PAUL MITCHELL/STUFF/Stuff
The current Tararua District Council is set to change as at least two councillors step away.
It’s that time again where local body politics comes firmly into focus as councillors put forward their visions for change in their local communities.
Voters are set to head to the polls between September 16 and October 8 and a few Tararua councillors have already signalled their intentions to stand or not stand for council again.
Deputy mayor Erana Peeti-Webber has expressed her intention to run again, as has North Ward councillor Sharon Wards, who’s focused on continuing the work she helped support over her past years in office.
“I had the role of chairing the strategic planning portfolio, so we have some strategic plans in place for some of the big-picture issues like housing policy and asset management.”
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“Those issues had support in the past but needed a long term focus to get the results we wanted. There’s already been some very high level discussions we’ve been involved in with the community and national government and I hope I can continue to help push those discussions forward.”
Tararua District has been beset by some longstanding infrastructural issues in recent years. Water infrastructure has been a constant bugbear for residents with frequent boil water notices being issued and failures in reservoirs and water treatment facilities being identified.
Road resilience has also been high on council’s agenda with recent heavy weather events causing disruption or even closing roads for extended periods.
The ongoing improvements to the Weber-Wimbledon road were made a top priority for the remote communities in the east of the district to keep them connected to their nearest centres.
Supplied./Stuff
Tararua District councillor Shirley Hull said after 22 years in local government, she’s stepping away.
However, not everyone is throwing their hat back in the ring. Pahīatua based Councillor Shirley Hull has decided that for her, 22 years in local government is enough.
“I spent 10 years on the community board as secretary and four terms as a councillor. I came on with lots of things I wanted to achieve and three major things were done.”
“Those were the Pahīatua water storage facility, the Pahīatua Treatment Plant, and the Main Street upgrade which was a huge transformation for the town.”
Hull said that while she’ll be stepping back from council, she’ll still be out and about in the community.
“I’m still going to continue a relationship with council but I’ll also be acting as an RMA commissioner which will be useful around tribunal and hearing committees.”
She also encouraged young people to make their voices heard to council and to get out and vote, saying council issues affect them as much as anyone else.
“You might not think it relates to you but at the end of the day, when the toilet stops flushing, our phone starts ringing.”
Hull is not the only one standing aside as Carole Isaacson indicated she would be retiring from local government back in May.
Tararua District voters can enrol from now until August 12. Candidate nominations will open from July 15 to August 12 and all candidates will be publicly disclosed by August 17.
