Farmers hear from candidates

Waipā mayoral candidate Susan O'Regan with Waikato Regional Council candidates Stu Kneebone (centre) and Barry Quayle. Photo / Dean Taylor

Te Awamutu branch of Federated Farmers hosted Waipā mayor and Waikato Regional Council candidates at a Q&A on Tuesday evening.

All four mayoral hopefuls were in attendance, Jim Mylchreest, Susan O'Regan, Bernard Westerbaan and Chris Woods, as well as Stu Kneebone, Barry Quayle and Judith Sherriff for the King Country Waipā Waikato Regional Council electorate. Clyde Graf sent an apology and a statement to be read.

Also present were Te Awamutu / Kihikihi ward council candidate Lou Brown and Pirongia-Kakepuku ward council candidate Clare St Pierre.

With apologies to the latter two candidates, I will concentrate on questions posed to potential mayors and regional councillors.

The first question was: How will we protect our elite soils from urban development?

Jim and Susan pointed to work council had already undertaken in the Future Proof Plan to protect the land. They both said it was a balancing act between the pressure for more housing and protecting fertile land.

Bernard believed we should protect elite land, but predicted we will have stormwater problems in the future if we intensify too much.

Chris said we needed to be extra careful with our farmland because Te Awamutu and Cambridge basically exist to support the rural sector, and without it they would decline.

Judith and Barry agreed councils needed to push back against developer pressures and look after our lands.

Waipā mayoral candidate Chris Woodhams and Waikato Regional Council candidate Judy Sherriff. Photo / Dean Taylor

Stu saw another problem, that of reverse sensitivity if urban encroached too much into the rural sectors, and said careful planning was needed to avoid it.

Farmers wanted to know what could be done about inequitable rates, which meant they were paying more than urban folk, but getting less for their money, plus what would be one project would they like to spend money on?

Everyone agreed rating was inequitable, but said it was the only system available and those already in office said councils tried to use other means to make them as fair as possible.

No one could see an easy fix, but Jim did believe councils should get a share of the GST take to help their coffers.

Susan reminded everyone that one pocket might be the ratepayer, and the other the taxpayer, but it was the same person and one way or another we will still be paying.

In terms of a project for expenditure, Susan, Bernard and Judith believed improvements to roading should be high on the list, especially rural roads.

Waipā Mayor Jim Mylchreest is standing for another term. Photo / Dean Taylor

Chris said it was well known he wanted a third bridge for Cambridge to ensure the town could grow and continue to prosper.

Stu and Barry said the biggest issue on rates were the mandates from Government that weren't funded, meaning ratepayers had to pay extra, and those that paid the most rates had to wear the biggest increases.

Jim said the Te Ara Wai project was high on his agenda because it was good for Waipā and would create more tourism and business.

There was further discussion about Te Ara Wai, with support from Susan and an explanation of the funding streams that would be accessed.

Bernard said he thought it was simply too expansive and not value for money and Chris said more emphasis on partnership funding and less on ratepayer funding would be employed.

The group was asked whether amalgamation of Waipā with nearby councils was on the cards.

Barry and Stu thought the Future Proof Plan that Waipā was part of would ensure councils would be able to keep their autonomy, while working together when the scale of economy made it viable.

Judith thought some mergers might take place, but more likely in the King Country than involving Waipā.

Chris believed there would be pressure to merge with Hamilton City as we grew closer, so we would have to push back, while Bernard believed in six years time local bodies would look very different.

Former Te Awamutu Community Board member Bernard Westerbaan is standing for mayor of Waipā. Photo / Dean Taylor

Susan and Jim believed there would be pressure, but Waipā was better off self governing, and had the resources. Susan said some depopulating areas might be forced to merge, but not us.

The last question was whether councils could help people be safe from boy racers.

Barry said when he was at National Fieldays a burnout pad was built at Mystery Creek, but red tape meant it wasn't able to be the answer to keep them off the streets.

Susan said council was 'beefing up' some of its bylaws that would help give police more teeth to deal with the gatherings.

Chris thought providing somewhere for them to go was the answer, and Judith agreed they would go somewhere, so a legal location might be of use. In contrast, Jim said to him they were criminals and he didn't want to spend ratepayer money for their likes.

Bernard agreed we shouldn't provide free amenities for an illegal activity. He said boy racers were well organised and could monitor police and escape before they were caught. He believes police should use digital communications and avoid the monitoring to be more effective.