INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE FOR BANKS PENINSULA NUK KORAKO COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL PLANNED FOR PENINSULA Independent Council Candidate for Banks Peninsula, Nuk Korako announced plans to establish a Community Advisory Panel if elected to represent the ward. “We need to get on with rebuilding the business centre of Lyttelton. We need to re-connect as a community with key businesses here such as the Lyttelton Port Company. If elected I intend to establish a Community Advisory Panel which will work with businesses like the Port Company to ensure community needs are taken into account when they make decisions.” CEO of Lyttleton Port Company Peter Davie says that the Port Company wants to continue to work with the community and he would support any initiative to ensure community needs are considered alongside port development. Korako will also establish forums to ensure youth and older people living on the Peninsula have a voice in rebuilding their community. “Too often our senior citizens and youth are not well represented in decision making. These people are our storehouse of experience , and our future, and it is important that they have an opportunity to raise issues that are important to them, but more importantly contribute solutions to those issues. “Many young people and families have expressed disappointment about the time it is taking to get a decision on the future of the Norman Kirk Memorial Pool in Lyttelton. This is a key community asset used widely by the community, with over 7,000 people using it each summer. “We need to speed up the decision on its future. It is one of the top 30 facilities identified by Council as a priority to investigate and resolve as fast as possible. We want more than that – we want an outcome. I understand the pool is underinsured. As a community we need leadership to gain more funding or raise money to ensure we retain this vital community asset. “There has been some excellent work done by the Lyttelton Youth Centre in developing sound programmes for Lyttelton Youth. I want to see this replicated in other areas across the Peninsula, particularly Governors Bay. “We need to work together and think about what the Peninsula will look like in 5 to 10 years. The decisions we make now will have a huge influence on our lifestyle. There are some innovative things happening on the Peninsula like the successful Lyttelton Farmers Market and the Lyttelton Urban Downhill bike race. “By establishing forums that will capture the thoughts and opinions of our youth and our older people, we will get the balance right and ensure our decisions reflect the whole of our society, where all opinions count. “The idea of a command and control led recovery is gone. To be truly effective we must engage with everyone in our community and initiate a community-led recovery for not only the Peninsula, but all of Christchurch”, says Nuk Korako.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:39:07 +0000