MEET THE CANDIDATES
There are six candidate standing for the four seats of Western Bay of Plenty District council’s Maketu¯ -Te Puke ward.
All six attended last week’s Meet the Candidates evening.
The question of whether Te Puke is a service town or a destination town was revisited in answers to a question about tourism and events in Te Puke.
Monique Lints is involved in organising events in Te Puke.
“We see positive outcomes for families, we can see the connections that they deliver for our community and the engagement for everybody in the community,” she said. “Events and their outcomes are stretched throughout our district so I am all the more for them [happening].”
Grant Dally said through the various groups he is involved in, as well as EPIC Te Puke, Te Puke is being made into a destination town for other reasons than it being a service town to support farmers and orchardists.
John Scrimgeour said Te Puke came in to being as a service town to service the surrounding district, but that it is also a destination town because of the promotions and events that take place.
Stephen Fawcett said Te Puke is a destination town as “thousands of people come here every year”. “There’s so much goodness about this place,” he said.
Mike Lally said Mount Maunganui is a destination town, Te Puke is a service town. He said there was fragmentation in the retail sector and the issue of empty shops in the town centre needed addressing.
Kevin Marsh said Te Puke is both a service town and a destination. “Since the new highway started up, we’ve lost a lot of people from our area and I think it’s sad for Te Puke. We need to make Te Puke something better than it is now — it is good, but we can make it a hell of a lot better.”
The candidates were also asked whether councillors from other wards should be able to vote on issues that specifically affect Te
Puke.
Monique Lints: Asa representative, I would expect to be representing our whole district, but I would expect a united voice for our side of the district.
Grant Dally: We are elected to support the whole district, but I have come to the realisation that there is a lot of support from elected members for community boards and, if you are going to back community boards, then you should back their decisions, so any recommendation that goes to council from community boards, I am going to back those recommendations.
John Scrimgeour: When elected to council we have a responsibility to represent the whole district. If we say other councillors are not able to vote, then there will be a quid pro quo and we might as well go back to little borough councils all over the place. But it is important that people make their voices known to councillors and for councillors as a ward group to carry a united voice.
Mike Lally: On Katikati issues, I ask Katikati councillors which way they want me to vote, because I want them to vote my way on Te Puke issues. I live here, I know you people, you talk to me — councillors at the other end of the district do not have a clue what the people of Te Puke want.
Kevin Marsh: I believe you join council to represent the whole district and I agree with that, but there have been issues to do with Te Puke that I did not agree with the voting. I listen to the people of Te Puke and I vote the way they want me to vote and do not usually vote on things in Katikati and Waihı¯ that I really don’t know anything about.