TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 1
THURSDAY JULY 4, 2024
For All Your Hydroseeding, Irrigation, Artificial Turf, Lawncare and Section Development Requirements
FREE
lawnandturf.co.nz 07 823 6214 office@lawnandturf.co.nz
It’s a real local newspaper
JULY 4, 2024
The numbers game By Mary Anne Gill
A proposal to reduce the number of Waipā district councillors from 11 to eight is still on the table, but only just, after a workshop last week revealed significant disagreements among elected members. The proposal, initiated and championed by mayor Susan O’Regan was not a silver bullet but a way for councillors to take control of the district’s destiny, she told the workshop. But four veteran councillors – Lou Brown, Philip Coles, Bruce Thomas and Roger Gordon – were adamant the representation review is unnecessary and a waste of staff time. And another four – Mike Montgomerie, Andrew
Brown, Marcus Gower and Mike Pettit – who supported a suggestion staff present a report to council later this month, are clearly still undecided. “I raised this matter and I challenged us to consider how we could be better governors, more professional governors, more dedicated governors,” O’Regan told the workshop. “More people around this table does not make better representation or better governors.” Fewer councillors does not mean paying less as the amount of remuneration is set independently and the pot of money would be divvied up among eight rather than 11 councillors. Stephen Hill from ElectionNZ - Waipā’s
election returning officers told the workshop residents had been asked to comment on the suggestion to create one rural and three other wards, including a Māori one. There were 59 responses with 32 saying 11 councillors was too many, 21 thought it was about right and five thought it was too few. “I was pretty heartened by the feedback we got,” said Clare St Pierre. Reducing the number of councillors would not see representation suffer and it was clear people wanted that rural voice maintained. But Gordon dismissed the feedback saying 59 submissions did not suggest the community wanted change. “I’m not seeing sufficient
A whiff of glory By Mary Anne Gill
American humourist Mark Twain once said: “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” That means his Cambridge namesake has got as good a show as any other horse of winning the Melbourne Cup, the richest horse race in Australasia, at Flemington this year. And the rising five-year-old bay gelding is one up on the other starters – he’s already had a sniff of the $800,000 gold cup which will be handed to the winner’s owners on November 5, the first Tuesday in November.
The cup is on its annual pilgrimage to New Zealand under the watchful eyes of Joe McGrath – its official keeper – and had a photocall at Kingsclere Stables in Cambridge with Mark Twain on Monday. “Mark”, as he is known around the stables, qualified for the Melbourne Cup with a Kiwi-like come from behind performance at the end of March in the 2600m Roy Higgins listed race at Flemington. That gave him a ballot-free entry into the cup, something co-trainer Robert Wellwood describes as “a boyhood dream even to have a runner.”
Continued on page 2
evidence for the need,” he said while also noting the final population counts had not come out and further change might be needed. He agreed with one submitter who said a representation review was “a needless and huge waste of staff resources and time.” Montgomerie, who represents Maungatautari, said a combined rural ward did not “gel with me.” Rural people who identify Cambridge and Te Awamutu as their towns were different, he said. Staff will work on a paper to present to the council’s Finance and Corporate committee on July 30. That will canvas the options available to councillors and include do nothing, sticking with
For - Susan O’Regan
Against - Lou Brown
the status quo with some boundary changes and reducing the numbers by creating one rural ward and having three general wards. Muddying the waters is whether Waipā will be required to either resolve or
disestablish its Māori ward or hold a binding poll. That decision must wait for the current bill before Parliament to be enacted or significantly changed to reflect opposition by local authorities throughout New Zealand.
Cambridge stayer Mark Twain sniffs the 2024 Melbourne Cup held by ambassador, retired jockey Damien Oliver, and watched by from left, Roger James, Matt Ivil and Robert Wellwood. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
7 Peake Road Cambridge 07 827 6259
YOUR LOCAL GARDEN CENTRE ambergardencentre.co.nz
Keep an eye out! New season deciduous fruit and ornamental trees are starting to arrive in store. amber.garden.centre
Residential • Rural Commercial • Tennis Courts AmberGardenCentre
469 Bond Road Te Awamutu 07 870 6328
BUY ANY BERETTA OR BENELLI SHOTGUN OR A BERETTA 686 SILVER PIGEON 1 O/U AND WIN YOUR CASH BACK IN-STORE + ONLINE!
Ph 07 834 3553 Mon– Fri 9am – 5pm (opposite Mitre 10 Mega) Sat 9-4pm | Sun 10-3pm @HuntingandFishingCambridge www.huntingandfishing.co.nz 2 Oliver Street Cambridge