Democracy Not Co-Governance
Sat, 30 Jul 2022, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Warkworth, Town Hall (2 Alnwick Street)
MC for the night: Greg Sayers
Greg Sayers is an Auckland Councillor and an experienced businessman. He is an independent candidate who has been re-elected as the Rodney Councillor on the Auckland Council.
He is working from a platform of stopping Council’s wastage and overspending, getting Council back to core business and having local rates spent locally.
Scott Bright, Groundswell NZ : “The Farming Situation-Update”
Scott Bright (Scotty) 62 yo. 1 of 3 boys , borne and raised on a dairy farm in Otaua (mouth of the Waikato river) is passionate about farming and has been involved in farming his whole life.
Married with 5 children and 5 grand children at 15y he trained as a diesel mechanic and from the age of 21 until retirement he owned several local and international business ranging from mechanical agricultural and construction.
Scotty is the Auckland coordinator for Groundswell and is a passionate advocate for Farmers and Farming in New Zealand.
Casey Costello, Hobson’s Pledge: “In defence of democracy – 3 Waters opening the floodgates”
Casey Costello is one of the founders of Hobson’s Pledge Trust and has been a strong advocate on the need for New Zealanders to be treated equally before the law.
Casey introduces herself as firstly a proud New Zealander recognising both her Ngapuhi and Anglo-Irish ancestry. Although living most of her life in Auckland her strongest connection or turangawaewae will always be in Northland. After a 14 year career in the New Zealand Police she left as a Detective Sergeant and Vice-President of the NZ Police Association. With her Police service mostly in South Auckland Casey has experienced first hand the challenges that face vulnerable communities. After leaving the Police Casey had held numerous management positions within government, security and construction.
Latterly she has been working to prevent exploitation and modern slavery and is a founding trustee of a charity established to support victims. She is also on the board for the New Zealand Taxpayers Union who lobby for lower taxes, less waste and more transparency by Government. Her role with Hobson’s Pledge is focused on advocating for equality and unity building awareness and preventing legislation, policy and regulations that will differentiate New Zealanders based upon their ethnicity.
“Equality of opportunity and aspirational leadership is what is needed now,” says Casey. “There are better solutions achieved when we recognize and respect what unites us.”
John Watson, Hibiscus Coast HBC Councillor
John Watson is an Auckland councillor for the Albany ward. Prior to that he also served a term as a Rodney District councillor for the Hibiscus Coast. For the last 6 years he has been on the Hauraki Gulf Forum as one of 7 elected representatives from the Auckland region. He also takes an ongoing interest in the advancement and protection of Auckland’s regional park network, a number of which are in the Rodney district. This year he was subject to a code of conduct complaint for publicly highlighting plans to turn the Hauraki Gulf Forum into a co-governed authority while simultaneously incorporating 21 coastal regional parks into the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
Photos from the event:
