Tauranga mayoral race: Chudleigh Haggett’s priorities for council

Chudleigh Haggett is running for mayor and in the Te Papa ward.

In July, the people of Tauranga will choose who will be running their city for the first time in five years. A mayor and nine councillors will replace the four-person commission that has been in place since February 2021. To keep people informed ahead of the election on July 20, Local Democracy Reporting asked the 15 mayoral candidates their thoughts on four topics. Before voting opens on June 29, readers will hear from each of the mayoral candidates.

Chudleigh Haggett is a retired automotive engineer and businessman who lives in the Te Papa ward. He was a Tauranga city councillor from 1986 to 1989.

Haggett is running for mayor and in the Te Papa ward.

Tauranga is the least affordable city in New Zealand because of an infrastructure and housing deficit. How would you address this?

I do not believe that there is fundamentally a lack of infrastructure or housing. There is housing available, but it is unaffordable. And [in my view], the reason is the undue haste with which the council has pushed forward with its crazy big expenditure projects, and that needs to be revisited.

It’s probably true that the council will be able to raise the billions, but it is unaffordable to the ratepayers and generally unnecessary.

What would you do to keep young adults in Tauranga and attract others to the city?

The only thing that will keep people in the city are jobs and a council that is encouraging to investors to invest in the city.

[In my opinion], currently we have a council that is out of control and the costs are driving people away. Decisions [are] being made on major projects that are neither affordable nor sustainable.

Tauranga will have its first Māori ward this election. The Government plans to require councils to hold a binding referendum on Māori wards established after March 2021. This means the Te Awanui Māori ward could only be in place for one term. Given the change in Government policy, is it important for Tauranga to keep this ward?

This is purely up to the ratepayers. The coalition [Government] wants councils to have referenda on the subject. I support that and will listen and support what the community wants.

Hypothetically, if Tauranga won the Lotto and there was no budget, what big-ticket item would you want for the city? Excluding infrastructure, like roads, water services and housing.

The first thing is to understand that the council’s first priority is [the] core requirements of a council.

Supply water, treat the sewage, pick up the rubbish and maintain the infrastructure of roads, parks and buildings, and retire debt. You have to do that first before you embark on a wish list of “what’s nice to have”.

This is an important election. Ratepayers need to elect people who are experienced in local politics, people with good skills in management, and economics, those experienced in business.

Now is not the time to elect people without those skills. There is too much at stake for the future of the city.

Being able to understand the problems is critical, knowing how to best resolve the issues for the benefit of ratepayers needs experience and leadership. Tauranga needs Chudleigh Haggett.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.