It is a real privilege to have been elected to continue my representation around the Tararua District Council table for the next three years. It is very humbling to have been asked to walk alongside and support Mayor Scott as Deputy Mayor and work collaboratively with the team of very proficient councillors that our district has elected. These are exciting and challenging times that lie ahead and I am personally committed to ensuring my experience and skills are best utilised for our community in the future.

The change in our committee structure as outlined previously illustrates the potential for us as a Council to focus on areas of priority for our communities. I have been asked to chair the Performance and Monitoring committee where we aim to ensure there is “one forum” for us to measure outcomes from agreed goals, significant project outcomes plus non-financial/financial indicators. These are factors our community considers important when measuring Council’s performance. This is a forum where we can hold the Council staff to account for achievement against objectives but also hold the councillors to account to our community for promises made. If we say we are going to do something this committee will ask the questions around how those achievements are tracking. This will ensure we don’t miss key milestones around service delivery into the future.

Another role I am proud to assume is that of lead in our rural portfolio. Along with Councillors Corlett and Kennedy I am in a position to “speak” to the rural voice around our table. As a farmer and heavily invested in a number of rural organisations I hope to be able to represent a strong and experienced rural voice when it comes to making decisions on many aspects of council matters. Our district is strongly reliant on farming and those rural organisations that service our rural communities. They have a “voice” and it is the intention of this portfolio to ensure the rural “lens” is applied to key Council decisions into the future.

There are exciting times ahead for our Council. There will be challenging conversations to be had regarding what our future Council service might look like and how we balance those expectations against what our ratepayers are prepared to pay for. The central government reforms being proposed will have a significant influence on our work program so please be patient as we try to pivot our vision to comply with those requirements. There is a diverse and skilled range of councillors prepared to work hard for our community to get the best deal for our district.