He waka eke noa

Thank you. That is my heartfelt message to people who voted in the triennial local elections last month.

This year, 47.5 per cent of eligible voters in the Far North cast votes. This was just below the national average of 48.3 per cent, but a big improvement on the 41.7 per cent voter turnout in 2016. I want to thank those people who voted for me and the five councillors who served on the previous Council: Ann Court, Felicity Foy, Mate Radich, Kelly Stratford and John Vujcich. Thank you for entrusting us to continue the progressive work of the last triennium. I also want to thank voters who elected our four new councillors: David Collard, David Clendon, Rachel Smith and Moko Tepania. The people you have chosen to represent you have incredible passion for the Far North, as well as diverse skills and experience. While we will miss the contributions of former Deputy Mayor Tania McInnes and councillors Dave Hookway, Colin Kitchen and Sally Macauley, we are excited to be working with their successors.

I want to acknowledge those voters who didn’t vote for any of the councillors who were elected. You may not have chosen us, but we are here to serve and represent you as well. We heard the voices of many of you during the election campaign and your concerns did not fall on deaf ears. We aim to be a Council that listens and responds, so please don’t stop talking to us.

Finally, I have a message for the 52 per cent of registered voters who didn’t vote at all. The services we provide touch everyone in the district every day whether they know it or not. It is in your interests to have your say on how we deliver these. I encourage you to find out more about your council and to vote when the next local elections are held in 2022.

The new councillors and I have already spent three days together getting to know each other, discussing how we are going to work as a team and identifying what we want to achieve on behalf of communities over the next three years. So far, it has been tremendously successful. We are committed to working together and providing strong and progressive governance. I am confident we will be able to deliver a lot for the people of the Far North over the next three years. We have also met with the Chief Executive and senior managers who are keen to reset the relationship between governance and management. They recognise that elected members set the strategic direction for the Council. We accept in return that they make the operational decisions and deliver the work programme we have mandated via the Annual and Long Term Plans.

We are at our best when governance is steering the waka and staff are paddling it. The whakatauki he waka eke noa (a waka we are all in together) has guided our discussions so far and will continue to do so in the years ahead. Thank you again for the trust you have placed in us. It is an honour and a privilege to serve you.