What do you know about the candidates contesting the 2016 mayoral seats in the wider Otago and Southland region? In the last of our Q&A series with regional mayoral candidates, Tracey Roxburgh and Tim Miller put the questions to the five men who want to be mayor of Queenstown Lakes district.
In 2013 Glenorchy’s Al Angus was the only person to challenge outgoing mayor Vanessa van Uden for the Queenstown Lakes district mayoralty, collecting 1509 votes to Ms van Uden’s 6506.
Three years on Mr Angus, who moved to the Wakatipu in the late 1970s, is standing again.
Originally from Methven, he moved to the district after visiting as a teenager and becoming "totally enchanted with the place".
"And it’s never stopped.
"Regardless of all the comings and goings and the obscene damned greed that’s going on now — according to me — there’s still a thin layer of really, really good people in this district."
The Glenorchy area resident believes it is time for someone with ‘‘good practical aptitude and common sense’’ to lead the district into the future, someone who is going to be "banging the drum for us".
"The Queenstown council has been ruled by half a dozen of Queenstown’s business royalty for the last 30 or 40 years. They’ve had their turn."
Why are you standing for mayor?
It’s pretty clear ... that it’s time for a complete culture change in there and that’s what I’m about.
Bringing some principles rather than personalities would be a good way of putting it.
What I stood for [in 2013] was pretty much the same thing, trying to get some common sense into the place and stop frittering away our money.
I still got over a quarter of the votes and got my money back and I only spent $200, so if I’d spent $400 I could have been the mayor, possibly.
Will you be a full-time mayor and why?
To begin to tidy up the mess you couldn’t do it part-time.
It would be more than full-time — it’d probably take just about every damn hour you’re given.
Seriously, that place is in a real pickle.It’s time for somebody to get in there with just good practical experience.
I’ve been in heavy earthworks over half of my working life ... I know how stuff works, basically, and I know how negligence and ignorance doesn’t work.
You’ve got to spend the money and put in the infrastructure properly.
What position do you think the district is in?
Infrastructure-wise we are in very dire straits.
We have got coming huge bills for what we’ve left, what hasn’t been done.
This ... no rates increase, is just nonsense.
They’ve hooked out all of the services on to other things.
When I first came here your rubbish got picked up and included in your rates, the rubbish guys were strong enough to pick up a dust bin full of ashes ... and you could go to the rubbish dump and dump your stuff.
Now, if you go out to that transfer station, it costs you $50 if you drop your hanky.
You’re not holding the rates, you’re just buying all these damned services that should have been included.
We really need to start bringing some of this stuff back in-house.
It’s just all over the place.
What are three issues facing the incoming council, and why?
Roading, infrastructure, car parking without a doubt.
You go to Remarkables Park ... massive parking you can walk around there all day, have a cup of tea, go here and go there and spend money for hours.
In Queenstown you go in there, buy a coffee and you’re on the jigger because you know you’ve got a line on your car, you know you’ve got to move it.
It’s just tension from the word go and it shouldn’t be like that — it’s just nuts.
What would be one thing you would like to have achieved by the end of your term, and why?
Definitely have every kid that can get in the water able to swim.
I think that is just so important.
They’ve been cutting that back and in 10 years we’re going to have kids drowning — there’s so much water around.
A basic life skill like that is an absolute must.
The human side of things, having all the kids able to swim would be a priority for me; it certainly won’t be everybody’s.
Al Angus
Age: 59.
Occupation: Mechanic, now working in light engineering.
Marital status: In a relationship.
Council experience: None as an elected representative, but experience in dealing with the council on a variety of matters.
Describe yourself in three words: Just straight up.
