Plan approved
Waipā District Council’s nine year Long Term Plan was approved last week and will result when adopted in a 15.5 per cent rates increase from July 1 and subsequent years of 10.7, 6.2, 6.8, 4.6 and 2.3 for each of the last four years. Cambridge Safer Community Charitable Trust’s annual funding went from $20,000 to $40,000 while funds reduced for the Cambridge Water Tower demolition project and Te Ara Wai Museum.
Hassall elected
Farewell dinner for Chancellor Sir Anand Satyanand, centre, at The Pa, University of Waikato. Hamilton with vice chancellor Neil Quigley and Susan Hassall. Photo: Stephen Barker
Cambridge’s Susan Hassall has been elected Waikato University’s new chancellor replacing former governor general Anand Satyanand. She retired as headmaster at Hamilton Boys High School last year but quickly moved into other work, including as acting chief executive of Hospice Waikato until Alex Gordon’s appointment early this year.
Candidates confirmed
Mike Cater, Ian Hayton and Stuart Hylton have announced they will join Andrew Bydder, Philip Coles, Jo Davies-Colley, Roger Gordon and Hope Spooner as candidates for the four Cambridge ward spots in Waipā District Council. Cater, Hayton, Bydder and Spooner are all part of the Better Waipā ticket which also includes Bernard Westerbaan in Te Awamutu.
Rural tour
Cambridge Community board member, Andrew Myers, (left) – who represents rural constituents – chats with Kaipaki residents Michael and Lesley Brighouse during the community board’s rural tour stop at Kaipaki Settlers Hall.
The Cambridge Community Board rural tour is being held next week with mayor Susan O’Regan and other councillors attending. The annual event is rural residents’ opportunity to air their concerns in person. It will be held on Tuesday at Te Miro Hall and Cambridge Menzshed.
Town Hall hit
Graffiti on Town Hall
Vandals painted the historic Cambridge Town Hall’s iconic pillars with “Free Palestine” on Matariki evening. Police nabbed two youths at the scene with what appeared to be spray cans and have referred them to Youth Aid. General manager Simon Brew said the pillars would have to be repainted.
Time extended
The deadline for entries for the 2025 Waikato Business Awards has been extended by one week to July 7.
Priest mourned
Monsignor Joe Stack at his friend Leonard Danvers jubilee celebration. Photo: Rekord Ltd
Te Awamutu’s Catholic community is in mourning following the death of former parish priest Monsignor Joe Stack. The 76-year-old monsignor retired to Te Puke last year but regularly returned for mass at St Patrick’s Church and visit prisoners at Waikeria Prison.
Correction
The cost of the Hamilton Airport terminal upgrade is about $7 million, not $75 million as reported in The News last week. The error occurred in the sub editing process and corrected online.
Connections workshop
The Cambridge Connections reset starts today (Thursday) with a Waipā District Council workshop in Te Awamutu where councillors will provide guidance to staff about the community engagement approach needed and what success looks like. The workshop will be open to the public and livestreamed.
Voter change
Māori voters who want to change electoral rolls before the local body elections have until July 10 to make their choice. Voters on the Māori roll for general elections are automatically placed on Māori rolls for local body polls.
Water company
Kevin Lavery, left, Dave Chambers, top and Tim Manukau.
Waikato’s first publicly-owned water company will be called IAWAI Flowing Waters and its threeiperson establishment board chaired by Kevin Lavery with Tim Manukau and Dave Chambers as directors. The company’s shareholders are Hamilton City and Waikato District Councils in partnership with Waikato-Tainui.
Improve governance
A submission to Waipā’s Long Term Plan has recommended councillors use AI tools to process complex council reports, submissions and community feedback which have hundreds of pages of technical material giving them little time or support to meaningfully understand. AI tools tailored for councillors – not staff automation – can enhance democratic accountability by improving decision quality, reducing reliance on staff interpretations, and enabling broader community representation, the submission said.
