New council, new ideas

Local election results are in, and as I write this our new mayors – and we have quite a number in the Waikato – are attending ‘Mayor School’ in Wellington.

Phil Mackay

It’s interesting that this new cohort of Waikato mayors are all men, replacing quite a number of women, particularly in the high-growth councils, i.e. Waipā, Waikato, and Hamilton. I’m not sure what to make of that other than to note that the previous mayors had made good progress working together on initiatives like the waters reform. My hope for the new term is that this spirit of collaboration continues.

On the whole, despite poor turnout, it also looks as though voting sanity has prevailed, and we’ve avoided too many nutcases and fringe candidates.

Unfortunately, most of the region has voted to remove Māori wards, Hamilton City being the exception. This, in my opinion, is a real loss to our democracy, and proves exactly the need for the wards in the first place. No system is perfect, but Māori wards, just like rural wards, ensure a voice at the table for a group of people who are otherwise not well represented.

Two years ago, 27 women led our cities, districts and regions. That’s 21 women mayors across Aotearoa, while over half of the regional council chairs were wāhine (six out of eleven). Photo: LGNZ

Fast forward to 2025 – Matemoana McDonald is the first Maori and first woman chair at Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Here pictured with her deputy Glenn Dougal. Photo: Supplied

Democracy, by the very meaning of the word, is meant to be ‘government by the people’. But when we elect representatives by majority vote, we instead get government by the majority. It’s human nature that people vote for people who are like them, and so our councils tend to reflect the pākehā majority. It is disappointing, though not surprising, that that same majority has failed to see the value in having a tangata whenua voice and perspective at the council table.

Beyond these issues of representation, our councils now face the challenge of how to manage rapid growth while maintaining community trust. We have an urgent need for new and upgraded infrastructure to accommodate growth in the region, and little appetite from existing ratepayers to fund this with higher rates.

The newly elected mayors and councillors have a mandate to meet this growth challenge, and this will require fresh thinking and new approaches to the way councils operate.

However, if we want higher-performing councils, we must be prepared for council staff to try new ways of doing things. Sometimes, these new ideas and approaches won’t work. They will fail, go sideways, and backfire. We can’t, as the saying goes, make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. It is the job of mayors, in my view, to provide political cover for council CEOs and staff to try new things, even, or especially, when they go wrong.

At the same time, we should expect that our mayors and councillors are providing good governance. We should expect that they are holding staff to account. That does not mean demanding perfection, but rather, asking hard questions about both the status quo and new initiatives.

Self employed television producer and director Robbie Neha becomes a Hamilton city councillor in
the Kirikiriroa Māori ward at the inauguration last month. New mayor Tim Macindoe looks on.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Coming back to growth, as we grapple with housing, infrastructure, and climate pressures, we should also look to create the conditions for considered, sustainable urban development.

As I noted in my September column, the alignment of planning rules and zones across the region offers the opportunity both to streamline consenting, and to encourage better development outcomes.

Le Quesnoy Place in Cambridge

Likewise, establishing consistent urban design guidelines for the Waikato, and a shared ‘Urban Design Review Panel’ will encourage quality intensification and urban development. Hamilton City has an Urban Design ‘advisory’ panel, which includes engineering, planning, architecture, arts and landscape architecture expertise. This could be extended across the region to improve outcomes and consistency.

The caveat is that planning rules must be updated to give the panel some clout. It is currently voluntary, but could be made mandatory for example, for developments above a certain scale. Alternatively, incentives like reduced development contributions could be offered to developers who take on board the panel’s recommendations.

An advocacy group in Nelson Tasman even advocate that their councils establish a joint Urban Development Agency to “actively facilitate the emergence of cohesive urban neighbourhoods with a variety of high quality housing choices. The agency would partner with public and private entities to deliver large scale, transformative projects and smaller, site specific interventions.”

As the Waikato, and particularly the Hamilton metropolitan area, grows, we need bold ideas and better collaboration to fulfil the region’s potential.

If our new mayors and councillors are bold enough to think beyond the term ahead, and plan for the kind of region we want in 20, 30, or 50 years’ time, then perhaps we might finally break through the same old challenges.

Maria Huata – will chair the Hamilton City Council Growth and Economic Development committee.