In these crucial local body elections, I urge readers to remember who of the current councillors supported cuts and charges to basic local library services earlier this year.
Rick Curach suggested the crass ‘a buck a book' slogan, and moved $1 charges on borrowing all items for users over 18 years of age. Hayden Evans supported this motion. There began a six month campaign for our team of library supporters to fight ridiculous, fiscally-minded proposals. Our team put huge personal time, money, and effort into challenging this current Council's preferred option of charging to borrow library books. However we, and many Tauranga folk, successfully won. This was a huge victory for Tauranga as a community, and I believe we regained the respect of other NZ towns who were watching to see what would happen here. Therefore I would like to challenge all candidates (including Mayor Crosby, who is now talking of slowing down rates increases) to make clear their position on the place of library and arts services in our growing community.
Our rates are rising at a shocking pace and I for one still believe that essential services can be provided without huge increases to household spending. Yet how will we cap or reign in rates escalation, while retaining assets such as the 4 local libraries? How will you support our libraries? What is the place of a Museum in our community? How do we support the Art Gallery? What is your vision for growing the cultural capital of Tauranga? What is your pledge?
I challenge every Council and Mayoral candidate to publicly make their strategy on these points clear, so that we do not have to become the laughing stock of NZ. We are watching with avid interest.
Vanessa Byrnes,
Save Our Libraries Campaign Leader.