Western Bay mayoral race: Former CEO John Holyoake promotes partnership approach

Former Western Bay of Plenty District Council chief executive John Holyoake is running for mayor. Photo / Supplied

Local body elections are under way and eight hopefuls are vying for the Western Bay of Plenty’s top job. Local Democracy Reporting quizzed the mayoral candidates about key issues ahead of the October 11 election. We will publish those stories over the coming days.

Quick bio

• Name: John Holyoake
• Age: 58
• Resides: Ōmokoroa
• Profession: Chief executive
• Political party affiliations: None
• Family: Married with one child

href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/western-bay/ " target="_self" rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/western-bay/ ">Western Bay of Plenty should “partner for progress”, says the former council chief executive now seeking to be its mayor.

John Holyoake finished at Western Bay of Plenty District Council in March after taking the chief executive job in July 2021.

Prior to council, he spent six years as chief executive at Tamaki Regeneration Company – the largest urban regeneration project in New Zealand.

There was a lot of talk about getting back to basics or the council’s core functions, but it actually needed to be done, he said.

“That’s about clean water, safe roads and good infrastructure.

“Everyone that I’m speaking to is really hurting in terms of cost of living.”

Rates needed to be lower to help with this, which meant cutting back, Holyoake said.

Local government was heading into a period of real change, he said.

There was water reform, and Holyoake believed there would be a lot more talk from the Government about council amalgamation and rates capping.

“We need to embrace that rather than fight it. I think we need to partner for progress.”

Long-term funding from the Government was a must to achieve key projects, he said.

This would come if the sub-region was successful in securing a regional deal from the Government, he said.

Regional deals unlock funding and resource opportunities to support councils with roading, infrastructure and the supply of quality housing.

Having a long-term commitment from the Government would create certainty for the council and housing developers, he said.

He wanted to see Takitimu Northern Link Stage 2 and a solution to get heavy vehicles off Te Puke’s main road in the regional deal.

Also support for Te Kāinga, a new settlement in the district’s east.

“We need to do what is best for the region and we’ll get the best outcomes. It’s not just about Western Bay’s projects it’s also about Tauranga City Council’s projects.”

John Holyoake wants to get heavy vehicles off Te Puke's main street. Photo / Stuart Whitaker

Holyoake’s long-term goal for the district was to free up land for housing.

“There’s already some good strategic plans in place for that, but it’s actually time to get on and do some stuff.”

If the council partnered with central Government and the private sector it could deliver projects like Te Kāinga, he said.

A nice-to-have for Holyoake would be to have “really good” library services right across the district.

Back-to-basics talk meant libraries and swimming pools were a “grey area” and seen as a nice-to-have because they weren’t important to everyone, Holyoake said.

“Those are the things that actually make a really big difference to families.”

Efficiency and cost reductions could be achieved by amalgamating with other councils, he said.

Western Bay and neighbouring councils, like Tauranga, could have more shared services and deliver big infrastructure projects together but still retain their brand, Holyoake said.

There were ways of doing this without losing the local voice, he said.

He supported Māori wards because having their voice at the council table was “really important”.

It was now up to people to decide how important it was to them through the Māori ward referendum, Holyoake said.

Voting is open until midday October 11.

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