In the lead-up to the local body elections, today we look at the Far North and the plans of Mayor Wayne Brown and his challenger, Sir John Goulter.
They share big business credentials and between them have held chairman's posts or directorships with around 25 companies, state-owned enterprises or boards.
But Mayor Wayne Brown and his challenger, Sir John Goulter, have very different ideas on the way forward for the Far North District Council.
The region - the
largest in the North Island - has more than 2300km of coastline and is larger than at least 42 countries.
A Herald tour of the region found some felt the council was putting all its eggs in its eastern basket, to the detriment of those living elsewhere.
The eastern side of the region - covering the Bay of Islands and Mangonui/Coopers Beach - is pristine beach and multimillion-dollar holiday homes, but little has changed in Hokianga since Opo the dolphin made it famous.
"It's almost as if the council is making things harder and harder," says Leonie Robinson, owner of the Hokianga Takeaway in Rawene, citing a reduction in the town's council service centre hours from five days a week to two.
It means anyone with out-of-hours problems involving the council could have to travel as far as Kerikeri.
The disparity between the two coasts is becoming more pronounced, she says, and eastern areas such as Mangonui, Coopers Beach and the Bay of Islands are developing an "Auckland-centric" focus.
"Paihia, it's like Mission Bay."
In the settlement of Waimamakau, shopkeeper Bruce Lomas says that while the council managed to stick to a rate rise of about 3 per cent, he would like to see the money put to better use.
"Right across the district, there's a lot of empty shop space ... There's a lot of money being put into Kerikeri," Mr Lomas said.
At Kaikohe, 35km inland, Craig Engineering owner Robin Craig wants only "a little bit of support" from the council, which has moved many staff to Kerikeri.
"We live in realism. Our primary work is export based - forestry and farming. People in Kaikohe look at grassroots, real things."
Kerikeri and the east were run purely on "a dollar hike", while the other centres relied on traditional industries.
"A lot of stuff goes out of the district without us getting the benefit," he says.
But incumbent mayor Wayne Brown - who prides himself on his Far North roots - is unrepentant.
"The only person thinking about the whole region is the mayor."
He remembers Kerikeri when it was "a village" that didn't even have a bank, and he is proud his town has grown to be the region's leading settlement.
He is also unapologetic about his first-term move to focus council activity on the more affluent east coast
"We have to put the staff where the work is."
He wants his second term to be spent consolidating what he began in his first - streamlining council services and putting staff where they are most needed.
"The east pulls twice as many rates as the north and twice as much as the west. I'm trying to put it back in the same ratio.
"If you find there's suddenly a building boom in Kaikohe and the west, we'll move them back again. But I don't see it."
Collecting enough rates income from the region is tough because of the rating base, and the council is getting rates from about a third of the region, Mr Brown says.
A third of it is Conservation Department land and unrateable, and another third is Maori land - "technically rateable, but not collectable".
Luring events to the region is part of Mr Brown's plan to bring in money.
The Japan, Tonga and Canada rugby teams will be staying in the area during next year's Rugby World Cup.
For Sir John, the key to building the Far North is training councillors to identify the strengths in their own wards, while working to represent the region as a whole.
The former New Zealander of the Year (2002) and member of the Business Hall of Fame believes people's concept of "the Far North" has changed.
In the past, the term - and its negative connotations - were considered to apply to the area north of Kaitaia, he says. Nowadays, the area could be defined as anywhere above Towai.
"Identifying the region in a more user-friendly way would be high on my list of priorities.
It is time to do something about getting things moving forward."
One initiative he is probing is the possibility of removing charges for building consents, to attract development.
Sir John believes that after an initial investment boom, things have started to slow down in the region, as those who have moved there did so for a reason - to make the most of the laidback lifestyle.
He says developing infrastructure must also be a priority, particularly in the field of public transport, which is virtually non-existent in the region.
Partnerships with Maori could be fostered to generate income from tribal land that currently has "no productive output".
"The aspirations of Maori are no different to the aspirations of anyone else. They want to see a good economy so they can contribute."
FAR NORTH FACTS
Population: 55,845(2006).
Holiday population: 110,000 (est).
GDP: $1 billion.
Average income: $19,200 (2006).
Largest town: Kerikeri 5856 (2006).
