Voting papers are due to arrive in mailboxes from Friday, September 16.
The local body elections are your chance to have your say on who makes the big decisions on the issues that touch our everyday lives.
Four candidates are standing for the one available Stratford constituency seat in the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) election this year.
In alphabetical order, they are Mary Bourke, Alan Jamieson, Matthew McDonald and Andrew Wood.
Voting packs will be delivered to enrolled voters from Friday, September 16, and voting will close at noon, Saturday, October 8. The regional council uses the first past the post (FPP) electoral system, which means that the candidate with the most votes will be elected to the seat.
The Stratford Press contacted all four candidates by email on Wednesday, August 24, giving them five questions to answer by noon on Friday, August 26. They were asked to keep each answer under 100 words to ensure all could be fitted in. In the case of a submitted answer going over 100 words, answers have been cut off at the end of the sentence which leaves it closest to the 100-word point. Their answers to these questions will be run in the Stratford Press over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the election. Their answers will also be available online a few days before they run in the print edition for our Premium subscribers.
This week, candidates answer the question:
Do you think Taranaki Regional Council has a responsibility to act on climate change – and why / why not?
Mary Bourke:
Climate change is an emotive term that polarises opinion. The regional council has a responsibility to explore and implement all opportunities to preserve and/or restore environmental equilibrium. Some might say TRC has been acting on climate change for years. Pioneering work on riparian planting took place in this region well before central government legislated it.
Alan Jamieson:
Taranaki Regional Council does have a responsibility to act on climate change, we all do. We have seen the effects of severe weather on our roading, eastern hill country and Taranaki Mounga. Plantation pine trees aren't the answer and nor is blaming farmers. Our transition to a low emissions economy must be fair to all. TRC must acknowledge the difficulties, lead and inspire with workable solutions, while putting New Zealand and Taranaki's emissions in global perspective.
Matthew McDonald:
The council must act when it can in planning and construction to ensure the resilience of our assets and communities, to be ignorant of this will be costly when major events happen, I believe decisions should be made on the best available science and data to ensure the right decision are made with the consultation of the community. We own and maintain several flood protection schemes and like any asset we should be improving them.
Andrew Wood:
In the rural sector, communities have for over 30 years with support from TRC made progress through riparian planting along waterways.
Where the TRC does not appear to have taken responsibility is the advocacy for the Taranaki it serves to get central government to recognise their one size fits all policies on climate change do not account for the diversity of the environment and climate of this region, nor allow for sufficient time for scientific research to be developed to provide a smooth progressive shift for both rural and urban businesses to adapt.