The outgoing Western Bay of Plenty District Council for 2019-2022. Photo / Talia Parker
The outgoing Western Bay of Plenty District Council for 2019-2022. Photo / Talia Parker
Four outgoing Western Bay of Plenty District elected members received standing ovations as they gave their valedictory speeches in an "emotional" final council meeting today.
Mayor Garry Webber, Kevin Marsh, Mark Dean and Monique Gray said their final farewells to packed council chambers. Some choked back the tears, while othersreflected on their achievements and wished the next council good luck.
At the meeting, Webber said the success of his time as mayor was "not mine alone, it is this team's".
"We've done some great things in this council; I think we've worked reasonably well as a team...
"It is a dreamer who thinks you're going to win everything unanimously, and I have never been a dreamer."
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times ahead of the meeting, Webber, 76, said it was time for him to step down as he did not believe people older than 75 should seek to stand for local government.
"We're supposed to be doing strategic planning for current and future generations... in my opinion, their thought processes aren't in tune with the younger community."
He said the new mayor needed to have the ability to listen.
"You're there to serve the 60,000 [people in the Western Bay], not the 10 or 12 that phone you up all the time and are forever in your ear. They're the loud minority."
Webber said, in his opinion, the future mayor should have experience in local government.
"I think you have to have done at least one term on council as a councillor because it is a very complex business... we turn over $100 million a year, and have a staff of over 300. So in terms of New Zealand, it's a big business.
"You need to understand the government laws, and they are very prescriptive... if you think you're going to come in and change things, well, you'll learn very quickly in your first week that is impossible."
He said the biggest lesson he had learned in his time on council was that "democracy is not a skill test".
"I came from a career where to get a position of any significance, on a board or anything like that, you had to go through an interview process and you had to prove you had some skills, and you had some experience.
"But in local government, and I suppose central government, so long as your 150 words is reasonably sensible and the photograph's okay, that's all people decide [on].
"Democracy delivers a group of people, and then after that, you've got to work with those group of people to try and make progress."
He believed his biggest achievement was getting many of the councillors to understand mana whenua was a significant component of the New Zealand landscape.
Webber cited Panepane Point, Taha Taharoa, and Tahawai reserve as instances where the council was involved in "fixing some wrongs from the past".
"I find that's the most significant thing I've been involved in."
Outgoing mayor Garry Webber at his final district council meeting. Photo / Talia Parker
Webber thought his time as mayor had been successful.
"We've been... one of the few councils in Australia and New Zealand... that have been able to reduce their debt whilst maintaining their services and coping with growth. And that, I think in anyone's book, is a significant success."
Outgoing councillor Kevin Marsh, who is retiring after 21 years, giving his final speech. Photo / Talia Parker
Monique Gray told those at the meeting she had developed a slightly thicker skin as a councillor.
"I still take the award for most tears shed in chambers.
Gray described being on council as "a mixed bag of lollies".
"You never know what you're going to pull out, and which one is going to have a sour taste."
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times before the meeting, Gray said being on the council had been "worthwhile and valuable".
She said her biggest achievements included returning Panepane Point and the partial speed review to reduce limits around schools, and getting the Treaty of Waitangi text on the council's chamber wall.
Gray said she was also proud of her advocacy for people with disabilities, inspired by her son who uses a wheelchair.
And while Gray said she needed to take some time to spend with family, her career in local government was far from finished.
"It's definitely not over for me... I'll be back."
The Western Bay of Plenty District's council for 2019-2022. Photo / Talia Parker
At the meeting, Mark Dean said it was an emotional time to be leaving council and thanked staff and councillors for an "incredibly interesting six years".
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times before the meeting, Dean said it had been a big learning curve when he joined council.
