Focus on achieving goals

JOE DAWSON
The face of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council remains largely unchanged after election weekend, with just two new names.
In the Hastings constituency Liz Remmerswaal came in for Alec Olsen, while in Central Hawke's Bay Tim Gilbertson replaced Adrienne Williams, who before the election stood down from the seat she held for 12 years.
Mrs Remmerswaal was elated by her election to the council. "I'm thrilled to bits. It was one of the best days of my life after my wedding, giving birth to my kids and winning Cape Kidnappers (being part of a group to defeat the Hastings District Council in the Environment Court to protect the Cape landscape)," she said.
The passionate environmentalist said the nerves of the last few weeks leading up to the election had passed, and she was "raring to go".
"I want to get the balance back between economic development and environmental protection. It goes hand in hand, you can't have one without the other," she said.
Mr Gilbertson has 12 years experience with the Central Hawke's Bay District Council, including six as mayor, but said he still has a lot to learn.
"The fundamentals are the same, but it's a totally different animal. I'll keep tight-lipped for a while," Mr Gilbertson said.
He said he was looking forward to representing CHB in another capacity, and saw the wise spending of money as the key role of council.
One place he would like to see money invested was in Central Hawke's Bay.
"I think there has been a huge amount of effort put into the Heretaunga Plains, and it's been brilliant. "It's time to shift the focus down here. The Ruataniwha Plains are the next Heretaunga Plains."
He also said any development needed to be done with a strong environmental focus.
Mr Olsen, the only standing councillor not to be re-elected said he was "okay" about not getting the opportunity to build on his first term, but lamented the Government-imposed boundary changes which he said had deprived the rural community of guaranteed representation.
"It's fortunate we have a couple of people from urban Hastings who have farming experience," Mr Olsen said. But he said that might not always be the case. He said his successor Mrs Remmerswaal had worked hard and would continue to now she was on the council.