During its representation review last year, the council chose to keep the board, with 127 public submissions supporting its retention and 25 supporting disestablishment.
Bullock said it would have been “a major loss” if the board ended.
“Rural Whanganui contributes well over $10 million [annually] to the rates take.
“I just felt we needed to reinvigorate and refresh the approach.”
He said he wanted council officers to attend more board meetings to deal with issues affecting the rural community.
“We want to be at the forefront of decision-making, not have something pushed on us later on.
“I think the rural voice was getting a bit lost. Let’s give it some strength and some ‘oomph’.”
As well as advocacy and policy input, the board provides grant funding of up to $1000 for family and community-focused projects.
Once the new strategic plan was complete, he planned on “doing a roadshow”, Bullock said.
“I want to get into our communities, get their feedback and incubate ideas.”
He was elected to the board unopposed in the Kai Iwi subdivision.
Other board members are Wells, Bill Ashworth, Brian Doughty, Quentin Handley, Charlie Anderson and Daryn Henare Te Uamairangi.
“One issue I identified quite quickly when I stood for the board was that a lot of people didn’t know what it did, who the people were or that it even existed,” Bullock said.
“Part of my role now is that we are relevant and we do have a presence.”
Bullock, who lives in Mowhanau village, said he was not a farmer but he had experience in the sector.
“I worked on farms in my teens and some of my family are farmers as well, here in Whanganui and on the East Coast.
“But it’s really good to have people on our board that are entrenched in that sort of thing, like David who farms and grows kiwifruit.”
The next Whanganui Rural Community Board meeting is at 9.30am on April 15 in the council chambers on Guyton St.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
