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Ilango Krishnamoorthy to contest for Auckland Council

Labour’s candidates from Manurewa-Papakura

Supplied (Edited) Content
Auckland, June 20, 2019

Peter Neilson and Ilango Krishnamoorthy (Picture Supplied)

One of the most popular community leaders is to contest for the post of a Councillor in the forthcoming Auckland Council election this year, it has just been announced.

A long-term friend of many people across the social spectrum in New Zealand, Mr Krishnamoorthy’s decision to seek a seat in the echelons of the Auckland Council is being hailed ‘as the right move, at the right time to strengthen the hands of Phil Goff, if he is re-elected to run the Office of Auckland Mayoralty.

Local government elections will be on Saturday, October 12, 2019.

Following is a Press Release:

The Labour Party has selected Manurewa business owner Ilango Krishnamoorthy and economist and former Labour cabinet minister Peter Neilson as our two candidates to contest the  Manurewa-Papakura  Auckland Council positions for this year’s local body elections, Labour Party Manurewa Electorate Committee Chair Andrew Beyer said.

“Ilango and Peter both have extensive business and community service experience along with the local links to be strong advocates for our community,” he said.

About the candidates

Ilango Krishnamoorthy is a South Auckland business and community leader. He has lived in Manurewa for nearly 30 years and seeks more cooperation between the Council, the local boards and the local MPs for the benefit of our community.

Peter Neilson is an experienced economist, and policy adviser who knows how to get things done at both the council and central government level. He has family links with the Manurewa Papakura area. His son Alexander lives with his wife in Papakura and a brother and his wife live in Waiau Pa just down the road from Karaka.

Better Representation

Labour has decided to stand candidates for the two Manurewa Papakura Council positions this year, in addition to the Manurewa Local Board to provide better representation for all the communities in Manurewa and more effective Councillors at the Auckland Council, Mr Beyer said.

The full Manurewa Local Board Labour team including Ilango Krishnamoorthy will be announced soon.

Mr Krishnamoorthy said that among the regional issues are traffic congestion, affordable housing, better planning for our future and safer communities.

“The other big issue is restoring trust in our Council and Councillors,” he said.

“Mr Neilson and I understand that Auckland is a fast-growing city, needing to catch up with investment in social and transport infrastructure that has to be paid for. We also know that rates are a cost that needs close monitoring by councillors. Our backgrounds include managing large projects where cost control was essential. Says Ilango, we will work to minimise rate increases and ensure Manurewa Papakura gets the priority it needs,” Mr Krishnamoorthy said.

Importance of Councillors

Mr Neilson said that the people of Manurewa and Papakura need Councillors to represent them, and persuade their fellow Councillors to make decisions to help South Auckland and the City as a whole.

“There are two parts to fixing this. First, we know that politicians pay more attention to the people who turn out to vote. We have to lift the number of people who vote in local body election in Manurewa Papakura and across South Auckland.

“Second, we need to have councillors who understand our needs and will work with the Auckland Council the local boards and our MPs to make things happen. The easiest Councillor strategy is to grandstand in the media, alienate the council staff and fellow councillors, achieve very little and then as a consequence persuade most of the community to not vote,” Mr Neilson said.

“As councillors our priority will be to restore trust in our elected representatives, by working cooperatively with our local boards, our MPs, the council and our fellow councillors,” he added.

Mr Krishnamoorthy said that he and Mr Neilson were looking forward to serving the wider community as Councillors.

About Ilango Krishnamoorthy

Ilango Krishnamoorthy (Picture Supplied)

Ilango Krishnamoorthy came to Manurewa from India nearly thirty years ago and set up his successful printing business on Lambie Drive in Manukau City.

He with his with his wife and family in Hillpark, Manurewa, where his children attended local schools. He has been actively involved in the ‘Let’s Beat Diabetes Campaign’ in Counties Manukau.

Arriving in New Zealand with two University degrees in Science and Automotive Engineering, Mr Krishnamoorthy graduated in MBA from Waikato University in 1996.

He has been an active member of the Labour Party and currently serves on the Ethnic Council Policy Team. He is also an Indian community leader who played a key role in establishing a Hindu Temple in South Auckland.

Mr Krishnamoorthy wants to see a safer community, greater understanding of the benefits of diversity and a much wider appreciation of what Manurewa Papakura offers the whole region.

“The Vodafone Events Centre and the Botanic Gardens are fantastic facilities that unfortunately many Aucklanders have never visited. I want more Aucklanders to understand what Manurewa Papakura offers,” he said.

Mr Krishnamoorthy will also be a candidate for the Manurewa Local Board.

About Peter Neilson

Peter Neilson (Picture Supplied)

Peter Neilson is a Consulting Economist with his own consultancy firm advising central government and local government agencies as well as businesses and NGOs mainly on bringing about policy reform.

He was brought up in Auckland and went to school in Glen Innes and Glendowie before attending Auckland University where he graduated with a BCom in Economics.

He understands the transformational experience of being the first in your family to get a good education. While a student at Auckland University he stood as a Labour Party candidate for the former Auckland Regional Authority alongside David Lange, Helen Clark and Jim Anderton.

After graduation, he married Librarian Megan Clark who was raised in Papatoetoe and moved to Wellington with her to become the Economist at the Department of Labour.

At the age of 25, Mr Neilson was selected to stand for Labour in the then National held Miramar seat. He won the seat being elected to Parliament in 1981 alongside Phil Goff and Helen Clark. 

He was appointed the Associate Minister of Finance to Sir Roger Douglas, the MP for Manurewa in 1987. He was also appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Revenue and Public Works and Chairman of the National Roads Board.

After leaving Parliament, Mr Neilson became an international government reform consultant. More recently, he was Chief Executive of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and CEO of the Financial Services Council.

He is currently Chair of the Simplicity Trust which distributes 15% of the fee income received by the low fee KiwiSaver provider Simplicity to charities.

Mr Neilson has also served as a board member for WWF New Zealand, was a Deputy Chair of ACC for many years and recently joined the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing board.

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