Te Puke Community Board candidates have their say

Te Puke Community Board candidates at the Meet the Candidates evening. Photo / Stuart Whitaker

Eight of the nine candidates for the four vacant Te Puke Community Board seats took the opportunity to have their say at last week's Meet the Candidates event organised by EPIC Te Puke and Te Puke Creative Forum.

The ninth, Gina Davies, was unable to attend for personal reasons.

In alphabetical order, each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves to the audience of just over 100 people followed by a 10 minute period when questions were asked and answered.

Richard Crawford said he was standing to continue a journey he began when he moved back to the Bay of Plenty in 2006 when he realised the people of Te Puke weren't proud of their town. He said he wanted to make Te Puke a better place than it was when he arrived.

''We need to see all ages and cultures coming together and I hope the community board this time will be in unison and working with council with good positive leadership,'' he said.

Joan Dugmore, the only existing community board member standing in the 2019 election, said Te Puke has been short-changed by councillors, that board members should be allowed to speak at council workshops relating to Te Puke issues. She said she did not like the fact rates went to tourism and economic development, that cyclists should pay a levy to fund cycle trails and that Te Puke should go back to having its own borough council.

Next up was Kassie Ellis who is involved in several community groups including Te Puke Creative Forum and the Te Puke Memorial Hall Committee.

She said she believes the key to a successful Te Puke is good, honest communication between various community organisations and local businesses with a shared understanding, mutual respect and local people being involved in local projects.

Stephen Fawcett said he was there to listen and to support the youngest community board candidate, Larissa Hika, and youth in Te Puke in general.

Larissa said she would like to see youth supported in Te Puke.

''There's a lot more that could be done to ensure the youth in Te Puke are thriving,'' she said. ''I want youth to have a voice, somebody to represent the youth, their needs and their values.''

Richard McNair said rates in the Western Bay of Plenty need to be brought under control and there needs to be more accountability for decisions taken as far as council and the community board are concerned.

''We need to stop the indiscriminate waste of our money and encourage more diversity within our business community.

He said there is a need to ''sort out'' the town centre which, he said, ''looks like it is out of a Third World country''.

Tupaea Rolleston, the CEO of Tarnix Security, said a lot of ratepayer money gets tied up with consultants and that frustrates him.

He said there were also serious security and safety issues in Te Puke and there was a need to engage with youth.

Dale Snell said she put her name forward for a place on the community board after reading the job description.

''Most importantly, to advocate the interests of our community.''

She said she is passionate about Te Puke and understanding the voice of the community.

''Advocating for that voice is my personal kaupapa in all the mahi I do in this town.''

Sidebar:
Candidates were asked what would be the first thing they would like to achieve if they were successful:
Joan Dugmore: A big sports area for everyone to have their own activities.
Larissa Hika: Making people aware of voting - people don't really use their vote well or don't use their vote at all.
Richard McNair: Increase the number of businesses in town.
Tupaea Rolleston: Youth in this town don't even know the community board exists and that needs to happen.
Dale Snell: Safety in our community is number one for me.
Richard Crawford: If you read what a community board exists for, one of the first things is to be an advocate for the community and we need to be better at doing that and in a positive manner.
Kassie Ellis: There is a disconnect between the community board and what it represents and it needs to be absolutely present and needs to be engaged and to be aware.