Latest news with #TomRoud
Scoop
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Councillors Gough And Keown Have Short Memories About Lyttelton Port Issues, Says Alliance Council Candidate
Tom Roud, Alliance Party candidate for central ward in this year's Christchurch council elections, says some councillors have 'conveniently short memories' when it comes to the port of Lyttelton. 'Whilst the Council may have set up a structure through Christchurch City Holdings Limited that maintains an 'arm's length' relationship with port management, that doesn't mean our elected representatives shouldn't be able to step in on our behalf if things are going awry,' he said. Mr Roud continued: 'there are precedents for this – during the very disruptive and acrimonious industrial dispute of 2018, I know councillors were talking to unions and I don't doubt they were talking to management. After that dispute was settled both unions and management got a very clear signal that industrial relations had to change and under the previous CEO they did'. 'Going back further, the last time the idea of selling off the port was floated our elected representatives engaged with unions and were led to understand the level of resistance such a move would generate. This was, in part, driven by concerns about the disastrous consequences privatisation would have for health and safety. Councillors were under no illusions an already questionable health and safety performance would arguably get worse,' said Mr Roud. 'More recently, during COVID the value of public ownership of such a strategic asset was demonstrated. Port management and the workforce were really clear that keeping goods moving safely across the waterfront was the priority, not short-term profitability. That view didn't just fall out of the sky. Public ownership means accountability to us, the voters and ratepayers, let's keep it that way,' he said.
Scoop
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Alliance Party Launches First Campaign In Over A Decade
Tom Roud, candidate for the revitalised Alliance Party, is launching his campaign for Christchurch City Council Friday 4 July with a fundraising event at local venue Space Academy, starting 7.30pm. The Alliance Party announced its return to active electioneering in early June to endorse Tom Roud for Christchurch City Council. Alliance Party President Victor Billot says 'Tom, along with other younger people, saw the Alliance as a good fit for the politics they wanted to see in action and we agreed.' Mr Billot will be speaking at the launch event., 'we are very happy to have such a high quality candidate who is promoting the Alliance's ambitious social democratic alternative, tailored for local government," he said. Mr Roud, a librarian who plays in a local band in his spare time, says his guiding principle is an egalitarian politics that works for working people. 'We don't hear enough from working people and their families. To be a great place to live, Christchurch has to be a great place for everyone to live. Good jobs, affordable housing, no asset sales along with the expansion of public assets, and public spending that improves the lives of ordinary Kiwis.' Mr Roud said he is providing an aspirational alternative that would motivate voters, including increasing the turnout of younger voters and renters. 'This ward is almost 70% renters, and the community here is considerably younger than the city average. Young workers living in the city centre deserve strong representation', he says. His campaign launch, set for the same day nominations open, includes performances from high profile Christchurch acts Pickle Darling, This Dog, and The Eastern. 'Christchurch can become a cultural powerhouse for live music, and that's part of what motivated my campaign. I am grateful to have amazing local talent playing at my campaign launch', he says.
RNZ News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
The Alliance Party brushes off the dust for 2025 local body elections
They may have deregistered from the Electoral Commission in 2015, and their Wikipedia page may be written in the past tense, but Alliance Party president Victor Billot insists the party never fully went away. Alliance has announced it will be running a candidate for the central ward in Christchurch's 2025 local body elections, librarian and musician Tom Roud, with the revamped party describing itself as aligned with left-wing, social democratic values. Party president Victor Billot joins Emile Donovan. Photo: Victor Billot
