Adele Geradts - Halswell Community Advocate

11/10/2022

Thanks to everyone who voted for me and supported me through the campaign while I was unsuccessful now it's time to move on to the next stage.

I am still actively involved with the Halswell Community project as co-chairperson at the Halswell Hub. Also, with the Halswell Residents Association as Treasurer and Social media manager.

I will post things here that I do with both organisations to inform and engage on both local issues and things that affect Christchurch as a whole.

I encourage and support residents making submissions to the community board and to the City Council as well. Let's engage on what the issues are and find solutions with our community board and council.

11/10/2022

11/10/2022

09/10/2022

Time to relax with my daughter and enjoy the sun. Thanks again, everyone. Its been a privilege to run for the people's choice and for halswell.

08/10/2022

Congratulations to Marie who was successful in being elected to the community board. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful this time but I will still be active in the community. Thanks to everyone who supported us in this campaign.

05/10/2022

A spring snow fall in halswell with 2 days to go until the election is complete it is my last few days of my campaign not time to finish yet! Don’t forget to drop off your vote at the library by Saturday noon!

05/10/2022

Missed the deadline to post your vote in the local body elections via NZ Post?

Don't worry - you can return your voting papers via any open Christchurch City Council Library or Service Centre, ECan, or the Civic Offices up until 12 noon on Saturday, 8th October.

Including Te Hapua Halswell Centre, 341 Halswell Road.

Other locations are listed below:
* Akaroa Library, 2 Selwyn Avenue
* Akaroa Service Centre, 78 Rue Lavaud
* Aranui Library, 109 Aldershot Street
* Council Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street
* Diamond Harbour Library, Waipapa Avenue
* Environment Canterbury, 200 Tuam Street
* Fendalton Library, 4 Jeffreys Road
* Hornby Library and Service Centre, 8 Goulding Ave
* Linwood Library, Floor 1, Eastgate Mall, Buckley Road
* Little River Library, 4238 Christchurch Akaroa Road
* Lyttelton Library, 18 Canterbury Street
* Matuku Takotako Sumner Centre, 14 Wakefield Ave
* New Brighton Library, 213 Marine Parade
* Ōrauwhata Bishopdale Library, 13 Bishopdale Court
* Papanui Service Centre, 35 Langdons Road
* Parklands Library, 46 Queenspark Drive
* Redwood Library, 339 Main North Road
* Riccarton Service Centre, 199 Clarence Street
* Shirley Library, 36 Marshland Road
* South Library, 66 Colombo Street
* Spreydon Library, 266 Barrington Street
* Te Hapua Halswell Centre, 341 Halswell Road
* Tūranga, 60 Cathedral Square
* Upper Riccarton Library, 71 Main South Road
Other

04/10/2022

Today is your last day to post your vote for the local body elections!

Don't forget to vote and have your voice heard.

02/10/2022

It’s great to see how multicultural families can respect and keep traditions from both sides of their families in the next generation.

My husband and I have 4 adult children now and we decided to give our children 2 middle names one from each side of our families.

It connected both our families and allowed family names to be carried down another generation.
Traditions and simple acts of respect mean a lot.

Kiwi couples are creating children who will be our multicultural future.

28/09/2022

It was a pleasure catching up with Anne Galloway, our retiring City Councilor for Halswell, a few days ago. Today, she will be giving her valedictory speech at Council. Anne endorses both myself and Marie Pollisco JP for the Halswell community board.

Authorised by Reuben Davidson, [email protected]

27/09/2022

very concerning that our water quality is still a issue

Water quality in rivers and streams is likely to be worse in highly-modified areas, whether because of urban environments or pasture.

27/09/2022

Have your say in these local body elections!

Posting your vote?
Put your completed voting papers in the self-addressed prepaid return envelope.

Don’t include anyone else’s voting papers in your envelope.

Seal the envelope and post it back!

You can use the PostShop/Kiwibank locator https://www.nzpost.co.nz/tools/postshop-kiwibank-locator to find out where post boxes are located in your area.

When posting, voting documents should be posted no later than 5pm on Tuesday, 4 October, to guarantee delivery before the close of voting.

Or alternatively, you can hand-deliver your vote!

Completed voting documents can be returned to Christchurch City Council Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street or to Te Hapua Halswell Library and Service Centre, 341 Halswell Road.

27/09/2022

Halswell has 18,752 registered voters, and so far, 1,856 returned votes, 9.9%. Please post your votes to have your voice heard!

24/09/2022

Do you know any electors who haven’t received Council Election Voting papers?

please ask them to get in touch with Christchurch City Council: [email protected] or 03 941 8999

The Christchurch City Council can advise them how they can be issued with special voting documents. These are being issued from the Council’s Civic Offices and eight Service Centres Monday to Friday.

Voting closes Saturday 8 October at 12noon.

24/09/2022

With only 14 days left it is time to post your vote

You can do that at the local library or in any Nz postbox

Please don’t forget to vote!

21/09/2022

for those that have asked how to find the live stream of the community board meetings here is the link to this weeks meeting. https://youtu.be/cVzxcJ7dsco

21/09/2022

Last night at the Halswell Residents Association meet the candidates night the Community Board Candidates were asked

"How are you going to lift the board's profile in the community and make it an effective voice?"

As I only had 2 minutes to answer and it was hard to hear people at times I thought I would post my full Answer here.

To be truly effective as a community board the whole board must work together for the best interests of Halswell, Hornby and Riccarton so being an effective team member is going to be important in this next term.

To be truly effective the community board needs to be connected to the community and know and understand what the current issues are - Halswell is in a good position with an active Residents (HRA) association and an active community project group (HCP) that has connections across a broad range of groups. I am actively involved in both the HRA and the HCP and feel confident that I can tap into the right leaders in the community to help residents express their concerns.

1. I would like to see the community boards meet in their local areas - Halswell, Hornby and Riccarton - have been meeting almost exclusively either in Riccarton or online

I would like the community board to rotate where it meets so that it can be easier for locals to come in and meet with the board in person - ie one month meet at Halswell, next month met at Hornby, then Riccarton service centre then starts over so that for at least 3 months of the year meetings would be in the local areas.

2. I mentioned that the community board meetings are available online and I would like to continue to see that happening and to ensure that links to the latest meetings continue to be spread far and wide within the community. This supports the people's choice policy of seeking Standardised digital access across City and Regional Council meetings. Enabling residents to watch or listen to meetings when they want to.

3. I would like to encourage residents to contact me with concerns and would look at hosting a monthly informal meeting at a local cafe to talk with residents and leaders of different organisations in the area either with other community board members and/or with the local City Councillor.

4. I would reach out to the local schools and see how best to connect with those communities - it may be by way of a regular update for their school newsletter or it may be by visiting the school and having an in-person meeting there for those interested.

4. I would use social media to connect with as many residents as possible and keep them informed of current and upcoming issues via various pages in and around Halswell including the Halswell Community page which has 17,000 members.

5. I would make sure I made a monthly submission to the Halswell Project newsletter to have an update from the community board in it - currently, approx 10,000 people read this each month,

6. I would reach out to the retirement villages and see if they have a residents association meeting that I could visit occasionally or a regular newsletter I could submit an update to.

7. I would also look out for newsworthy issues that could lift the profile of the community board in the local newspaper (focus on good news stories).

Please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have I am keen to answer your questions.

19/09/2022

Come along tonight to the Halswell Residents Association Meet the Candidates night. Ask all the candidates questions and be informed on who you are voting for. See you tonight!

19/09/2022

A very important day for women in New Zealand history!

Mark this day by voting for our excellent Labour women candidates in this year's local body elections: Jackie Simons - Linwood Central Heathcote Community Board; Michelle Lomax For Burwood; Dr. Sunita Gautam Community Board Member-Central Ward; Kim Moss for Hornby Ward; Melanie S A Coker; Pauline Cotter City Councillor for Innes; and our The People's Choice colleagues: Chrys Horn ECan Candidate for Ōwhanga Christchurch South; Brynlea Stocks - For Central/Ōhoko; Shreejana Chhetri for Innes Ward; Luana Swindells; Cathy Lum-Webb for Lyttelton Community Board - Banks Peninsula; Adele Geradts for Halswell Ward; Marie Pollisco JP

18/09/2022

Second night out in a row at a pub quiz this time for Hillmortion high school fundraising for new Keyboards for their music department. I hope they reach their target soon, it was a fun night out but I forgot to take pictures!

17/09/2022

Last night out with Marie at the Halswell School quiz night with our team was lots of fun for all.

16/09/2022

I agree transparency is very important, it’s only fair people know the values and worldview of those that they elect to represent them.

It’s good to see candidates clearly saying before the election what funding they have had from various people and organisations.

I have support from The People’s Choice, it is a progressive left leaning organisation with people from Labour and Green backgrounds. This is a good match for my values and worldview. Other than The People’s Choice I am self funded, no other special interest groups.

Transparency is important to me too.

At Tuesdays candidate debate, it was great to see all candidates say 'yes' to transparency and that funding should be declared prior to an election - not after (as it currently is).

That high didn't last long when a candidate refused to elaborate on who was funding him. Given a second opportunity later on, he still stands by his decision to keep that private.

Voters need to know what candidates really stand for and who they're getting help from.

Candidates need to be transparent and honest.

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67222143/the-star-september-15-2022/10

16/09/2022

It is so important that people learn about who they vote for and that they VOTE in this (and all) Elections.
Disinformation, fake news, antivaccine and antigovernment groups thrive in a democracy that is not being actively participated in.

16/09/2022

Voting papers start going out today and now is a good time to stop and think

Why is it important to vote in local body elections?

Local elections decide who represents us in our city, community boards and regional councils.

The people elected to local councils and community boards get to make decisions about our daily lives and the future of our suburbs and city. They set and collect rates, oversee town planning, and provide services like rubbish collection, parks and libraries. They look after our roads and footpaths, our water, wastewater and stormwater. Our Community Board supports and looks after our community and our neighbour's communities

Our community board is important the purpose of a community board is to represent and act as an advocate for the interests of the community;
To consider and report on any matter referred to it by the council, and any issues of interest to the community board;
To make an annual submission to their council on expenditure; To maintain an overview of services provided by their council within the community; and

Communicate with community organisations and special interest groups in the community, and undertake any other responsibilities delegated by their council.

Communicating with and connecting with the community is something I am good at. I want to represent and advocate for everyone in Halswell and find solutions that benefit the community.

Look out for your voting pack in the Mail

11/09/2022

Been a busy few days door-knocking meeting residents and delivering letters around the Haswell area with Marie Pollisco JP. Only a few more days till voting papers go out on Friday 16th September.

Feel free to ask me any questions or let me know what issues worry you in Haswell?

07/09/2022

Today will be a tense day for Christchurch city council and for residents who don't want uncontrolled intensification of housing in Christchurch.

As I have been calling and talking with people, this issue has come up repeatedly.
"Intensification, we don't want it."

Housing Affordability is a massive problem in Nz and Christchurch - we don't like to admit people are struggling to pay rent, let alone be able to save to buy a property. It's not a new problem its been a growing issue even before the earthquakes of 2011 and now the pandemic.

The median rent in Halswell is $570/week for a 3-bedroom house or $650/ week for a 4-bedroom house. According to the tenancy services market, rent to 31 July 2022.

Christchurch’s average house value was $744,661 at the end of the year (2021), according to real estate analysts CoreLogic.

Intensification done right will reduce housing costs in NZ, and I support that. House intensification, if done right along main public transport routes with robust public transport systems in place, will reduce housing costs and emissions as people can use public transport instead of driving a single-occupancy cars to get where they want to go. It will be a win for the Climate and a win for Housing.

The problem I see is that many areas in Christchurch don't yet have robust public transport routes, and many people in Christchurch don't want to live in a multistory building (especially post 2011). People want a house and at least a small garden - we are the Garden city after all.

I do know that The Peoples Choice policies on Connecting Christchurch by securing an affordable mass rapid transit system for Christchurch and City in a Park policy committing to making Christchurch a world-leading environmental city will, in the long term, help residents.

It's important to hear people's concerns and to present that information to the city council; it's also important that our council listens to the people they have been elected by and tries to find a compromise that works for the majority (I would have said all but I know you can't please everyone).

https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-christchurch/im-not-big-fan-it-christchurch-housing-density-vote-causes-tension

Tensions are running high in Christchurch as the city council prepares this morning to vote on controversial new national housing density rules.

04/09/2022

Do you want to know more about me and what I stand for? Please check out Policy NZ it has my and other candidates' information running in this local body election.

Feel free to contact me and ask any questions.

https://policy.nz/2022/waipuna-halswell-hornby-riccarton-community-board-halswell-subdivision/candidates/adele-geradts

Don’t know who to vote for? Policy.nz is the complete guide to the 2022 local government elections. Compare the candidates to see where you stand.

03/09/2022

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and too all the mums doing it all by themselves have a good day celebrating parents.

01/09/2022

Wilbur was out and found my sign.