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The following was made by an elected representative in Public Mode on Facebook.
Councillor Quax Replies
On the 4th January I picked up Howick Ward’s Councillor Dick Quax’s remark about public transport in reply to a Tweet about Sylvia Park going partial solar. You can see that initial exchange here: https://voakl.net/2015/01/04/councillor-dick-quax-tweets/
Well after a very long but quite civil debate for the most part this lands in the NZ Herald today:
Auckland councillor Dick Quax gets tweeters all a-twitter
5:00 AM Wednesday Jan 7, 2015I saac Davison
Some of Auckland councillor Dick Quax’s tweets have drawn outraged responses.
Auckland councillor Dick Quax has been causing a stir online with flippant comments about public transport and the regular presence of police in an Auckland suburb.
The Howick councillor and former Olympian, who describes himself as “pragmatic and moderate” on his Twitter page, sparked a lengthy debate on the social media site after several tweets to his 339 followers.
In one tweet on Friday, he appeared to suggest a nearby suburb was crime-ridden: “Police helicopter ‘Eagle’ now declared official bird of Glen Innes,” he said.
Some people responded with surprise, saying it was “unbelievable” and a “disgraceful” comment by an elected official.
Mr Quax defended his tweet yesterday, saying it was a personal observation which was accurate.
“In fact, the police helicopter was up there last night for another half-hour. It’s more common than anywhere else it appears.
“I don’t know if it’s got a high crime rate or not but it does seem the police helicopter does spend a lot of time there. You might want to check with police if it’s one of the areas they spend more time.”
Police do not keep records of Eagle call-outs by suburb, but regional statistics show the helicopter’s activities were evenly split between Auckland City, Counties Manukau and Waitemata. National police statistics show the burglary resolution rate in Glen Innes is 8 per cent, compared with 9 per cent in Mr Quax’s Howick ward.
Mr Quax also fired up some Twitter users with his comments about public transport on Saturday.
Responding to a tweet which said the shopping mall Sylvia Park needed better transport options, Mr Quax said “no one in the entire Western world uses the train for their shopping trips”.
He later added: “[T]he very idea that people lug home their supermarket shopping on the train is fanciful”.
The tweets prompted more than 100 responses.
When some users pointed out that “smart, elegant Europeans” shopped without cars, he said these same people were responsible for starting two world wars.
Mr Quax said he could be “a bit flippant” at times, but added people could get “carried away” on Twitter.
I don’t quite think the Councillor for Tamaki and National Party member Denise Krum, nor Tamaki MP National’s Simon O’Conner will be rather thrilled with ACT supporter Quax’s remarks and later justifications around the G.I tweet. Especially when Glen Innes is undergoing large gentrification and urban renewal that is disrupting the community at the moment. I also think the City will not be particular amused either of the behaviour of an elected representative and especially his reply on Facebook below:
My tweet appears to have taken flight. The observation made and relayed through twitter got the usual suspects all in a lather. One even suggesting that my comment was racist! One thing I’ve noticed a comparing FB with Twitter is the downright venom and hostility that is directed when those on Twitter (mostly anonymous) disagree with a tweet. Their modus operandi appears to be don’t engage in debate but brow beat and bully those with whom you disagree into submission. There is a certain pack mentality on Twitter driven mostly by a far left fringe that supports extreme “green” causes and Dotcom. I will continue to tweet my views and observations and share views that should be debated and welcome new followers on Twitter.
…..
Looking back over the entire debate from both flippant Tweets I would say around 90% of all replies back were civil, academic (links even provided) and were coming from both Centre Left AND Centre RIGHT of the political spectrum. Yes both sides were annoyed with Quax one way or the other. Arguably the Centre Right being fiscal conservatives later on began talking about budget constraints with transport investment but it is a debate we will all be having soon.
So the question you might be thinking is why am I reporting on this?
It is because I hold elected representatives to high standards and what Quax said and replied with I personally deem conduct unbecoming not just posting observant tweets about where the police helicopter is or was. Also tar brushing off your respondents with false claims is not going to do anyone favours. As little has been deleted Twitter does hold the virtual record of the entire debate for your reference if you are so inclined.
I wonder if Howick Ward might want to stand a more pragmatic conservative Councillor next time rather than an Anti-Everything Councillor that makes very stupid remarks….
One thought on “Councillor Quax Lands In Herald – And Replies”
Incredible. Thanks for reporting this, because I really had no idea how arrogant and utterly clueless he is. Aucklanders deserve better than him on our Council—his continued presence clearly diminishes Council and demeans us all.
Talking Southern Auckland 
Incredible. Thanks for reporting this, because I really had no idea how arrogant and utterly clueless he is. Aucklanders deserve better than him on our Council—his continued presence clearly diminishes Council and demeans us all.