My name is Warwick McNaughton. I live in Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand. I am married to Joanna. We have five adult children and eleven grand-children.
Career
My career has been in local government in New Zealand, starting with Manukau City Council in 1980 then Auckland Council in 2010 until now. I commenced as a community advisor. From 1989 to 2003 I provided services to elected community boards. In 2003 I became Manager of Democracy Services, providing services and advice to all the council’s political meetings and running elections. Since the amalgamation of all the eight Auckland councils into the one Auckland Council in 2010 I have had a variety of positions, currently holding the position of Principal Advisor in Democracy Services. The key focus of this role is providing governance advice. Auckland Council is the local government authority for a population of over 1.6 million.
Interest in the internet and programming
I have had a long-lasting interest in the internet. I recall the days of the gopher protocol, a 2400 baud modem, the Vic 20, Commodore 64 and Amiga computers. I have managed to combine my interest in the internet with my local government role on a couple of occasions. Firstly, in the early 1990s I helped to create the Manukau City Council website by undertaking the html coding with a smattering of javascript. More recently I have been involved in the efforts of New Zealand councils to provide online voting.
I like learning how to code. It is satisfying because it is possible to make mistakes, correct them and see the results. Much more satisfying than cryptic crosswords, for example. After quite a few years with a Linux box, starting with Debian then Ubuntu, I turned to Apple and learnt how to code for iOS devices.