From 18 and pregnant to Auckland councillor: Tears amid maiden speeches

Tuesday, 11 November 2025

The often tense debate in Auckland’s councillor chambers made way for tender speeches and tears on Tuesday as newly elected members gave their maiden address.

“If you were to tell me when I was 18, pregnant, with no job and no money, that I would become a freaking councillor for the Albany ward, I wouldn't have believed you,” said councillor Victoria Short.

“I've never shared this journey publicly, but it shaped me into who I am today.”

In her first speech of the term, Short said as a young person she had never had an “academic spark”.

“I was kindly asked to leave Long Bay College because my grades and attendance had seriously flatlined.”

She said she left school at 17, got into a relationship and “chased the weekend like it was the only thing that mattered”.

“Then at 18, I was pregnant with my first child. I had deeply disappointed my family.”

Short said the next five years were “the darkest of her life”, in a relationship “deep in manipulation, domestic violence and isolation”. Her two daughters were the one “light of her life.”

Then Short got the opportunity to work in Murray McCully’s North Shore office.

“I had been following an MP called Paula Bennett, who I related to so much. She was a young solo mum, and had also started off her political career in McCully's office in Browns Bay.“

“I found myself consumed in the world of central politics. I'd read policies, do hours of research, and try to become a subject matter expert on anything that was needed. I loved my job.”

Then in 2019, Short ran for local board and spent the next six years representing the Hibiscus Coast while also attending university - “really intimidating for someone who had never finished high school”.

She added, “the struggles you endure do not define you, they forge you.”

Howick’s Bo Burns also said her “journey started from the ground up, no university, no hand outs”.

Burns said “blanket” plans like PC120 will never work right across the city and would “decimate where people want to live” and put pressure on infrastructure.

The controversial new zoning proposal which last term’s councillors voted to publicly consult on will fulfil government requirements to create capacity for two million more homes.

She said Aucklanders felt “frustrated and constantly excluded” and the council needed to “rebuild trust”.

North Shore’s John Gillon said PC120 had been “foisted” onto Auckland without consideration of infrastructure like car parks and cemeteries.

“Because it’s not being staged, I fear we will see ad hoc developments on a much greater scale … Council will be forced to upgrade infrastructure everywhere instead of staged areas, and ratepayers will pick up the tab.”

Gillon said he wanted to cut meals at meetings saying it was inappropriate for the ratepayer to spend $30,000 a year feeding councillors. On Tuesday councillors were served Caesar salad.

He also wanted to see every playground in Auckland fitted with a shade sail to provide shelter for children on hot days.

He also strongly opposed an NZTA policy to change low volume roads to chipseal from tar seal. He called it “intentional downgrading”.

“Even after several sweeps, loose chips damage cars, berms and carpets when they are dragged into the house,” he said.

Whau councillor Sarah Paterson-Hamlin said a priority for her this term was retaining the Avondale racecourse, and the associated Sunday markets.

“The Auckland region as a whole will pay the price, and once it’s gone it’s gone forever.”

Paterson-Hamlin said that as a neurodivergent councillor she may not make eye contact as much as others but she would have hyper focus when researching on the issues.

“We all experience disability at some time in our lives, even it’s a broken ankle.”

Manurewa-Papakura’s Matt Winiata said it was good council was investing in the Future Fund, “but we are not in the money business, we are in the smiles business”.

Events, sports grounds and skate parks produced smiles, he said.

“Will we see that spark disappear in the future? We can’t lose sight of how PC120 will affect these communities.

“Are we seeding a storm or a forest for the future?”