Improving Rotorua's air quality - second worst in the country - is a major focus as it regularly exceeds levels set by the Ministry for the Environment in winter ,and ensuring the district's air meets the national environmental standard by 2020.
Maintaining an efficient and effective fully accessible public transport network, especially for those with disabilities and limited transport options.
Do you think Rotorua is under-represented on the regional council?
Rotorua is clearly under-represented in my view.
Rotorua originally had four constituency councillors following the establishment of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council in 1989.
Due to the static growth in population in Rotorua over many years that number was reduced by the Electoral Commission to three.
Currently Rotorua has just two constituency councillors, plus an iwi councillor for the Okurei Constituency.
By comparison, Tauranga City and Western Bay, with their phenomenal growth in population currently estimated at over 150,000, has seven constituency councillors plus an iwi councillor.
Rotorua simply needs more population which will trigger a cyclical review by the Electoral Commission.
KEVIN WINTERS: First term on regional council. Total votes: 7751
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Rotorua with regard to the regional council and its work this three-year term?
I campaigned on the continuation of lake water quality restoration programmes, which I intend to pursue with vigour and haste however, for Rotorua into the future, the "three waters" are going to be major issues, namely wastewater, flood (storm) water, and drinking water.
Recent events in Hawke's Bay showed what happens when you get it wrong with respect to drinking water.
With weather patterns changing, ensuring flood protection schemes can cope is significant.
The Rotorua Lakes Council's consent for waste water disposal is up for renewal. This will be a big discussion.
Improving air quality within the caldera is proving to be a bigger challenge than first thought and discussions with NZTA regarding roading infrastructure for Rotorua will be an even greater challenge.
As a former farmer, do you think the council's new nitrogen rules and the process around the clean up of Lake Rotorua has been fair and reasonable?
Having the Lake Rotorua Incentives Board now being able to "buy" nitrogen out of the catchment permanently via land use change is a big step forward for rural land owners.
Having the rural community inside the tent using the "carrot" approach compared to the "big stick" mentality, is my preferred course of action.
Farmers want to farm sustainably and with long term certainty.
Allowing proper consultation and engagement within the farming community has seen great feedback on proposed Plan Change 10 via the submission process.
ARAPETA TAHANA: Three years on regional council as Okurei Maori constituency councillor. Total votes: 1734
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Rotorua with regard to the regional council and its work this three-year term?
The biggest challenges for regional council in terms of Rotorua is most definitely lakes water quality.
The journey of cleaning up Lake Rotorua in particular has a long way to go and it is very much front of mind for the council.
The focus needs to be on the next stage which is essentially focused on embedding the regulation, initiatives and action that will move us closer to achieving clean lakes.
While this is an environmental initiative, the crux of whether we achieve meaningful outcomes in the near future lies in our collective (council, community and iwi) ability to work together with an unwavering focus on environmental outcomes above all else.
In terms of Maori representation, what do you hope to achieve during the next three years?
Firstly, I'm proud that regional council is one of only two councils in New Zealand to have Maori wards.
As such, we are leading the country in terms of Maori representation and engagement in council affairs.
This said, there is more work to do in this area. In particular, I'm keen to focus on improving the relationship between tangata whenua and council in order to foster partnerships that contribute to greater collaboration, understanding and collective action to achieve environmental outcomes.
