Hustings: St Helier No 2

POLITICAL apathy was evident in St Helier last night as fewer than 50 people turned up for their district hustings.
The candidates, seeking votes for the three vacant seats for St Helier No 2 in the elections next Wednesday, addressed a quiet audience at the Town Hall as they answered a wide range of questions on subjects including GST, the town park, the Howard League for Penal Reform report, Income Support and green issues. St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft was in the chair.
One of the burning issues seemed to be the town park and the Waterfront development. Concerns were raised about delays to the construction of the park, the parking implications because of the scheme, and whether the Waterfront development would draw business and attention away from the district.
Debbie de Sousa said that the district needed the town park and that the money was available, but it just needed to be released.
Adrian Walsh said that an empty States-owned building was on the corner of Gas Place that could be used as a community centre and youth club to complement the park.
Sue Stoker bemoaned the lateness of the park and said that it might be 2020 before the States completed the Waterfront. She added that the north-east district of town needed to be regenerated and made more attractive.
Deputy Pitman advised the audience that Harcourt were yet to be formally approved at the Waterfront but warned that the developments could harm business in the centre of town.
Giffard Aubin — at 73, the oldest candidate of the 63 across the parishes — said that the Island required better facilities for children and that if Senator Le Sueur and Chief Minister Frank Walker were not so obsessed with developing the Waterfront more money would be available to achieve this.
Deputy Southern said that there were serious questions over whether Harcourt could deliver the Waterfront development, especially in the current financial climate and with Barack Obama’s plans to tackle tax havens.

Rod Bryans thought that fears that the district would lose business to the Waterfront were unfounded.
All candidates agreed with a questioner who complained about the length of speeches during States sittings.
Mrs Stoker accused current politicians of ‘waffling’, Mr Aubin thought that they should be ‘shorter, sweeter and to the point’, Mr Bryans said that there should be time limits to make them more focused, Mr Walsh called for more ‘plain English’, and Mrs de Sousa agreed with her fellow candidates. Of the sitting politicians, Deputy Southern admitted that he had been a culprit with long speeches when he first entered the States but had ‘got better’, and Deputy Pitman said that some politicians gave long answers to avoid being asked further questions.
The candidates were then asked to name one green policy they would introduce if elected.
Mrs de Sousa said that she would be against the incinerator, Mr Walsh would back eco-taxes, Mrs Stoker wanted more recycling depots, Deputy Pitman wanted a multi-agency approach for parishes and States departments. Mr Aubin called for less traffic in town, Mr Bryans wanted more research into tidal power, and Deputy Southern said that population growth had to be controlled (from thisisjersey)