Indian Newslink has given me the opportunity to write about the importance of media to our communities on the occasion of the 15th year of the establishment of Radio Tarana.
In this year of local body elections and historical change for the Auckland region, our media have never been more important.
Throughout the country, people are relying on our newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations and websites to keep them informed about the local issues, who is standing for office and their policies.
This is crucial in Auckland.
As the region goes through a fundamental change in local government, the only way Aucklanders can find out about the changes, what they mean, and what the candidates are standing for, is through the media.
The new Auckland council will have 12 wards and each councillor will represent up to 83,000 people. It would be extremely difficult for each candidate to meet all those people even at public meetings, explain their policies, and answer their questions.
In a region of 1.4 million people, there is no physical way the mayoral candidates could meet each voter although, I am trying to meet as many of you as possible by attending several meetings and gatherings every week.
Given the physical restraints, our media become vital and the niche, community media such as Indian Newslink and Radio Tarana have just as important a role to play as the large national or region-wide media.
One of the things that make Auckland such a vibrant city is the number of diverse communities, each with its own character, strengths and set of concerns.
All of us take pride in being Aucklanders and have a common interest in region-wide issues such as transport and infrastructure.
But we also care about the issues facing our special communities.
It is the role of local community media, whether it is a local suburban newspaper, a national community newspaper like Indian Newslink, a radio station such as Radio Tarana, magazines such as Business to Business or websites such as transportblog.co.nz, to raise issues concerning the community.
You can then judge the candidates by how they answer the questions posed by your community.
I have already reached out to many of Auckland’s diverse communities in this campaign through the media that represent their views and ask the questions they care about.
I will continue doing so.
I value the opportunity of talking with the members of the Indian community through their respective media outlets.
I urge you to use your media to ensure all candidates know what is important to you as we move towards this historic change.
Indian Newslink and Radio Tarana are two important organs in the democratic process.
Their prominence in the media landscape highlights the importance of valuing the diversity of our city.
Congratulations to the team at Radio Tarana on the occasion of the 15th year of the station. I look forward to many more years of quality broadcasting to the wider Auckland community.
Len Brown is the Mayor of Manukau City and a Mayoral Candidate at the forthcoming Auckland (Super City) Mayoral elections. He is an occasional contributor to the columns of Indian Newslink.
