Candidates share their concerns
Heretaunga ward.”
“I think the other big one is the cost associated being passed on to the ratepayer, with a 25 per cent increase in rates.”
2. “I want to get up to speed. Listening to the people, understanding what is important to them, petition the council, understand what resources we have available and where we need to go to central government and say ‘hey, we need help here’.”
“We need to be challenging costs, we need to get rid of all discretionary spending, just like the National coalition is at the moment. They are really slashing costs. We’re in an economic environment where there is no room for luxuries, so that is where my focus is. The other thing is my background in asset management, looking at risks and prioritising spending is what I do, so I am keen to use those skills around the board table.”
Melanie Petrowski: 1. “From what we gathered at the Te Awanga candidates meeting, it was the protection of their homes and the coast. But also, I believe it is the cyclone recovery. I have friends who are still digging up silt, even now, well after a year. Those people need financial support, the people who have been affected need emotional support and more funding needs to go into supporting them or even just access to charities, which the council can help with somehow, even just by establishing a registered charity for them to access.”
2. “Access funds for cycloneaffected people. I’m against fluoridation, but they had a council meeting where they just handed it off to the protestors to petition the directors of health, which I think was disappointing. I don’t think that was acceptable, but that would be a good thing to bring to the table again, but I am not sure what the protocol is around, if they have made a decision they might not revisit it. There is no harm in pushing.”
Geoff Downer: 1. “Probably at the moment, debt and cyclone recovery. The cyclone is my bugbear. I think the failure of Civil Defence is abominable really. I don’t think we have time to wait until the next cyclone to see whether there are any improvements, it needs to happen now and it needs to have personnel that are fit for purpose.”
2. “One of the first things I would do is ensure that Civil Defence is dismantled as quickly as possible and rebuilt. [I would] also look at spending. A lot of the spending has already probably been committed, but if spending can be reduced as quickly as possible, then that is another major issue.”
Ta¯whana Chadwick: Did not respond in time for publication, extracts from public campaign statements made through social media are below.
“I am standing for the people of Heretaunga. I’m here to take the issues from the whenua to the council chambers.”
“Te Tiriti o Waitangi paths the way forward for our diverse community to thrive together on a thriving whenua.”
Chadwick is a co-director of Ku¯ waha (meaning “entrance” or “gateway”), which provides professional development in te reo Ma¯ori for organisations.
“A good amount of my mahi with Ku¯ waha has been sharing Te Tiriti o Waitangi with people from all over Aotearoa. This is something I am passionate about and I will continue to share how, if we honour Te Tiriti, we will see our diverse communities thriving together in a thriving environment.”
Chadwick has publicly expressed strong opposition to the National-led Government coalition’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill.
“This bill is about removing all of the people’s ability to make decisions over our own spaces and handing it over to government and big business.”
Shona Brewer: 1. “The huge rates increase. I have dug deep into the available data for the last three years and the coming three years. The rates hike does not need to be this high. Huge amounts of council funds, which are our dollars and cents, have been spent or will be spent on things
that are not essential. As we continue to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle, we need to direct funds into land recovery and support our local networks already working in that space.”
2. “We need basic services and infrastructure to be consistent and sustainable. Our investments need to be focused on bread-and-butter issues. I will be looking at how we are achieving value for money.”
“We also need to protect our local businesses. Making council-funded bollards available to vulnerable shop owners, without huge amounts of red tape, is in my top five priorities.”
Sarah Greening-Smith: 1. “There
are two [issues], I’d say they go hand in hand. Cyclone Gabrielle shone a light on how we don’t have any safety systems in our community really. The problems that we faced were not problems that we couldn’t plan for, but we didn’t because we thought they wouldn’t happen and with the amount paid to consultants over the years, maybe we should have thought about that. That goes hand in hand with the fact that Hastings District Council rates and regional council rates have had to be raised to offset the fact that we hadn’t planned for such a devastating thing as Cyclone Gabrielle.”
2. “We can make an annual plan, we can plan for roading costs, we can plan for upgrades on our recreational areas and parks, but weather is something we need to look at now. We are just coming out of responding to another event and we may not be ready for another event. An event like that affects everybody, it doesn’t matter who you are. The first thing I want to do is have a look at what comms systems are being worked on right now, and what percentage of community input there is into thoe systems at the moment.”