The Otago Regional Council (ORC) looks after things like buses and Otago’s natural environment – and a group of candidates are announcing a ‘Better Deal for Students’. They reckon some of these ideas may be lucrative for student voters in the upcoming Local Government Elections.
ORC candidates Alan Somerville, Gretchen Robertson, Tim Mepham, Alex King, James Cockle, and Elliot Weir (a current student and former Critic staff member) are the brains behind the idea. In a statement to Critic Te Ārohi, the group expressed, “For too long the needs of students have been ignored by local government and thought of as a transient presence, as unengaged, and as insulated from the rest of the Dunedin community – and city leaders need to take some responsibility for this disconnect.”
A big part of the plan includes shake-ups of bus services for students. Ideas thrown into the ring include making them free for tertiary students, an airport service, and targeted late night routes on Friday and Saturday nights. Other tauira-centred ideas include growing council outreach at Tent City and on campus, increasing ORC science collaboration with the Uni and Polytech and helping student groups take environmental action through the EcoFund.
Members of the OUSA Exec reckoned it sounded like a good deal. President Liam said that it would go a long way in showing that the ORC – whilst not as “glamorous” as the DCC, apparently – can have a pro-student impact. International Rep Ibuki was a particular fan of the bus proposals, pointing out that the Student Charter released earlier in the year listing their priority policies for local body elections included mention of a direct airport bus service (tick!). Finance and Strategy Officer Daniel, however, noted that while they supported anything good for students, he wanted to be clear they weren’t outright endorsing these candidates. Noted.
With Otago sporting some of the highest numbers of candidates in the upcoming election, there are many campaign policies and candidates for students to sort through and see who could represent them best. Completed voting papers need to be posted by the 7th of October. For those not enrolled, special votes can be done at the City Council’s building in the Octagon.