‘Allergic to bureaucracy’, focused on problemsolving

Rob Scott

Age: 42 Occupation: Cafe owner Martial status: Married with two kids 1. What sets you apart from the other mayoral candidates?

I have the perfect combination of political experience and business acumen. I have served nine years as a community board chairman and also a term on council. Running two businesses, combined with my volunteer roles in significant community organisations, provides experience to draw from and enables me to make effective and relevant decisions.

Having a proven track record in delivering results, I am a good communicator and a clear thinker with an open mind. A natural problem solver, who is allergic to bureaucracy, I work proactively to ensure solutions are in place before problems arise.

2. What are your personal views on the Three Waters reforms?

This has done significant damage to the relationship between central and local government, not to mention ratepayers. I’ve been heavily scrutinising this reform for three years, and it has gone from bad to worse.

My concerns are around the proven inaccurate data used to underpin the assumptions for the modelling, for a proposal that is being rushed through even though most councils do not support the model.

I know there is a better way to achieve the outcomes than the current approach.

3. What is the biggest challenge facing Southland in the next five years and what impact would your leadership have on this?

Change is happening at a pace not experienced in some time. There’s a tidal wave of reform that will have a marked impact on how we go about our daily lives. This could result in it being unaffordable for some to live in Southland.

My experience in local government, business and community is the perfect mix to ensure we come through this all on top. I am well versed on all areas being reformed, and my leadership style will provide a sound platform to navigate the storm. Southland needs a mayor who can hit the ground running. 4. What do you believe the problems are with the existing Local Government Act and how would you fix it?

The Local Government Act is no longer fit for purpose for how councils operate. Some of the constraints put on council can take a significant amount of time and money, that does not align with the benefit. This can result in council being less agile, and can slow down the progress for what we need to achieve.

The review for the future of local government is a prime time to sort out the issues. I believe Southland, with its nine community boards, can develop a blueprint for a successful and relevant local government system.

5. What impact is the workforce having on council budgets?

The workforce is having a significant impact on budgets. This includes extreme pressure on the internal workforce, with all the reform work and shortage of key staff. With high wages and shortages in the private sector, this not only impacts the costs of getting work done, but also becomes a threat for being able to retain staff at council.

It is imperative we’re able to keep existing staff, attract quality staff where required and, importantly, be able to deliver our work programme within the existing budgets. My business acumen will be vital here.