12:17 PM |
Two prominent Manukau councillors confirm candidacy for Auckland super city election
Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Gladys Hartson, PMW, in Auckland.
Two Manukau City Councillors have been selected to stand as candidates for this year's Auckland Super City elections. Efu Koka and Alf Filipaina will campaign to represent the new- look Manukau ward which includes Otara, Mangere, Papatoetoe and Otahuhu. The elections are in October.
Both Efu Koka and Alf Filipaina are encouraging people to have their say and vote in this historic election. The men are currently Manukau City councillors for the Otara and Mangere wards in south Auckland.
"A crucial question to ask is which way did people vote in terms of the Super City structure.
"I believe those who voted to have the one city structure will realise that it is not what they thought it would be," Koka adds.
Filipaina agrees: "The third bill [for the Super City] will be read and passed in parliament so it's pretty much a done deal. All we can do is move forward and work with it."
A first- term councillor for Otara, Koka says it's important to be around the table where decisions will be made.
Of Samoan and Niuean heritage, Koka says, "he is not just representing Pacific people but everybody".
"We have a lot of work ahead of us. It's back to the basics and I will be knocking on doors campaigning hard," he adds.
One of the challenges he faces is funding his campaign. Koka estimates it will cost about $30,000 to run.
Alf Filipaina has been a councillor since 2003. He says: "It's important to ensure the voice of Manukau is heard."
"We have to make sure that the issues of South Auckland will not be forgotten in the new structure of the super city," he adds.
Filipaina, who is of Maori and Samoan descent, says the constituents of Manukau want to know that their councillors will fight for them. He says issues like "free pools, free libraries, and the airport shares are issues constituents are concerned about".
Both councillors are quietly confident of being elected in the election, but are taking nothing for granted.
Gladys Hartson is a Graduate Diploma in Journalism student at AUT University and is working with Pacific Media Watch.
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aotearoa, new zealand
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