At 27, I am a born and bred Aucklander who has lived in the city for most of his life.

Married to Rebekka, we recently bought our first house in Papakura and are busy going through the renovations process to turn our house into our home.

A University of Auckland Alumni and currently working for in Auckland’s public transport sector, I am passionate about Auckland thus actively involved across various fronts in doing my bit to make Auckland a better place.

I pride myself on being an active listener and holding (meaningful) dialogue with others in order to find solutions (or when people just want someone to listen to them)

That passion was noticed by a friend of mine:

Was good to see you Ben, and sorry we were not able to talk more. I keep an eye on your blog, and thank you for your passion for Auckland! 

So from that and the through the history of VOAKL, you can see I am passionate about my home that is Auckland. I love my city through its good, bad and ugly sides and hence why I want to do my part in making the city I love and live in, just that little bit better for my children and grandchild to come then what I got in inheriting he city.

What are my values and beliefs that shape what I believe in:

• Lead by example (not the do as I say not as I do syndrome)
• Compassion to a fellow human (usually when they are in genuine need, not when it’s a case of Stupid as Stupid Does)
• Individual Freedom -> Individual Choice -> Individual Responsibility (this extends to one’s property as well)(that mantra is drawn straight from the National Party motto which they often struggle to upheld themselves too)
• Live within one’s means
• The collective and individual are interdependent to each other and when you make a choice, your decision making and resulting consequences/responsibilities must take into account both the collective and individual TOGETHER
• Acknowledgement and upholding of the Ten Commandments as the base of all conduct and the Rule of Western Law
• The Social Market Economy
• Discipline and force are required to keep those inline especially those who willingly conduct actions to harm another person, their property (or enterprise), and/or their “family”

And so what do I believe in?

I BELIEVE IN the following especially when looking to Civic Institutions:

1. Strong but no interfering Governance: Meaning Council  shows active and real leadership but does not interfere with the daily lives of residents and businesses
2. Finances: If my family has to live within its means then so does the civic institutions that impact on us greatly (that being Council and Government). You work out your income, then what you can spend on – NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND as with Auckland Council
3. An Integrated Approach to Transport: None of this “all for one but not the other approach” we get from both roading and Green lobbyists. Road and Mass Transit both have their places here in Auckland – albeit more balanced like the Generation Zero 50:50 campaign
   This integrated approach also applies to many other things out there – I call it The Best of Both Worlds.
4. Open Governance: I believe in open governance where the public can sit in, listen and where possible discuss “matters-of-state” as much as possible with their representatives. None of this hiding behind closed doors (except for commercially sensitive material that does come up from time to time), and fessing up when you know you have stuffed up. You might find the public are more sympathetic you one acknowledges and apologies for a legitimate mistake
5. Keeping It Local: Large centralised civic institutions seem impersonal (if not frightening) to most us. So how about keeping it Local and allow our Local Boards to be resourced properly so they can execute their true functions of local advocacy and providing our local community parks and services for us.
6. Basics first: One thing I learnt when I moved out from the parents’ home and struck it out in the real world (including getting married and owning our first house) is that with the limited resources you have got, you did the basics first then with anything left over you just might be able to afford a luxury. Same applies to our civic institutions; they have limited resources so get the basics right first then “treat yourself or others” to a luxury if you are able to do so once the basics are taken care of.
7. Listen and Engage: God gave us two ears and one mouth. In my line of work you actively listen with both ears THEN engage IN DAILOUGE with your one mouth. Not the other way around as that is usually monologue and the fastest way to get your ears clipped. Same applies to civic institutions:  you actively listen with both ears THEN engage IN DAILOUGE with your one mouth unless you like getting your ears clipped… Oh and remember some days all the person wants you to do is JUST LISTEN to their little piece – as all we want some days is just to get it off our chests.
8. Stay out of my way: I believe in the following strongly “Individual Freedom -> Individual Choice -> Individual Responsibility (oh and do not forget the consequences)”   I am an adult who can make choices for myself (whether it was right or wrong), treat me as such rather than a child.

If you want to see what “I believe in” and how my values shape something extensive then (if you have the time) read through both my Auckland and Long Term Plan submissions embedded below.

The Auckland Plan Submission

The Long Term Plan Submission

I am currently gearing up for my submission to the Unitary Plan next year when it comes up for submissions

So in brief that was a little about about me, my values and what I believe in when looking to our civic institutions (and when electing my representatives). 

As always, comments and questions below