy New North Road. After a serious incident where a small child almost made it to the road, the Board Chair worked with local parents and council officers to negotiate a solution that saw the fence extended by 20 metres, minimising the risk that toddlers would head towards New North Road. Our support for parents saw the rebuilding of the Sandringham Plunket rooms which was burnt down by Guy Fawkes vandals. The Board funded the new $260,000 building which was built in record time and saw the creation of a beautiful building that provides good spaces for Plunket to operate from. City Vision also supports other Plunket branches, providing much needed funding for play equipment.

Avondale Community Board

Election day 2007 delivered a set back for democracy in Avondale. Catherine Farmer faced the challenge of being the sole City Vision member of a Citizens and Ratepayers majority board. For details about the extent of C&R's cuts and the challenges Catherine has faced read here.

Our History in Auckland City

2004-2007

City Vision had six Councillors on the Auckland City Council: one in Avondale-Roskill Ward (Vern Walsh), three in Eden-Albert Ward (Neil Abel, Cathy Casey and Glenda Fryer) and two in Western Bays Ward (Bruce Hucker and Penny Sefuiva). We worked closely with three Labour Councillors from Tamaki-Maungakiekie Ward (Leila Boyle, John Hinchcliff and Richard Northey) to form the City Vision-Labour Caucus. At a wider consultative level City Vision-Labour workedwith the Mayor, the Action Hobson group and independent Councillors.

The City Vision-Labour led Council adopted a progressive agenda with more action on the environment; heritage protection; promotion of public transport, walking and cycling; dealing with rubbish; and providing affordable housing.

Fifty years of neglect in Auckland's infrastructure was halted as we set about fixing the stormwater problems and pollution of streams and harbours. We focused on improving the CBD, getting public access to the waterfronts on the Waitamata and the Manukau and protecting our unique volcanic cones.

We worked on protecting our heritage at a time that we need to preserve our best history to stand with the quality new buildings we promoted through the Urban Design Panel.

More community facilities, such as in Otahuhu, were built with more community arts events for families to enjoy together. And there are more parks for leisure and sporting use, for example, Owairaka and Monte Cecelia.

We worked to develop our community shopping areas so that they are economically successful and a pleasure for customers to use. And have you noticed how many footpaths in the city have been renewed in the last three year? Our streets are much safer now than they were a decade ago.

We also recognised that climate change needed to be tackled at a city level so set up a programme through the Mayoral Taskforce for Sustainability. It is about all of us, at every level doing our bit, starting with the way we deal with our rubbish, the trees we plant in our back yards and whether we decide to walk more and use public transport rather than take the car.

2001-2004

Low voter turnout at the 2001 election saw the most right-wing Council elected in Auckland City's history. Mayor John Banks and his ACT and National based Auckland Citizens & Ratepayers Now supporters slashed and burned their way through community funding and facilities. The environment was put on the back burner, pensioner housing was sold, the rates system was weighted to advantage the better off and a far greater burden was put onto our average and poorer families.

1998-2001

The 1998 elections saw the first Auckland City Council in sixty years with enough City Vision-Labour Councillors to influence the direction of Council affairs. In that time we were able to put in place a network of bus-only lanes to speed up public transport, finalise the plans for the much-used and admired Britomart train station and pass the plans for building Community Centres and facilities in Mt Albert, Onehunga, Wesley and Oranga.