Dinner Meeting: Thursday July 7th:Total Present: 37
Members: 21
Guests: 16 -including the guest speaker, 5 from AKL East Rotary, two Rotarian visitors from Zimbabwe and last but certainly not least, 8 members partners.
Co-President Gary chaired the meeting with Co-President Graham in support. A warm welcome was extended to our guests and to the return of Mark Hillman who has been unable to attend for some time - good to see you Mark. Gary also shared an apology from DG Allan and Sue Smith who only that morning had tested positive for Covid.
President Gary also thanked all members from St. Johns who attended the District Change-over on July 3rd, supporting Allan and Sue in the year ahead. Gary also took the opportunity to formerly present Alex Gatt with his Paul Harris Sapphire Fellow, which was announced at Change-over last month where Alex was unable to attend due to illness. Congratulations Alex - well deserved.Other Club Notices:
All included in the Directors Reports below, or elsewhere in the bulletin - read on.
Directors Reports:
Treasurer & Secretary - Co-President Graham, Nil to report
Club Services - Lesley & Penny - nil to report, both sent apologies.
Community & Youth - Kevin still overseas and Liz had sent apologies following positive test for Covid.
Science & Environment - Peter B had not tested positive and was present!!! Peter took the opportunity to remind all members of the tree planting working bee on July 23rd at Apirana Reserve, 10.00am to Noon followed by coffee.
To all members currently recovering from Covid, other winter blues, or other recent medical procedures, look after yourselves and we look forward to seeing you all back on deck soon.
Prior to hearing from our guest speaker, Sergeant Patrick conducted another vibrant session singing his way to raising funds for the Sunshine fund. He also reminded members that it was their responsibility to forward information to him that he can then embellish into a more juicy story and fine the member accordingly. Well done Patrick.
Guest Speaker - Auckland Mayoral Candidate Viv Beck:Viv is currently Chief Executive at Heart of the City and has been in this role for the last 7 years. She has had a diverse Career spanning Public, Private and not for profit and has a passion for leading organisations and teams with energy and enthusiasm to achieve results.
Heart of the City is Auckland's city centre business association, charged with fostering a successful CBD economy, with a vibrant, accessible and thriving heart.
Viv's family immigrated to New Zealand from Europe when she was a child and she didn't speak a word of English. People are now asking her why she is standing for Mayor and she says that there are three things that moved her to stand.
- She has real concerns for the way that the City Centre has been managed,
- The City Rail Link - Very poor decisions made that have significantly impacted negatively on businesses with no empathy extended, or funds provided during the toughest of times.
- Covid has affected Auckland very badly with many businesses incurring huge losses across the board, and this needs to be turned around. A lot more could have been done for both business and the public at large.
Viv acknowledges that many of the concerns that she has regarding Auckland City cannot be resolved easily, but in her mind there are many improvements that can be made and her priorities are;
- Address the Traffic Congestion issues - at one end of the scope, look at the success of the Northern Bus Lanes and look to emulate the benefits to the West and to the East, and down to the simple actions such as aligning traffic lights.
- Rates - is the income being spent appropriately? There needs to be a lot more attention given to this and a real review to ensure all expenditure is appropriate and more people are accountable. There needs to be a different model implemented regarding finance and expenditure. What we have is not working.
- Crime is a major issue. Acknowledging that some is Covid related, but more resources across the board need to be secured and we must standup to central government to secure these resources.
Viv finished her talk covering off issues such as housing, what she brings to the role, and why we should vote for her.
Viv said that we have a beautiful city we need to protect and address the basic issues. Right now more and more people are saying that they don't want to live in Auckland and are moving out. This is a significant issue that needs to be addressed and she can do this!
During much of her presentation you could hear a pin drop indicating that she was touching on many of the issues that Auckland residents agree need to be addressed.
Many thanks for your time Viv and we wish you well in your endeavors.