Pip Kempthorne – 2025
Pip Kempthorne – Cambridge Community Board
1. Should councillors sit on the two community boards or should it be just those elected to the board by the public for that specific role? (50 words)
The community board is structured to get an interface between the community and the council. As a result, having a councillor representing the governance group on the local community board makes a lot of sense.
2. Would you support a Māori ward seat on the community boards? (50 words)
In my view, Māori representation is available at the district council level. I would support and welcome Māori representation at any level, but does it need a Māori ward. Not necessarily. The role of the board is to get input at the local level and feed that through to the council.
3. Should the central business district be the main hub for retail and business or should the 15 minute neighbourhood strategy in Ahu Ake be adopted? (50 words)
Cambridge is no longer the small town that it once was. We now have Cambridge suburbs with a CBD and satellite retailers and service providers. Each business will find what is right for them and their customer base – just as it should be.
4. Community board chairs sat in on annual plan, long term plan and other council business during this term. Is that a good thing or it doesn’t go far enough? Te Kanohi representatives have speaking and voting rights at committee meetings, should community board chairs be allowed to have that also? (50 words)
The Cambridge Community Board is designed to elicit responses at a local level to ensure that the thoughts and needs of the community are taken into serious consideration around the council table. The current arrangements allow that to happen and should continue, which is why you should choose your representative well.
5. In the case of the Blue Blob in Cambridge and the Kihikihi Cycleway, the community boards weren’t consulted before it was too late. Should community boards be more involved at an earlier stage? (50 words)
It is imperative that the community board is one of the first ports of call when it comes to major initiatives in the local area that they are representing. No more “Council knows best” projects should be allowed to go through without consultation.
6. A member of the Cambridge Community Board was on the earlier Cambridge Connections project group but was sworn to secrecy and unable to report back to the board. Was that fair? (50 words)
It was not only wrong, but in my view unethical for any member of any democratically elected position to be sworn to secrecy. It was very poor practice to ever request this rule in the first place. Such secrecy provisions have no place anywhere and at any time.
7. Community advisors were appointed during Covid and the position still exists today. Should they report more regularly through to community boards? (50 words)
The community board is elected to represent the views of the community and have a number of avenues available to take concerns or initiatives to relevant council departments as well as the governance group of the council. There is no need for a dedicated council staff member to facilitate this interaction.
8. What sort of decisions could community boards be involved with to take away pressure on councillors? More delegated authority? (50 words)
In my view, the balance between the council and Community Boards is about right. We have to go back to the original intent of the local board, which was to act as the eyes and ears of the community that can keep the Council view balanced and not a secondary decision making body.
9. Should community boards have more funding available for discretionary grants? (50 words)
In line with my earlier comments about the relationship between council and community boards, I think that the limited discretionary grants available to the community boards is about right. They are designed to support local initiatives working with a strong volunteer groups, and that’s the way it should be.
10. Do you believe Waipā District Council should continue to have community boards? (50 words)
The Cambridge Community Board and other local community board groups are an essential part of a functioning democracy. Their very structure and focus are designed to ensure that local concerns and initiatives are not lost in the complexities of managing a district such as Waipa. They must remain for the good of the residents, town and the district.
See: Cambridge Community Board candidates – in their own words
