Hamilton City Council mayoral candidate Horiana Henderson. Photo / Supplied
Waikato Herald invited Hamilton's mayoral candidates to answer questions we prepared on some key issues for local body voters.
Name: Horiana Henderson (No photo provided)
Age (optional): No answer provided
I live in: Hamilton, Kirikiriroa
What skills and experiences would you bring to the role of Mayor?
I have qualifications (Bachelor
of Media Arts - Communication, National Diploma in Journalism and Multimedia, and a Diploma in Te Tohu Paetahi) and experience in journalism. I believe that these have equipped me to be able to ask the hard questions that need to be answered around the decision-making table. Journalism has also given me the opportunity to talk to all sorts of people about all sorts of issues and to actively listen to them in order to accurately represent and report their viewpoints. I believe that actively listening to, and seeking to understand, the views of our diverse Hamilton community is an essential skill for a mayor.
Most importantly, I am a mum. I challenge anyone to say that mums don't have experience in governance, prioritisation, planning, creative problem-solving, and finance.
What approach should Hamilton take on the Three Waters Reform?
Auditor-General John Ryan said in his report: "...The bill as drafted could have "an adverse effect on public accountability, transparency, and organisational performance".
When our national guardian of public service integrity and financial responsibility sends up warning flares, we need to look where he's pointing.
I believe that Hamilton City should be able to have control over its own assets and make decisions about the needs and requirements of its people in regard to the delivery of water services.
I'm also concerned that, although Hamiltonians have previously sent strong signals that they are not in favour of water meters, that this could be a likely outcome of the city's water infrastructure being lumped in with other councils and areas that have them.
I don't support it in its current form, and believe it should go back to the drawing board as per the recommendation of a number of councils, including our own.
Nationally, there may be a need for water reform, but it really is a question of the best way of doing that.
Would you like to see Hamilton become a Super City, absorbing surrounding districts into one unified local body? Why?
I don't think this is the time for that discussion, given the pressing issues that are currently facing our city. Issues such as our debt levels, Three Waters, and housing need urgent attention, and I think major restructuring of local government in our wider area would only take a focus off these.
What else – if anything – should Hamilton do to encourage more use of public transport, walking, and cycling?
Making cycling safe for those who choose that mode of transport is very important. However, I'm really uncomfortable with the high cost and potential disruption to traffic involved in a number of the council's planned cycleways.
There is almost $1 billion in "modeshift" and cycling-related spending planned for over the next 10 years, yet, according to Councillor Sarah Thomson at Labour MP Jamie Strange's Grow Waikato event in December, only 1 per cent of trips in the city are made by bike. More people choose to use public transport or walk, yet these options seem to be under-represented in Council thinking.
I maintain that our city's financial situation is bad and that we therefore need to seriously reassess spending on high-cost "nice-to-haves". For me, this absolutely includes the $36 million proposed foot/cycle bridge to go by Anzac Bridge, and if the $12.5 million per kilometre Cook Street change is still planned then I would probably look to challenge that, too. When we have so little buffer with our debt limit, I think everything possible needs to be up for discussion so that we're getting as much of what we need from every dollar spent.
If elected mayor I want to ensure space for open, authentic & constructive dialogue between both the pro-"modeshift" and the "I'm-never-parting-with-my-car" parties so that we can arrive at the very best place for all of us.
Does Hamilton need community boards with delegated authority and budgets? Why?
I definitely believe that anything that improves community representation and input into the decisions that impact their lives is a good thing. The existing mechanisms for public engagement (such as the submission process) do not seem to be working, and I've spoken to many people who have expressed frustration with both the structure of this process and whether going through it makes a difference. Even when Council surveys the community, the questions often appear to be loaded, and multi-choice answer options slanted toward a particular viewpoint or outcome.
What new projects you would like to see the new council support?
I would love to say that I have a grand plan for Hamilton with grandiose changes and improvements to the city, but the fact is that we are still dealing with the financial and social impacts of a global pandemic and ongoing recession.
We have galloping inflation and massive (and increasing) Council debt. We are in difficult times, and the leadership needed from the Council is to model fiscally responsible management of the city's finances, focusing on maintaining our existing infrastructure and amenities, and managing the city's growth in ways that mitigate negative impacts on the very things that make Hamilton such a great place to live.
Why should people vote for you to become Mayor?
We are living in unprecedented times, and what I've been hearing from the public is that they're looking for a grassroots-up power structure, and I believe I can deliver that. I am not connected to political parties, property developers, big business or lobby groups. I am, however, connected to everyday Hamiltonians, renters, homeowners, students and pensioners - people from all backgrounds.
These times require creative thinking along with pragmatic and rational decision-making. That sounds like a mixture of arts and journalism to me. What a mum can add to this, is empathy. I support the CE's statement that "Everything [Council does] is to improve the wellbeing of Hamiltonians", and we are still dealing with the financial and social impacts of a global pandemic, so I believe that empathy at our highest levels is needed.
Many in our city are struggling with wellbeing, and financially, we have had years of rate hikes, we are within spitting-distance of our city's maximum debt level, yet our current council are still spending on gold-standard cycling infrastructure and on a $36 million bridge within easy walking distance of two existing cycling and walking bridges.
For the past three years, our city has been led by our two-leading mayoral candidates. If you are looking for another option then I hope you'll consider voting for me – Horiana Henderson.
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