Local body elections kicked off in Whāingaroa with a mayoralty and Whāingaroa ward candidate meeting at the Raglan Town Hall on Wednesday night.
Around 30 people attended the meeting to listen to and ask questions of mayoral hopefuls Aksel Besch, Jacqui Church and Ra Puriri (also standing for Whāingaroa ward), and current Whāingaroa councillor Lisa Thomson.
The candidates opened the floor with a three-minute campaign pitch followed by questions from the floor. They answered two keynote questions covering Waikato District Council operational improvements and Three Waters Reforms and the evening finished with follow up questions form the public.
The candidates fielded questions about horse riding on the beach, the return of the airfield land, transparency with council processes and the World Rally Championship.
Local John Lawson spoke to the panel about how the council wasn’t listening to what Raglan wanted and it appeared that the local councillor was overlooked when it came to Whāingaroa issues, like the Coastal Reserves Management Plan consultation.
Current deputy mayor Besch responded to this saying if council wasn’t listening to the Raglan community, then they had failed.
“These councillors here are the ones who drove that new thriving and connected communities’ vision. Our whole push has been empowering community boards and getting through the blueprint process, to provide a clear voice through the council from communities directly.”
Mayoral and ward candidate Puriri said his solution would be to give veto power to every community board on local issues.
Horses on the beach seemed to be a hot topic at the meeting and questions were asked about the point of making submissions when it didn’t seem council was listening.
Current Whāingaroa councillor Thomson, who was at the hearings said that their concerns were listened to but as Tiriti o Waitangi partners council also needed to consider the voices of local hapu and iwi.
“As well as consultation with the community, council is also working in a treaty space, where we’re working with hapu and iwi around spaces that are also really important to them. So, we’re considering many voices but we’re also then taking into account the cultural aspects of our responsibility as treaty partners.”
There will be a further opportunity to meet the mayoralty, Whāingaroa ward, Waikato Regional Council, Raglan Community Board, Tai Runga Takiwaa Māori ward and Ngā Hau e Whā candidates on Sunday, September 18 from 2pm at the Raglan Town Hall.
Voting opens Friday, September 16 and closes Saturday, October 8. If you are an enrolled voter, you should receive your voting documents between 16-21 September.
Check out the September 22 Chronicle for more information about your candidates.
Waikato District Council Snapshot
With 450,000 hectares the district is close second to Auckland in size.
Compared to Auckland’s population of around 1.7million, close to 86,000 people, including children, live within the Waikato District Council boundary.
The council comprises eight general wards, the two new Māori wards and six community boards, with one in Raglan.
The key towns are Raglan, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, Tūākau and Te Kauwhata. Smaller settlements include Gordonton, Matangi, Tamahere, Meremere, Port Waikato and Pōkeno.
Dairy farming and mining are the backbone of this region. It is also known for aggregate and sand extraction, industries, education, adventure tourism and events.
The district has a median level of income of $34,700 (Census, 2018). A high number of people receive their income from the agriculture and fishing industries, which reflects the district’s rural nature.
There are moderate levels of home ownership in the Waikato district with 55.8 per cent (Census, 2018) of permanent residents owning their own property.
