I once heard a politician state "Dunedin should be an affordable place to live that is inclusive of all walks of life" I was very happy to see a pride resolution and some official policy towards those ends last year. While we certainly should celebrate every step closer to equality we have a long way to go. Our ordinances themselves, wether intentional or unintentional, have the negative effects of not being equal. Our growth management policy overinflates property values gentrifying long time residents, our lack of job growth ensures that families cant live here, our overzealus commitment to "Fiscal Responsibility" ensures that local government willbe slow to react to the needs of it's people and overextends the city staff, our lack of a commitment to ensuring accessibility prevents involvement of the disabled. If you truly want Dunedin to be inclusive I suggest we start by addressing these policy failures.
I once heard a politician state "Dunedin should be an affordable place to live that is inclusive of all walks of life" I was very happy to see a pride resolution and some official policy towards those ends last year. While we certainly should celebrate every step closer to equality we have a long way to go. Our ordinances themselves, wether intentional or unintentional, have the negative effects of not being equal. Our growth management policy overinflates property values gentrifying long time residents, our lack of job growth ensures that families cant live here, our overzealus commitment to "Fiscal Responsibility" ensures that local government willbe slow to react to the needs of it's people and overextends the city staff, our lack of a commitment to ensuring accessibility prevents involvement of the disabled. If you truly want Dunedin to be inclusive I suggest we start by addressing these policy failures.