Challengers emerge in race for Ruapehu mayoralty
Two Ruapehu district councillors have announced their mayoralty bids ahead of October's local body elections.
Photo:
LDR/supplied
Two contenders for the
Ruapehu mayoralty
are calling for change as the district's incumbent mayor weighs his future.
Ruapehu district councillors Lyn Neeson and Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase have announced they will contest the Ruapehu mayoralty in this year's local body elections.
Neeson - in her seventh year on the council - announced her candidacy for the October elections at this week's Ruapehu Federated Farmers AGM.
The former Federated Farmers president and Ruapehu/Whanganui Rural Support Trust chair and trustee said she would campaign on fresh ideas,
financial oversight
and inclusive leadership.
"I have been a proud councillor for seven years and see that the time is right to offer my skills as leader of a strong council," Neeson said.
"We have some serious problems and we need direction and fresh ideas. We also have massive opportunities that are not being realised."
Neeson said she was "strong on financial accountability" and wanted to support all sectors of Ruapehu district to succeed.
The recent $700,000 out-of-budget overspend in parks and recreation highlighted the need for closer oversight of financial projects, she said.
"I'll focus on getting the basics right and ensuring our core infrastructure is managed and maintained, and I'll listen to the community."
In 2022, standing for local government for the first time, Hadley-Chase challenged former mayor Weston Kirton and councillors Adie Doyle and Elijah Pue for the top job.
She was unsuccessful - Kirton won - but was elected to one of the council's three new Māori ward seats.
The first-term councillor told Local Democracy Reporting she aimed to bring "self-determination for all" to the mayoral role.
"In just one term I have learned many lessons and built many more relationships with people from all walks of life.
"I intend to serve them all and as Mayor. That will give me the time and privilege to be able to do so."
Hadley-Chase said she was well known for "rangatiratanga o ngā hapū me ngā iwi" (tribal self-determination).
"That iwi includes all people, not just Māori. Self-determination for all people!"
Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton.
Photo:
RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Incumbent mayor Weston Kirton has not yet announced whether he will look to extend his mayoral reign.
"I haven't decided totally yet," Kirton said. "I feel as though there's a lot of work to be done but I've got to consult."
Ruapehu district brought Kirton back as mayor in 2022, more than 20 years after serving a two-term mayoralty from 1995 to 2001.
He said the job was incredibly busy.
"I've done 60,000km in 18 months - but I've still got fuel in the tank. I enjoy getting out there and talking to people, trying to solve problems."
Deputy mayor Viv Hoeta confirmed she would run again for a general ward seat on the council.
She is serving her third term as a councillor and completing her first stint as deputy mayor.
"I am very involved in my community and understand the dynamics of working collectively for our district whilst ensuring the community I live in has a voice at the decision-making table," Hoeta said.
Councillor David "Rabbit" Nottage said he was likely to make a bid for a fifth term as a councillor.
"I've got a lot of support for it and I like what I do. I'm happy just to be on the council and support whoever's the mayor in the best way possible for the district."
First-term councillor Brenda Ralph confirmed she would run again.
"As my first term included many issues that needed to be deliberated and consulted [on], the opportunity to provide more community-focused benefits was not possible," Ralph said.
"If I am re-elected, I hope to provide more than just emotional support for our community but [also] a clear focus on getting the basics and needs for our district in place."
Councillor Janelle Hinch was undecided about standing again.
"Re-election would allow me to see important projects through to completion, building on the experience I have gained to push for policies and initiatives that matter to our communities," Hinch said.
"However, the role comes with significant demands, time commitments, professional and personal sacrifices. I need to weigh these factors carefully before making a final decision."
Councillors Robyn Gram, Korty Wilson and Channey Iwikau did not respond when asked if they planned to run again.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Auckland CBD's community engagement model could be used in suburbs
Police Minister Mark Mitchell says a similar model of community engagement as was done in the central city could be implemented in Northcote. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Social housing, rough sleepers and police responsiveness have been flagged as priorities for Auckland's Northcote community, after a meeting with the police minister this week. The meeting at the Northcote Birkenhead rugby club on Monday night brought together residents and business owners with Police Minister Mark Mitchell, as well as local MP Dan Bidois, police district commander Naila Hassan and other police staff. Mitchell told RNZ the community said to him that they had noticed a change. "I've literally done hundreds of these public meetings around the country over the last few years, and the nice thing is for me is they seem to getting more and more positive in terms of, people are starting to see and notice a real difference in terms of, certainly, on the law and order and pubic safety side of it," he said. Mitchell said managing rough sleepers was a wide issue. "It's been around for a while, we've been working on that in the CBD too," he said. "Often, many of these people have actually got safe homes and beds to go to, it's more of a lifestyle choice where they're coming together as a community, and of course there's all the social issues around them, not only can they cause issues themselves but they can become targets too, for those coming into the CBD." Community members also raised concerns over some residents in local Kāinga Ora housing, with Mitchell focusing on those who did not live up to the "social contract that they have when they're provided tax-payer funded housing". "The government's been far more proactive in making sure that there is actually action taken against those people, because they do cause massive issues in the communities they're in," Mitchell said. There was an expectation that residents in social housing make their communities as safe and harmonious as they could, he said. When it came to the prioritisation of police callouts, a concern voiced by a local shopkeeper, Mitchell said officers had to put greater risk callouts first. "Of course police always have to prioritise, and they always have had to prioritise, it'll be based on risk to human life first and foremost, and then they sort of start working down from there," he said. Mitchell said a similar model of community engagement as was done in the central city could be implemented in Northcote. "I said the model that we used for the Auckland CBD was very effective, and that was bringing all the stakeholders together," he said. "I suggested that [MP for Northcote] Dan Bidois take the lead on that, get everyone together; local board, business associations, residents and ratepayers associations or residents' associations, and the government agencies if they need them, make up a list of what the biggest issues are, and concerns and just start working through it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
NZ joins allies, puts travel bans on Israeli ministers
New Zealand has joined other countries in putting travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, prompting swift criticism from Israel and a rare rebuke from the United States to its allies. The two men at the centre of the bans: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are right wing hardliners who's support is essential to Netanyahu's coalition government. Our government said sanctioning the two men was the right thing to do. But opposition parties said it should have gone much further, much faster, accusing the government of cowardice. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Raising speed limit next to beach 'doesn't make any sense'
The stretch of road next to Hatfields Beach, where the speed limit is rising from 50 km/h to 70 km/h. Photo: Google Maps Increasing the speed limit right next to a beach north of Auckland that has little room for pedestrians to move is "completely illogical", according to a local councillor. The stretch of road on the Hibiscus Coast Highway has gone from 50km/h back up to 70 km/h ass part of the government's policy to reverse Labour's speed limit reductions. The government claims the reduction slowed Kiwis and the economy down, but some locals have complained about the rise in the speed limit, saying the stretch of highway between Orewa village and Hatfields beach is busy with campervans, boats and people crossing the road from the beach to the reserve. In a letter to locals, Auckland Transport said it did not think the change to 70 km/h was "desirable or appropriate", but it was legally obligated to make the change. Auckland councillor for Albany John Watson told Checkpoint the speed increase was completely illogical at this particular location. "You've got the road that is really close to the beach, you've got pedestrians, kite surfers, people with kids going across to the other side of the road, so it's probably the last place where you want the speed to be increased. "There are other places outside that area that can be increased, where ironically enough it's slower on the open road than it is through the beach area. But the beach area is just dangerous, it doesn't make any sense." Photo: AFP He said there was an increasing amount of people going across that stretch of road, and they did not have a lot of room to move. "It's a pretty restricted corridor. So I think it's pretty dangerous, you have a lot of overseas people who have campervans who camp down there, and they're going across to the toilets and stuff, so there is just too much pedestrian traffic right by a beach to really justify that kind of increase." Watson said there were six different speed limits across six kilometres of road in that area. "It goes at 50, then down to 30 through the town zone, out to 50 again, then into 70 - including past the beach - then reduces to 60 when it should actually be increasing, then finally it gets to 80 at the Waiwera Bridge. "And it's changed multiple times since 2020, so it's really confusing, you stick your head out wondering what the speed limit is going to be today, and that's for local people, so goodness knows what it's like for people passing through." He said feedback from locals had been strongly against the raising of the speed limit. "The word that just keeps coming up is 'illogical', it's just not practical, and I don't think there would be too many people who would disagree with that." Transport Minister Chris Bishop has responded to concerns about the increased limit, saying a Road Controlling Authority like Auckland Transport could reverse it - provided the process met requirements. Those requirements included Auckland Transport producing a cost benefit disclosure statement and undertaking public consultation for a minimum of six weeks. Auckland Transport said that based on the level of feedback from the community, it will begin that process by carrying out an initial data collection, then seek local board endorsement to consult on re-lowering the speed limit later in the year. But Watson said it did not feel like a pragmatic response to the issue. "It's getting rolled out across the country and there might be any number of areas where it's working, but in instances like this, it doesn't make any sense." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
