Meet the Invercargill City Council candidates
ICC candidates were given the chance to answer the question ‘‘why are you standing and what would you like to change?’’
Mayor (1 vacancy)
Rebecca Amundsen
(also running for council)
I am standing because I want to continue to give back to my community, and bring much-needed leadership to council and the city. I will work hard to engage the community, build good relationships and create an environment where people are excited and want to be involved. I will drive change, ensuring councillors are well prepared for their roles, that there is clear strategic direction and a focus on providing clear information to the community about what council is doing. My focus will be housing, climate change, improving council’s use of technology and growing tourism. I bring a perspective that sees possibilities, not limitations. I have proven leadership, am dedicated and hardworking and represent the everyday person. I love being on council and serving my community. I am not the status quo. Vote Becs – Proven. Dedicated. Real.
Steve Chernishov
(also running for council)
I stand to see the council moving beyond providing basic facilities and managing people – to believing in the people, empowering them, and providing the resources that they need to live their true identity, in freedom, with significance, feeling the love, belonging and having fun. Values: Understand what is truly important, then do what is best for people. Design: Identify issues, understand people, research, develop ideas, then reach fresh outcomes. Resources: Make complicated processes easy to follow – so people can get challenging jobs done.
Darren Ludlow
(also running for council)
I want to see a change in the style of leadership of the Invercargill City Council and how we engage with people at all levels. To hold the mayoralty would be a privilege and a responsibility. I offer a style of leadership that blends experience, inclusion, open mindedness, fairness and compassion. It is not about self. It is about service. The city needs leadership that is engaged with all the mayoral responsibilities, and provides advice and encouragement. Leadership should help council make tough decisions. Sometimes decisions are not popular but they must be based on good information and discussion. The mayor is a voice for council and expresses and supports its decisions. I offer my experience, professionalism, dedication and networks, and do so with the full support of my family.
Sir Tim Shadbolt
I believe the single most defining issue of this election will be how council determines the fate of 82 disabled workers at our recycling plant. Local residents and ratepayers have made their views clear that they will accept a modest increase in their rates if it protects the jobs of some of the most vulnerable workers in our city. Financial issues are important but social, cultural and environmental matters should also be considered when awarding contracts. As mayor, I will continue the battles for future management of SIT and oppose the outrageous transmission costs imposed on Tiwai smelter. I will also uphold council’s vision to operate as an energised, fun and communicative team rather than a council dominated by defamation cases, factions and fear. Long live Invercargill!
Councillors (12 vacancies)
Lindsay Abbott
Representation of all sectors. Currently there is a mix of young enthusiastic councillors and often varied opinions. I endorse opinions, listen and consider but reserve the right to disagree or argue another outcome. A mix of younger educated minds and the experience of those older provides a solid balance that is essential, with neither the majority. Likewise the opinions and input of the public is essential and encouraged by me. Provision of affordable, compliant and healthy homes for the elderly and public is a priority along with the fast track build of the museum and art gallery. An alternative water supply for the city is essential. Increase the transparency of decisions, allowing electors to gauge performance of councillors. Workshops do have value and while no decisions are implemented, they can and do preclude the public often from full information – the recent SdE debate being a prime example.
Allan Arnold
I bring common sense, logic and a principled approach to the council table. My vision for Invercargill is a great place to live with a vibrant inner city, and plenty of opportunities to work, study and enjoy our fantastic lifestyle. I have worked hard to achieve positive outcomes for Invercargill residents. I will keep pushing for a more effective, efficient and caring council that works for you. My business and public service experience helps me bring a balanced view to decisionmaking and, as my record shows, I’m not afraid to stand up for what I believe in. I’m proud of helping push to end councillor directorships and will continue to ask hard questions and ensure your ratepayer dollars are spent wisely for the benefit of the many – not the few. For more, see my Facebook page.
Toni Biddle
I have a vision for Invercargill to progress so our future will leave no generations forgotten, no communities vulnerable, and inspire pride in our home. I want to make sure our children live and grow in a safe, vibrant and contemporary city that embraces diversity. To make promises would be wrong as just one of twelve people but I have demonstrated I am a servant of our people, I am transparent, have the courage to ask powerful questions and have stood strong in the face of adversity. We still have a lot of work to do and I would ask you to allow me to continue my service to you and our city. He aha te mea nui o te ao. He ta¯ngata, he ta¯ngata, he ta¯ngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Thelma Buck
Why am I standing for council? To improve the quality of council services in Invercargill. Core spending: parks, roads, refuse, water, plus the museum. What would I like changed? The instalment of a suggestion box in the council foyer for the public to submit their input, questions and ideas. There should be less money spent on sports infrastructure. The SDS wheelie bin recycling process needs to be fixed. My pet hate is the red wheelie bins during bad weather being emptied and it’s blowing in the wind . . . mess everywhere. There needs to be a second person who can pick up the rubbish and the overturned bins. The old saying is ‘‘Keep New Zealand clean’’. City traffic issues: Bikes on footpaths, ridden by both adults as well as children. Why do we have bicycle lanes on the roads when they are not being used?
Barry Chilton
I care for the city’s youth, elderly and all those in between. My wife and I have two sons aged six and 15 years. Southlanders will remember that I set up The Strathern Inn during the early 80s, and then owned The Cabbage Tree from 2007 and sold in 2018. Attention to people’s needs made those restaurants successful. Now I can devote my time solely to council business, I believe the unprofessional handling of the museum was disgraceful. I am practical, unafraid to ask hard questions of council staff, central government officers and those promoting new expenditure. The CBD upgrade must be monitored and brought in on budget. I support SIT’s fight to protect its benefits to the city, retaining jobs for the disabled, extending council pensioner housing, freeing up housing land, making building requirements simpler and less costly for home builders.
Nobby Clark
I am the organiser and spokesperson for our ratepayers group. I have raised many issues with councillors regarding their performance, most of which falls on deaf ears. I have decided that change can only occur by being at the top table, so I am standing. I will be a strong debater for ratepayers. My background is in the management and finance of several social services agencies (CYFS, Family Start, Stopping Violence Southland and Idea Services). My goals as a councillor are in four areas: 1. Reduce rates to close to the annual Consumer Price Index (1-2 per cent); 2. Strengthen and re-open our museum; 3. Ensure that SdE has the long-term waste management contract; 4. Improve council governance. If councillors had not committed to Awarua industrial park, Don St project and a Chinese garden, we could have had a zero increase to our rates for at least 4 years, making us governance leaders in NZ.
Waka Coughlan
I am standing for Invercargill City Council as I believe it is time for a change and some fresh ideas are needed to help enhance, promote and beautify this awesome city, and I’m willing to work with the people, for the people to achieve this. I also want to work with central business owners to help them through the redevelopment of the CBD. I would like to phase in and change our public transport to electric to bring down our carbon emissions. I also want to create a heavy vehicle bypass down Boundary/Rockdale road for heavy vehicles travelling to and from Bluff heading east, so that they don’t have to travel through the central city causing traffic congestion, which will amplify with the redevelopment and damage to infrastructure such as pipes due to heavy vibrations.
Alex Crackett
We are entering an exciting period of development that stands to be truly transformational. Before becoming a councillor, I pledged action toward urban rejuvenation, innovation, community engagement and delivering better core services. We have made great progress with the CBD block redevelopment, library, Splash Palace changing rooms and hydroslides to come, but there is still much that remains. I will drive to ensure that alongside the CBD development, priority infrastructure projects such as the museum, Anderson House, and the Arts Centre Invercargill continue to advance as planned. It’s also integral that we assess the effect on housing and generate activation projects to assist with community and businesses impacted during construction. We need a synergistic focus on attracting people to Invercargill, enhance core services and radically improve transparency and accountability, led by councillors. I stand for the future.
Ian Edwards
We have had enough of bad administration, poor judgement, indecision, mismanaged meetings, not admitting to faults and closed meetings. We need sensible spending, common sense, better outcomes, organised and effective meetings, direction and leadership. We need to understand consequences, consider all components, and treat everyone the same. We also need to be accessible and transparent, practical and pragmatic, honest and have integrity.
Kari Graber
I have listened to the people of Invercargill. They have concerns around the current system, which allows council to withhold information from them, for example, the museum, SdE and Anderson House. I would like to serve with men and women who are on council to get things done, not to serve as many terms as possible. We as a community should expect at least three major innovations in technology, culture or economy. It is your council’s job to steer the city into a place where we all want to live and thrive. I want to help shape and influence the ‘‘Block’’. The city council has committed over
$50 million of the community’s money to this project. This decision has set a precedent for the city that will impact future developments. It needs to be well directed to ensure that it’s done right and truly does provide social good for the price tag.
Wayne Harpur
Life is like a three-legged stool made up of family, work and community. During the nine years since I was last on council, I have been focusing on only two of these – family and work – so now it is time to rebalance my life and give back to the community again. My core issues are to bring about more transparency to you the ratepayer by less public-excluded meetings and more open governance, the current Wastenet debacle is a strong case in point. Council needs to stop acting like a rich uncle by charging only the Invercargill ratepayers for key regional infrastructure used extensively by our neighbouring councils. Ultimately, I will push for the amalgamation all four Southland councils into one unitary authority – three mayors, a chair, 47 councillors, 67 board members and four CEOs to govern a province of size is ludicrous.
Peter Kett
After narrowly missing out on council three years ago, I believed our city was in good hands with a mix of old and new councillors. However, it appears the current council is not unified. We have had a secret, ‘‘booze-fuelled’’, meeting to sack our deputy mayor without his knowledge, a blowout of $2.75m at Don St, the museum closure plus the very, very poorly handled recycling contract putting unnecessary stress on our 82 special people and their families. Seven councillors publicly rubbished Sir Tim; they should be focusing on core services. Change has to happen. I have the experience. Yes, hard questions do have to be asked when debating issues and we won’t always agree but poor decisions are putting our rates up. Re-elect me. I won’t let you down.
Graham Lewis
During the past years, it has been my pleasure to have been closely involved with major projects – the new airport, CBD project, stadium renewal. These costly items are a credit to our city. There are more projects that need to be addressed including the museum, rugby park, and other items included in council’s long-term plan prioritised by cost. The children of Invercargill are growing up never having the experience of a museum – terrible. I would like to have more public submissions encouraged to investigate possibilities. The region’s visitor number is predicted to rise, and it is great we have private enterprise establishing places of interest, but we have to take more responsibility as residents of the city. How is that achieved? The question was ‘‘what would you like to change?’’ Simple answer: ‘‘encourage more input from the residents whilst maintaining the normal requirements of our city’’.
Alton McDonald
A vote for Alton McDonald is a vote for community consultation on the structure of the ILT and its monopoly. I’m 46 years old. I’m a born and bred Southlander. Like most Invercargill residents, I live within a licensing regime that I have never once had a chance to vote on. I graduated from Otago University with a degree in geology, before working in science, teaching, and various business roles. I’m a co-organiser of the Niagara Falls Bluegrass festival, and a musician. There are 10,000 residents in Invercargill district who don’t get a representative vote on the ILT because they live outside its boundaries. Only vote for me if you think it’s time to debate and have a say on Invercargill’s licensing law that affects so many aspects of our city. If I’m successful, it will send a clear message that the community wants this issue on the table.
Shane Pleasance
I am standing so you can vote with your head and your heart. We have seen some terrible decision-making over the last few years – not least the decision of some not to support Southland disAbilities Enterprises’ bid to maintain the contract for refuse for the region. Now you can have intelligence and compassion in your council. I volunteer as a director on the board of Southland disAbilities Enterprises. In my 21 years here, I have achieved more for Invercargill than most councillors: I was founding member and vicepresident of the Otatara Community Group and initiated Flagship Medical Centre for city. I have volunteered on boards of Radio Southland and the Chamber of Commerce. I have an MBA master of business administration), am a registered nurse and member of the Institute of Directors.
Ian Pottinger
I believe I have the necessary skills, experience and passion to be effective as a city councillor. This new term in particular will present major projects such as the CBD redevelopment and potential new central government regulations that will place a massive workload on the council. It will require strong and effective governance to provide the direction and the support necessary for the city to achieve its goals. I am ready to dedicate myself to this purpose. I would like to review the council’s governance committee structures. This review would require input from both elected members and staff, with the review intended to ensure that the right governance structure is in place to assist in council’s delivery of services to the people of Invercargill.
John Rikkerink
John is an enthusiastic, caring, leftleaning man who travelled from Holland to Invercargill with his parents in 1973. John is a survivor, has been unemployed and had mental health issues. John knows the struggle many Invercargill people have to pay for a place to live, for food, rates, electricity, and insurance. John will fight against any rate increases. John’s priorities are the good, free activities: the Invercargill gardens, the library and museum, not the demolition of good heritage buildings and risky ambitious projects for the well-off. John has an unruly sense of humour and is the leader of the ‘‘Wheelbarrow Brigade’’.
Nigel Skelt
My focus is to champion the right change while maintaining the integrity of our city. Invercargill has always been home and I’m extremely passionate about the city, the community and, in particular, its people and what the future holds. Our community is our biggest, most influential resource. We must retain our young people by providing job opportunities and creating events and leisure pursuits that are a significant point of difference. It’s not OK that some of our young people see it as a failure by staying in Invercargill, to work and start the family cycle. I will bring business acumen, courage, loyalty and teamwork to the table. It’s a team of 13 who must have the courage to disagree but, once a decision is made, must commit fully, to ensure our ratepayers get the best possible service and decision-making process.
Lesley Soper
I’m standing for a second term because I’m passionate about seeing Invercargill do well for the future, and because I have the experience, financial nous and commitment to consultation, and to finishing what I have started. We have the opportunity to see our core infrastructure (roads, footpaths, water, housing, libraries museum, parks and pools) strengthened and future-proofed, while revitalising the city centre with a significant transformational change project. I also want to see the rebuild of our museum and art gallery, the preservation and earthquake strengthening of our unique heritage buildings, and further housing developments enabled by council, all while maintaining fiscal prudence and a commitment to rates levels within the long-term plan predictions, and improving engagement with the people who count – YOU.
Barry Stewart
I am a born and bred Southlander standing for council because of my dissatisfaction with the present administration and their apparent lack of cohesion. I come with the following qualifications: A selfemployed certifying gasfitter for 12 years, an executive member of the Invercargill Workingmen’s Club for 91⁄2 years, serving on the finance, members support, disciplinary, planning and promotions, and maintenance committees, and a past-president of the Kew Bowling Club. If elected, I will try to resolve issues with our abandoned buildings including museum, Anderson Park, Rugby Park grandstand, supporters clubrooms. As a tradesman, I hear from builders, plumbers and architects about their dissatisfaction with the building consent process, which needs streamlining. I am 100 per cent for SIT retaining its autonomy, and for keeping the existing recycling contractor. ‘‘It is time for a change in direction.’’
Russell Tempero
My name is Russell Tempero, known as ‘‘Judge’’, aged 50-something, and living in Invercargill. I am employed in the hospitality industry. It is important we continue to make our city a great place to visit and live. I have served on many school and sporting committees. There are exciting times ahead with the innercity development, Langlands hotel and direct flights from Auckland, to name a few. We must get these things right so it does not end up costing ratepayers and future generations. I am a firm believer of ‘‘do it once, do it right’’. Accountability is paramount, and our council money has been spent without authority or reporting. I will do my best to ensure this stops and help make Invercargill the great place it is to live.
Lindsay Thomas
Continuing the growth this city has experienced in the last three years is one of the reasons that I am restanding for the ICC. Legislation has impacted on many city buildings through the EQC rules and with the closure of these buildings, there is also opportunity to produce vastly superior replacements for these. Important also is maintaining our core infrastructure of water, roads and pipe network the city runs. Continued investment in replacing these assets will see quality services delivered to all citizens of this city. Our city is continually held in high regard throughout this country and it is through a proactive and collaborative approach with our fellow district councils has this happened. No longer is this city frowned upon as a backwater; we are now a city with phenomenal growth and opportunity and I would be proud to represent it.
Juliana Thomson
Invercargill is a great city to live in. Being a small business owner in south city, I am very conscious of the upheaval for the business owners in central city at the moment, and concerned that they be treated fairly. I am concerned at continual rates rises and their impact on people. We need more houses, and council must keep pressure on central government in terms of public housing. I would like to look urgently at the reopening of the museum and Anderson Park. I am concerned by many of the wider community issues that affect our city, like the SIT takeover. I believe that a councillor must listen carefully to the people. If elected, I will be a strong voice of reason and empathy for those who are struggling to pay their rates.
As part of our coverage, we invited candidates to submit a profile of why they are standing. Where candidates are elected unopposed we haven’t profiled them, and those who didn’t meet the deadline were not included.