Indian Weekender spoke to Dr Sunita Gautam after her win about ethnic representation on the board and her priorities for this term.
Congratulations! What would you like to say about winning another term?
While winning the elections again is thrilling, it is humbling to see the overwhelming support of the people from my ward and my community. It is also heartening to know that I have doubled my votes in this term. So, I want to thank to the people of the Central ward. I will try to work harder and to the best of my abilities."
On increased ethnic representation on the Community Board
Being the first Indian woman on the community board, it is heartening to see that I have paved the path for many others, especially women from diverse ethnicities. I am quite proud to see two Filipino women and a Bhutanese woman joining the community board this term. I have been in touch with them since 2019, encouraging and supporting them. It feels great to see them elected and have them on board. It has been a long-cherished dream to have more ethnic representation on the board and it is coming to fruition.
Priorities this term
Central ward has now joined Papanui and Innes to create the community board. So my first task is to get acquainted with new areas, the communities there and the projects they have going.
For the central ward, my first priority is focusing on people and ensuring they are involved in decision-making. So the consultation process needs to be a bit more robust. The second is to have more green spaces. As housing intensification rises in Christchurch CBD, it is even more important to assess the environment and ecological impact and look at all the decisions through an environmental lens.
My third priority is ensuring safety by improving traffic management systems and intersection and footpath improvement. I know the local community has some concerns on this aspect so it is critical for me. We have started collecting consensus and making deputations on the Board table. We've got some new areas like Richmond and Philipstown into our ward, so I have been engaging with them and creating plenty of opportunities for the community to join meetings and have their say is essential.