The “Ponsonby Reshuffle”

Mana (Auckland), Volume 2, Issue 1, 6 April 1978, Page 1

The “Ponsonby Reshuffle”

Ponsonby will get its third Auckland City Council community advisor within the space of a year. Mr Neil Smith who is currently Community Development Officer with the City Council, feels that he can make a greater contribution to the community by being in closer contact with people rather than being behind a desk doing an administrative job. He therefore applied for the Ponsonby post where he can fulfill this capacity. Mr Smith says the high turnover of advisers is common in any stressful occupation. He points out that Ponsonby like any other area has its unique issues like the changing social composition, housing redevelopment and motorway construction. He hopes to keep a more regu-

lar staffing situation at the Ponsonby Citizens Advice Bureau, revive the school holiday programme at both the Ponsonby and Freemans Bay Community centres and after school activities. He will also be helping out at the new alternative school centre in Vermont Street. It will be two months before Mr Smith can take up his appointment as the Council is now looking for. someone to replace him as head of the Community Advice Section. Meanwhile there is growing unrest among some Polynesian people in Ponsonby who claim that applicants from outside the Council staff for the community advisers job did not have a fair chance. A coalition of concerned Polynesians have intentions of confronting the Council on this issue.