Tauranga mayoral race: Mahé Drysdale

Kiwi Olympian Mahé Drysdale is running for mayor of Tauranga in the 2024 local body election. Photo / Alex Cairns

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.

Olympic rower Mahé Drysdale lives in Cambridge with his wife and three children. The two-time Olympic gold medallist retired from rowing in 2021 and is now a financial adviser with Forsyth Barr.

Despite living in Cambridge, Drysdale said he was raised in Tauranga and knows the city well.

The 45-year-old said his relevant experience with regard to local government was winning multiple times on the world stage. Drysdale is the director and trustee of multiple entities. He is also the co-chairman of the Athletes Co-operative, which has sought to improve conditions for elite athletes with High-Performance Sport New Zealand.

Drysdale is running for the mayoralty only.

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

There is no one solution to solving these issues, I would use a multi-faceted approach. I would look to encourage high-density housing in and around Tauranga’s city centre, helping bring back vibrancy to the city.

[I’d] continue to work to open more land while getting value for money on spending. I would also encourage more medium-density housing in areas that can support it (areas where there is already the majority of required infrastructure) and good transport.

It’s important the council has a robust plan, is efficient in processing and cuts red tape to enable people to deliver the plan as easily, efficiently and cheaply as possible.

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

We need to reinvigorate the central city, bring back the vibrancy.

Bringing more high-density housing in and around the central city can help achieve that, while also helping to deliver more houses so they can afford to live and buy in Tauranga. I would listen to and work alongside young people and the community to deliver their priorities and more things to do on top of the beautiful natural environmental jewels Tauranga already has.

I would encourage businesses to allow for jobs and a strong economy, and deliver better roads and a range of transport options so they can get around easily.

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 hard to answer [before] seeing how this works in practice. What I do encourage as a leader is robust debate from people with a wide range of views.

I believe in hearing all sides of an argument before you can make a good decision.

I look forward to seeing how this works on the council, as well as hearing all sides of the debate before I make a decision on this.

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 and water services and housing.

In a hypothetical world, I think a multi-use stadium would be fantastic for Tauranga.

Although my father’s hat says a kids’ precinct on the waterfront with a playground, water park and aquarium to make the central city a destination for kids. However, these are only dreams, and my accountant’s brain says Tauranga can’t afford them right now and there are plenty of higher priorities for ratepayer funds.

I will, however, get value for money when I do invest ratepayers’ money and will dream a Lotto win comes Tauranga’s way.

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