Opinion piece: Frank Newman

A 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮 (Thursday, 15th August) reminded me why so few people engage in local politics. It was underwhelming and, in hindsight, less attractive than an evening in front of the telly.

The public, of course, was smart enough to know that, which would explain why so few attended. Those who were present were largely candidate hangers-on, with a fair number of greenies adoring the Saints of Wokeness who stood before.

Before us were candidates for the mayoralty and ward candidates from the NRC and WDC, general and Maori wards (although none of the NRC Maori ward candidates turned up).

Most of the speakers started by attempting to demonstrate an empathetic connection with the local community, like how their second cousin's grandfather used to collect kai moana from a local beach. Most said it with sincerity, which suggested they actually thought we might be interested. And I guess, those who want to know about irrelevant nonsense would have found it interesting.

MURIEL NEWMAN: The State of Local Government

Local Government is in crisis. The numbers tell the story: local authority rates increased 12.2 percent in the 12 months to the March 2025 quarter – a 14 percent contribution to the 2.5 percent annual increase in inflation. As a result of the reckless spending of local authorities, interest rates are staying higher for longer, with all New Zealanders paying the price.

So why have local authorities gone off the rails? 

To answer that question, we need to cast our mind back to the reforms introduced by Helen Clark’s Labour Government. Under the guise of enabling local authorities ‘to better serve their communities’, the Local Government Act 1974, which had kept councils focussed on delivering essential services and maintaining infrastructure, was replaced by the all-empowering Local Government Act 2002.

STV voting explained

 For the first time, the local body elections for the Whangarei District Council will be held using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system to elect its representatives, instead of First Past the Post (FPP).

Two voting systems are used to elect local councillors and mayors: FPP and STV.

In FPP, voters tick the candidate of their choice, or candidates if one or more councillors are elected from that ward/constituency. It’s what is used in the general election, and by 54 of the 66 councils in New Zealand.

Retiring councillor drops bombshell on the "Woke Seven"

Phil Halse is retiring after 33 years on the Whangarei District Council (WDC). LETTERBOX has obtained a copy of a tell-all interview he had with Concerned Ratepayers of Whangarei (CROW). Here are extracts.

When asked, who is driving the woke agenda within the council, he replied, “A group of seven who are working together: Deb Harding, Scott McKenzie, Nicholas Connop, Patrick Holmes, Phoenix Ruka, Carol Peters, and Ken Couper…Because we have that woke block at the top, every time it gets hard, they take the soft option.”

Anyone but Ken

 

It is not often LETTERBOX agrees with WDC Cr Ken Couper, but we do agree with what he said in his election blurb in the Bream Bay News recently:

“The message from our community is clear: rate increases must be affordable, fair and justifiable.”

This certainly is the message the community is giving and has been giving for some time. The difficulty we have is reconciling Ken’s words with his voting record.  In 2024 Ken voted for a 10.9% rate increase and another 17.2% increase in 2025. This is despite 87% of the public who submitted to the 2025 Annual Plan opposing the increase. Most suggested 6% was affordable, fair, and justifiable.

"Spare" Money and Treaty obligations

 The WDC Maori Outcomes Department has found “spare” money to fund a Treaty “audit”. The council agenda states:

“As the 2023–2024 financial year drew to a close, unallocated funds across the Māori Outcomes and Te Kārearea cost centres was identified. To ensure this funding was not lost, and in acknowledgement of the longstanding calls from hapū for this work, Māori Outcomes initiated the audit.” (Page 26.)

In response to an Official Information request, the WDC has advised $77,293 has been spent on the audit to date, and confirmed the spending was done without obtaining the approval of councillors.  

Shake-up for Northland Regional Council

 The Northland Regional Council (NRC) is in for a much-needed shakeup with three sitting councillors facing serious challenges from candidates with strong credentials.

In the Whangarei Central constituency, veteran greenie Jack Craw is being challenged by Caroline Davis who is bringing fresh ideas and energy to the council. Caroline has served as an ambulance Paramedic and currently chairs the Whangarei Area Committee of St John's. She is an active member of the Ocean Beach Surf Life Saving Club.

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Council legal obligations to the Treaty

The Kaipara District Council has engaged Franks Ogilvie to provide a legal opinion on local government obligations to Maori, arising from the Treaty of Waitangi. They did this to inform elected councillors and council officers of their obligations and how these may be performed.

Here are extracts from the summary of that legal opinion.

The voting record does not lie

The voting record does not lie. 

Eleven of the 14 elected representatives on the WDC are seeking re-election. We are astounded by the disconnect between the election promises being made by some candidates and their voting record.  Actions speak louder than election waffle, so LETTERBOX has tabulated the way the mayor and councillors have voted on critical decisions.

Maori wards - the Kaipara experience

 

By Frank Newman

The Kaipara District Council stands alone as the only council to disestablish its Maori ward. By doing so, it has avoided the need for the referendum that is about to be held by 42 other councils that introduced Maori wards without obtaining a mandate from the public before doing so.

I spoke with Kaipara District Council Mayor, Craig Jepson, about his experience with their Maori ward and why his council thought disestablishment was the appropriate path to take.

He said that’s an easy question to answer.

“The Maori seats have become radicalised. Our Maori ward councillor continually disrupted and undermined our council. Although she took an oath to work in the best interests of all people, she clearly put the interests of Maori first, at the expense of everyone else.