Q What are your impressions of the Waimate district? It is very different from where you came from.
It is. But as my wife put it the other day ... it’s everything we wanted it to be and more. I definitely wanted to come back to a cooler, greener, more community-oriented setting. My first impression is it’s very, very friendly. As I’ve been saying to people, they say they want growth, they want change, and I say you’re already really, really happy. If rapid growth came to the area, Waimate might change to something that they would no longer have an appreciation for.
Q Do you have any personal goals now that you’re back in New Zealand? Did you visit a lot?
Absolutely, I’ve got property in Whanganui still. My father, bless him, deceased, last year, he was 90. I used to come back every two years, but not very much to the South Island. I have a very strong passion for astro-photography. I want to get fitter and there’s an opportunity to do that here. I want my family to enjoy a much better quality of life — more of my time on the weekends. Fishing. I love my rugby. I have an old ’64 Falcon with a V8 in front of it.
Q How would you characterise your leadership style?
If any of my staff lose focus or direction I’m able to jump in and help directly. My office is a bit of a railway station. I take responsibility. As I said to someone this morning, everything that happens really well at this council, I own a bit of it. Everything, it doesn’t matter how small it is, that’s a problem or a mistake, I own a bit of it. Active. Accountable. And transparent.
Q What do you believe is the most important role a council can play in people’s lives?
I believe local governments have a core service responsibility ... 90% of what local governments do, people don’t see. And I think that’s why, a lot of the time, people get critical, so we’ve got to get better at communicating what we do.
Q When Waimate Mayor Craig Rowley introduced you he said you wanted to make Waimate "New Zealand’s most liveable" district. What makes a district liveable?
It's a safe community to bring up families. There’s that social safety. And then there’s that amenity of the town. When it comes to the weekend, you’re swamped for choice, to the right or the left. You’ve got Timaru, you’ve got Oamaru, you’ve got beaches, you’ve got surf, you’ve got lakes, you’ve got snow. And if you just want to stay at home, there are good businesses here. There are good cafes here. There are good parks here.
Q What are some of the challenges this district faces in terms of becoming a better place to live?
In terms of the challenges, Waimate is very much a farming community. The backbone of this place is the dairy industry. There are some indicators out there for growth. You’ve got the dairy factories and a few other things that might pop up in the future. The challenge is to bring about a bit of growth that doesn’t destroy the town.
Q The Waimate Event Centre was a major project for the district, what is the next major project for the district?
Waimate needs to become a town of ‘We know how to put on a good party.’ There’s lots of good events and festivals here, so how do we value add to those? We’ve got to create a dashboard. What are other people doing? What are we doing? Where are the gaps and how do we fill them? And how do we do it in a sustainable way? All you need to do is harness the enthusiasm here. People here are incredibly proud of the town and why wouldn’t they be? How many people can we accommodate? That’s one of the biggest challenges now, attracting more accommodation. So that when we have festivals here we can accommodate people. We’re doing an economic development plan that will run out over the next 12 months and will hopefully give us some clear direction.
Q What are your thoughts on wallabies? Are they a loveable attraction, or a pest?
They’re not very good at rugby, but I wouldn’t call them a pest.
