My vision for Dunedin includes maximising inner-city development, mobility and parking around the city, upgrading our recycling infrastructure and processing, advocating purpose-built business parks, maintaining a focussed investment in the city projects, and sharing participation opportunities with local businesses.
Our city should be accessible to all of its residents and visitors. This means that our city needs to be navigated easily by those on foot, bike, car, and bus. Our city needs to be improved and we need to look beyond what we are accustomed to. Single-storey carparks should be investigated and explore the option of becoming multistorey. We need to incentivise public transport and make our public spaces more user-friendly to those with limited mobility and/or disabilities. We need to develop spaces for safe bicycle/ motorcycle storage.
Business park communities foster collaboration and innovation and attract new businesses looking for opportunities to grow. Dunedin has pockets of vacant land that should be investigated for development opportunities. Progressive thinking and a willingness to open land for such use are necessary for the future of Dunedin.
Healthy business = healthy well paid jobs that directly flow into the pockets of our community. Opportunities for the city to expand its revenue stream through safe local investment should be a priority.
Dunedin needs cutting-edge recycling infrastructure to handle the materials from curbside and commercial waste streams. We send more recyclable materials to landfill than we do to be recycled. Our landfills are full of valuable materials which should have been diverted and brought back in the circular economy. Our council needs to invest in the latest processing technologies to ensure the uncontaminated material ready for recycling and processing will happen right here in Dunedin. This will directly contribute to Dunedin’s goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city.
Our council has ambitious plans for investment in new and existing projects. With so many areas requiring investment, the council must focus on projects which will secure our future and allow for greater opportunities in our community for years to come. Partnering with the local business community will ensure success for these projects.
I am a fresh approach that will drive Dunedin forward. I have a younger perspective, abundant business experience, knowledge, and passion for our city. I am confident I can provide guidance and cohesion to Council and accountability to residents. I would like to remove some of the excessive red tape and reliance on consultants and listen to the voices of the people who live and breathe the areas they reside in.
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FAST FIVE QUESTIONS:
Q1: Why did you stand for Council?
- I am standing for council because I believe I have what it takes to make a good Councillor. I believe it would be beneficial to have a person of my age and skill set on Council. I want to help shape our future and ensure we have sensible independent decision-making.
Q2: What do you think the best way to hear community issues is?
- We should hold more town hall-style events and go to where the issues are. Social media plays a huge part in most of our lives and Council needs to use this as one of its main communication tools. We need to embrace our Community Boards and ensure we hear their issues.
Q3: Do you support keeping rates at the level of inflation?
- No, as it’s a promise we would be foolish to keep, but I also don’t support wasteful spending. We need to target the most important and pressing issues. We must diversify our revenue streams and ensure our Council companies are returning a profit to lessen the burden on the ratepayer.
Q4: How do we keep young people in our city?
- We need to have job opportunities and be a liveable city. Council must strengthen its partnership with businesses and allow for better participation opportunities. We need to allow for greater population growth and encourage healthier, newer housing stock.
Q5: If elected what is your first priority?
- I will prioritise building strong working relationships with my fellow Councillors and the diverse communities we represent. I would focus on understanding the current position and ensuring I have a good grasp of Council’s procedures and processes.
— Authorised by Chris McBride, chris.mcbride1988@gmail.com
