Sergiy Vorobey and Alla Smal.
Weekly column by Kāpiti mayor K Gurunathan.
In the safety of our living rooms across the country we are hearing and seeing the David and Goliath battle unfolding in Ukraine, the horrific and ruthless destruction meted out on the people by Putin, the dictatorial leader of global superpower Russia, and the helplessness caused by the arithmetic of geopolitics that prevents the US and NATO from directly confronting the Russian invasion.
Many in Kāpiti, and elsewhere, have expressed their frustration over the situation. There is an overwhelming need for good people to help in any way possible. Over the decades I've been in New Zealand I've always appreciated the outstanding kindness and generosity of Kiwis.
The mayoral office has reached out to Ukrainian couple Sergiy Vorobey and Alla Smal. The Waikanae residents have agreed to front a fundraising event in Kāpiti. I'm grateful to event organiser and civic award recipient Helen Keivom, who has raised her hand to help, with the support of deputy mayor Janet Holbrow.
The event to be held at Paekakakiri's St Peter's Hall on May 14 is also supported by Amelia Longuet, chairwoman of the Kāpiti Multicultural Council.
If you want to help this organising group raise funds to support the Ukrainian people's struggle for democracy contact Helen on 027 258 4251.
The act of responding to this globally impacting event will in turn nurture the spirit of democracy in us and in our communities. A participatory understanding, that no matter how small our neighbourhoods and communities, we are globally connected.
Talking of communities, last Friday we had five Labour Members of Parliament visit three community-led projects in Ōtaki. Organised by Otaki MP Terisa Ngobi, the MPs were all members of the Infrastructure & Environment Caucus.
It included Caucus chair Shanan Halbert and Greg O'Connor, chairman of the Transport Select Committee. The first stop on the tour was at the man-made lakes at Winstones Quarry.
Friends of the Otaki River chairman Max Lutz talked of the need to further support the partnership between GWRC and KCDC aimed at building a safe alternative access to the lakes. At present, the access is through the quarry, an active industrial site.
The MPs heard from the local waka ama group of the highly valued work being done to nurture the youth through this traditional culture, building their pride and discipline with the support of their elders and the huge success rate at national competitions.
The safe access Max was seeking included not only vehicular access but also for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
As regional councillor Penny Gaylor reminded, the lakes will become a regional asset once the environmental restoration is completed in the future.
From the quarry, the MPs moved on to the transfer station on River Rd to visit the timber recycling operation run by a very active community group called Zero Waste. It is supported by council.
Timber from all sorts of sources are de-nailed and sorted for reuse. It diverts good reusable timber from being dumped into a landfill. Again, this project is run by locals committed to the wellbeing of the local community and the planet.
The last visit was to the nearby wastewater treatment plant where a community group called Energise Ōtaki had set up a small solar farm.
With the support of council the generated energy is sold to council to run the treatment plant. The profits are in turn ploughed back into the Ōtaki community to support other energy-saving projects, projects that reduce energy poverty and dependence on fossil fuels. On this proven success they are looking toward building a bigger solar farm. It was a great Friday morning.
The MPs were basically shown a close up look at what small communities can do to provide local solutions to global problems.
Finally, I have welcomed the determination of the Local Government Commission on council's new representation arrangements for the coming elections.
While it has retained the existing four wards it has reduced the current arrangement of five ward councillors and five district-wide councillors to a seven ward and three district-wide reconfiguration.
The commission has redistributed the two district-wide positions to give Waikanae two representatives and Paraparaumu ward three. This is particularly important for Waikanae which has been disadvantaged.
The fair representation rule allows for a toleration range of a plus or minus 10 per cent. In the case of Waikanae it's been +26.6 per cent which means the current councillor has to bear the weight of having to represent more people than say Ōtaki which has a -13.5 per cent.
The commission has added to the current four community boards with an additional one for Raumati.
I understand that the commission has not been consistent in applying a fixed rationale across its determinations around the country. Given the central government's broad move towards an economics of scale approach across significant reforms like the Three Waters, health, RMA and the local government sector generally, I think it would have been strategic for the commission to move away from the centralisation and regionalisation momentum created by central government towards greater localism.
However, in the case of Kāpiti the commission's horses-for-courses approach has given us a determination that's more grassroots than the current arrangement.