Viewpoint – Keeping focus on Kaipara’s future

Well, there is certainly a lot going on at Kaipara District Council at the moment.

The Government’s local government reform proposals are something we are continuing to investigate and navigate. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our recent survey.

A common thread in the feedback we have received is concern about the financial implications of any amalgamation. There are murmurings from Government about economies of scale. I think the fear is that it could, in reality, lead to diseconomies of scale.

Another key concern I’m hearing is the desire to maintain an effective level of local representation. Add to this the speed at which the process seems to be moving, and there is a lot to consider. Thankfully, we have strong and experienced representatives serving us on the elected member steering group. At the forefront of everyone’s minds is achieving the best outcome for Kaipara ratepayers.

We recently enjoyed wonderful hospitality at Otamatea Marae, where we officially welcomed our new chief executive, Jazz Singh, with a pōwhiri. Thank you to the marae and community, who put so much effort into making it a special day for Jazz and our team.

We are certainly fortunate to have secured someone with Jazz’s experience and knowledge to lead our organisation through the challenging times ahead.

Over in the Otamatea Ward, we have been seeing some great results recently, including the replacement and upgrade of water mains, repairs to dangerous footpaths, a new floodgate in Ruawai to protect many hectares of productive land, and the opening of a new playground in Pahi.

We are also in the process of establishing a new temporary home for our Maungatūroto Community Library in the Footprints Room at the Anglican Church. I would like to sincerely thank the church for its willingness to support our community in this way.

Unfortunately, testing on the old library building has revealed serious structural damage, as well as asbestos and dangerous levels of mould caused by water ingress.

The building’s foundations have also been severely compromised, leaving demolition as the recommended option. This has been very hard news to swallow. I remain fully committed to working with the community to find a way forward from this difficult situation and achieve a positive long-term outcome.