Graeme Young running again in the Whanganui District Council elections

Graeme Young is running for a second term in the upcoming Whanganui District Council elections. Photo / Bevan Conley.

Having three years' experience as a councillor under his belt, Graeme Young is running for a second term on the Whanganui District Council.

"My feeling is of being there and spending three years learning and I think it would be silly not to make use of that knowledge for another three years," Young said.

There had been a significant amount of positive talk in the past three years and he would like to see that talk put into action, Young said.

Housing was the biggest issue that Whanganui is facing today.

"I think it's the council's responsibility to ensure there is a liaison with the New Zealand government officials to ensure the housing needs of the Whanganui community are fixed."

Young said the council should not be spending money, due to inflation at the moment that tended to suggest owning a large number of buildings would be an expensive operation.

"If there is a way in which the pensioner housing can be handled more efficiently and benefit the occupants then the council should look at that.

"My view is that if that does happen then we've got to ensure people who are in those houses are better off than what they are now, otherwise think again."

Young said another important consultation that needed to be improved was that between the council and the forestry industry.

"I would like to see serious attempts made to address the concerns and needs of forestry, that will be taken on board with the council."

Young said the message he got from the last annual plan process was that the consultation between forestry and the council resulted in negative perceptions.

Once a consulting professional engineer, Young said he brought expertise in infrastructure to the table.

"My observation is the infrastructure staff reduced from what it was a few years ago and around the council table there is not a lot of people with knowledge of infrastructure."

Young said infrastructure expenditure was a significant part of any council's outgoings and, in his experience, there was more than one solution to a problem.

"It's a matter of making sure those solutions are examined before you charge ahead with it."

Young, who has lived in the Whanganui region for almost 50 years, said there were a few long-term projects he has been associated with that he would like to carry on with and see through to full development.

"I think it will be interesting to see the development of the Sarjeant Gallery as I really admire the people who have stuck with the promotion of it over a long period of time."

Young said the council had a responsibility to see it was followed through and give those who had worked in the community on projects over a long period of time, the support they needed to complete them.

Another project the council needed to support was the roofing of the velodrome.

A keen sportsman himself, Young was once the chairman of Sport Whanganui, Whanganui Cricket, Central Districts Cricket Association and for a period served on the New Zealand Cricket Board.

He is still an active participant of lawn bowls in Whanganui.