Tamahere – a new year

I hope your year has started well and I am sure we all share concerns for those less fortunate, whether due to weather (Mt Maunganui disaster) or other concerns.  Life is a challenge, how we…

First, thanks to all those who voted for me, I had a strong win which indicates what I have been saying resonates with voters.  Now I have to deliver on that commitment. To recap, in…

In my last column I said my main mission while remaining as a councillor was to try and keep the rate rise for the 25-26 year and future years under three per cent.  I am…

As I have previously said, it has been an interesting experience getting involved in local government as a councillor. We are currently working through our Long Term Plan and trying to minimise future rates rises…

For me when I read Te Tiriti it clearly states that Māori would have a say in local governance. Article two:  “The Queen of England agrees to protect the chiefs, the subtribes and all the…

Time flies, I am coming up to two years as a first term councillor and it has been an interesting and enlightening experience.  On one hand I have been very impressed by the many volunteers…

Thank you, Peter Nicholl (Talking Economics, May 20) for raising the third world issue. New Zealand still seems to be under the impression we are part of the rich world. We are not, nor have…

I recently attended the 50th  celebration of Schick Construction, a local company started by a guy with a truck which now employs over 300 people.  It was inspiring.  Why then is it so hard to…

Why is Trump so popular? I see a lot of debate around this issue, but not of lot of sensible answers.  By rights he should be unelectable, although big egos do have a certain attraction…

Our infrastructure costs are the highest in the developed world. How did this happen?  To fully understand we need to go back to the last significant reforms of the 1980s.  The Ministry of Works was…