Whanganui District Council

Community led. Always when council gets bit on the ass by consents or well-meaning work is trashed, the reason is that people don't feel ownership.

Initiated and am currently doing mahi with LGNZ to empower and support all intrinsic minorities, ie ethnic, disability and LGBT. Minority myself.

Use my experience across 20+ different councils and building Auckland Council entities to inform Future for Local Government.

Increase council employee wages to match those of other regions to retain and grow expertise locally.

Review operations spending to maximise effectiveness of projects and investments strategically.

Increase transparency of council projects, funding and decision making. More public consultation to achieve higher engagement.

Talk to people. All the people. Consult with the community but also explain council actions clearly.

A living wage for all council staff but hand-in-hand with that make sure we get value for money from staff work.

Ensure accountability.

Value all people as equals. Listen to community consultations and consider when making decisions. Engage more with community forums.

Support and engage co-governance with local iwi in all matters needing consultation.

Support, encourage and adequately CE in managing council staff and internal operations.

Be respectful in all dealings with council colleagues, staff and community. Everyone has something to offer.

Encourage council to seek out non-ratepayer funding to support activities that may result from government reforms.

Encourage continued council efforts to be more accessible to our community over all sorts of important issues.

Partner with local whānau, hapū and iwi to write legislation that places mana whenua at the table.

Engage with the public 100% of the time around decision making.

Maintain an active social media presence so that I can get information out promptly and to be also always accessible for residents feedback.

Concentrate on maintaining the vital connection between council and iwi. Consult iwi about what they want to see happen in local government.

Focus on going to the people for answers and continue to develop robust procedures so that it remains the people's council.

Establish regular public meetings, to encourge better public engagement on important issues and build stronger communities.

Establish annual citizen awards to recognise the special people and community organisations who contribute to making Whanganui so special.

District council to create a transparent backlog of all tasks and projects so that stakeholders have a better view of timing and priority.

Create an app "Whanganuis Voice" where you can vote and give your submissions in a simple, digital way on every decision council makes.

Raise to reduce council size to eight with larger involvement from the community.

Seek better ways to communicate with our community to ensure full flow of information and better local voice.

Encourage much more diversity in councillor candidates and support lifting their profile so they are known and elected.

More public forums to enable our community to participate early in the development of policy and action plans

Three Waters will reduce the size of Council by 35%. I will be vigilant in opposing filling that vacuum with new activities.

Seek an activity and service review across all of council to identify inefficiencies and opportunities.

Support local iwi should they change their position and wish to have a Māori Ward.

Create more opportunities for all council members to engage with community-led projects and communities in their spaces.

Fast-track council processes by ensuring that Whanganui Iwi are involved with decision-making at our council table.

Diversify how Whanganui district council operates, one male and female co-Mayor, six iwi councillors and six to non-Māori councillors.

Introduce a 'Be the Mayor/Councillor for a Day' programme for young people to grow understanding of the importance of local government.

Appoint a councillor as a 'Long Term Plan engagement lead' to ensure that council engagement is wide-reaching and encourages participation.

Work with our iwi partners to grow Māori participation in decision-making. Continue to fund the Welcoming Communities Programme.

Keep our council democratic, no appointed councillors. One vote per person regardless of race.

Reduce the number of councillors from 12 to 9 and possibly less.

Start a review on council personnel numbers and remuneration. We need less people and less costs. Contract out key services.