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Police remembrance Kaipara’s political barometer
With Northland, and hence Kaipara, shaping up as an important political battleground for this weekend’s …
P3
p Senior police officers, including the newly appointed regional commander for Kaipara Maria Nordstrom, gathered on September 29 for a day of remembrance. They and other well-wishers came to the place in Dargaville where Constable Neil McLeod was slain in 1890 after apprehending a dangerously intoxicated person. Prayers and karakia were spoken, and a wreath in police red, blue and white was laid. Similar commemorations occurred nationwide to remember all officers killed in the line of duty.
A busy day of service
A day out as an appreciation for the support of families and supporters of the North Kaipara Coastguard at Tinopai turned out to be a long day on …
P5
Gap between performance and trust u by Andy Bryenton
Council members previewed an annual report and a residents’ survey last week, which indicate a perception gap between improvements to services and confidence in elected members.
Kaipara’s international appeal
The mayor of Kaipara has welcomed a long list of new citizens to pledge their allegiance to New Zealand and …
P7
The annual report covers all aspects of council performance, and this year’s publication has provided a mixed bag of achievements and shortfalls. While resource consent times are down, customer services improved, and grants to community groups remain high, confidence in the council has slumped, and roles like dog control have failed to hit ambitious targets. While the KDC had aimed for approval ratings approaching or exceeding 60% in this report, public feedback indicated 49%
of respondents thought elected members were performing well, and 48% trusted the council. It is at odds with some notable fiscal achievements; capping a rates rise well below inflation and driving down debt are two of these. The report noted council meeting conduct negatively affected public opinion. It was a similar story in the recently published residents’ survey based on public perception. While council communications, transparency and building consent activities were all
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areas of marked success, intangibles such as the perceived fairness of rating, community spirit and performance of elected members were numerically down on last year’s results. Other statistics cover faith in council leadership, now at only 50%. With 37% of respondents citing a lack of future vision for growth as a reason for their lack of faith, the noted victories in consenting and encouraging new building may show the way forward to better outcomes in 2024. ¢
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