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Water security and accountability
The recent Dargaville water blast has been dismissed by Mayor Craig Jepson as “human error”. While mistakes can happen, I believe Kaipara residents deserve better than quick explanations that brush aside deeper issues.
When critical infrastructure fails, it is not enough to point fingers at individuals. We must ask whether proper safeguards, training and oversight were in place. Calling it a one-off “error” risks masking the real challenge: Our water system has long been underfunded, poorly managed and vulnerable.
I am also concerned that this incident is being used to redirect public attention toward projects like the Red Hill dam, presented as the solution to our water woes. Big-ticket infrastructure may sound like progress, but without transparency, accountability and robust community consultation, such projects risk repeating the same mistakes – costly, top-down fixes that fail to address root problems.
Kaipara needs a clear water strategy that:
Protects existing supply through better maintenance, training and investment.
Explores smart, resilient options beyond dams including storage, efficiency and new technology.
Ensures open communication so residents aren’t left with half-truths when things go wrong.
I stand for a future where Kaipara’s water security is built on honesty, resilience and long-term planning – not quick fixes or political spin.
Ash Nayyar, Kaipara
The radical right
Congratulations to Jonathan Larsen for acknowledging that the council majority of the last three years has been responsible for the increasing division between east and west Kaipara.
Sadly, his solution of nominating Gordon Lambeth to be his potential deputy mayor only locks in someone who has rubber-stamped every divisive whim of Mayor Jepson and Deputy Larsen. He offers no respite from the radical right-wing agenda of the current council majority that has seen Kaipara District Council labelled the most anti-Māori in New Zealand.
Again, though, kudos to Mr Larsen for going a step further than his original coup – the toppling of Mr Jepson as mayor – and acknowledging that Mr Jepson is not even suitable for the position of deputy mayor in a new regime. ‘Where’s the love? Where’s the reciprocity?’ I can hear Mr Jepson wail.
We now find ourselves reading a fresh news story every day about the ridiculous $52,000 worth of legal advice around council’s obligations to Māori, commissioned by the Jepson/Larsen cartel. The document in question has turned out to actually be a piece of propaganda.
The peer-review by council’s usual law firm, Simpson Grierson, was meant to give us confidence in the legal opinion but the mayor failed to tell us Simpson Grierson was only given the opportunity to review an earlier draft, and they have significant reservations and disagreements with his precious document.
Mr Jepson was smug enough to send the document to the other councils in New Zealand, who are now telling him why his unsolicited advice is a piece of crap. Oh dear.
While the candidates meeting in Mangawhai on September 1 showed there is a curious obsession with the state of our roads and the number of mangroves in the harbour, there was little said about some of the major issues ahead for council in the form of climate change resilience, the new CCO for wastewater and drinking water and, damn it, what we can do to keep Kaipara as a nice place to live. You know, one with arts, sports, social and outdoor opportunities for everyone in the district.
Residents of Kaipara need to ask themselves if the values of the current council majority truly represent who we are as a region.
Do we want to be labelled as the country’s most anti-Māori district?
Do we want embarrassing national news stories every other week about some extreme stance, statement or decree that has come from our council?
Do we really need someone on council who models himself on President Trump, a convicted sex offender, business fraud and serial liar?
Do we want Mayor Larsen/Jepson/Larsen-who-can-tell-the-difference?
We have to face the fact that the councillors making up the majority in our current team are a radical right-wing faction and, rather than adding any new far-right councillors to the ranks, we need to thin out these extremists to get a balanced council that better represents the wonderful mix of residents we have here in Kaipara.
It might at least save us $52,000 for a legal opinion nobody wants or needs.
Luke Williamson, Kaiwaka
NRC shortcomings
Regarding Northland Regional Council’s annual levies imposed on the Mangawhai catchment, I can’t believe that Rick Stolwerk, our current NRC Coastal South representative, continues to justify the continued NRC rate take from Mangawhai while agreeing that the NRC does almost nothing to benefit our community in return.
Rick has been our NRC representative for two terms or more, but does not liaise with our community in person or through the media, and there is no evidence that he has effectively championed our causes, other than at sandmining photo opportunities.
The Mangawhai catchment will pay over $4 million in levies to the NRC, including GST, during the 2025/26 rating year. While the whole of the Kaipara District, including the Mangawhai catchment area, will pay levies to the NRC totalling $11,345,040, including GST. Mangawhai will also be levied $423,000 during the 2025/26 rating year to pay the annual Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society levy [a targeted rate collected on behalf of the society by Kaipara District Council]. The MHRS does the estuary and spit protection work that the NRC and DOC should be doing.
During the 2024/25 rating year, the NRC spent only $187,000 plus some staff time on the Mangawhai catchment. These massive levy charges have been going on for years and Rick Stolwerk justifies this NRC shortfall in expenditure in favour of the Mangawhai catchment by saying the NRC is “helping others”.
We need a new NRC Coastal South representative that works for us. I am going to vote for John Hunt.
Ron Batty, Mangawhai
No popularity contest
Jason Smith’s claim of a KDC 66% satisfaction rating under his leadership should be seen as his failure.
His mayoralty coincided with covid, and he relentlessly self-promoted his own image while the focus was clearly on national and international events.
Under his populist leadership, KDC avoided the hard questions and achieved very little of substance. Smith adeptly avoided controversy and 34% of us saw that and voted for a mayor and enough practical councillors to ensure the long list of social and infrastructural legacy issues would finally be addressed.
Craig Jepson and his deputy, Jonathon Larsen, have worked hard and provided strong leadership for the whole of Kaipara. They have had to take hard and often unpopular decisions with more to do yet.
This election should not be debased into a personal popularity contest. Vote for people who will actually do the job.
Ian Margan, Mangawhai
