Opua businessman Joshua Riley throws hat in ring for mayor

Opua businessman Joshua Riley, seen here with his son on a skiing holiday, is standing for Far North mayor. Photo / Supplied

Frustrated by what he calls the Government's "overreach", Bay of Islands businessman and pilot Joshua Riley has decided to stand for mayor.

The father of one has lived in Opua with his wife for seven years, after moving from Hawke's Bay following a holiday to the area.

Riley has a Bachelor in Business Management and a Professional Pilot Associates Degree and has an FAA Commercial Pilot and Gold Seal Flight Instructor's Licence.

He is also a business owner, software engineer and FAA Gold Seal flight instructor.

Riley said with all his extensive combined experienced, he felt he would make a great candidate for mayor.

"I have local council experience with the Napier City Council where I received an acknowledgment for outstanding contribution," Riley said.

"I will work hard for our people and use my business and project management experience to drive policy that benefits my fellow Northlanders.

"I will also push to deregulate policies that hurt our ability to thrive economically and as a society."

This will be Riley's first attempt to run for local government, where he will stand for mayor as well as a councillor seat in the Te Hiku ward.

Riley defined his campaign as focused on deregulation, governmental accountability and supporting locals, to create a "truly sustainable" future.

He said his biggest inspiration and influence in life had been his grandfather, a survivor of the Great Depression and World War II.

It was his grandfather's opinion of modern-day events and politic,s Riley said, that had helped shape his own values.

"He taught me to fish, garden, shoot a gun and drive a ute. While I thought I was only learning mechanical skills, he was teaching me much more," Riley said.

"His approach to people and his care and compassion for others is what made him so amazing.

"The bits of wisdom he could impart on a situation, draw from his vast life experience, were like gold nuggets."

Riley explained his nomination was the result of growing frustration over what he felt was FNDC listening to outside voices, agendas and agencies more than its own constituents.

He said he felt central government had overstepped the boundaries with regards to the Three Waters "asset takeover" and FNDC should have joined the Whangarei District Council with legal pushback.

"I believe LGNZ has become a special interest lobby, threatening to take policy decisions away from local councils, in favour of a nationwide collective approach to decision-making," Riley said.

"This is a concept that flies in the face of the idea behind local democracy.

"I believe the constant expansion of SNAs and Outstanding Natural Landscape Areas which prohibit agricultural development is exactly the opposite of what our region needs and will seek to stop their expansion and rollback previously incorporated areas.

"I also oppose the re-districting of FNDC wards to include race-specific wards. Never in the history of civilisation has segregation turned out well for any society that imposed it."

Riley finished by saying he was sick of seeing continual rate rises while infrastructure continued to fall apart.

"Projects such as demolishing an existing skatepark in Kerikeri in order to build another one 30m away don't even make sense if the council had no debt and wasn't raising rates," he said.

"But to take on such projects when the opposite is true is irresponsible to ratepayers.

Riley claimed he already had the support of a diverse group of people in the community, particularly through the Sovereign.nz group, which he helped to establish.

He said the group was a collective of like-minded individuals whose purpose was to help establish principles and policies to provide better outcomes for the people of the Far North.

Seven of the Sovereign candidates are said to be standing for this year's local body elections.