I'm standing, not walking

I'm standing, not walking. The events of the past week have caused me to reflect much on my mayoralty and have led me to make the decision to put my name forward again.

I am fortunate to live in a great community. It is a place with many challenges, and many opportunities. It has an exciting future and I have been very proud to have been involved for these past years in building a better future for our district. Cleaning up wastewater from our harbours is just one example! But right now we have the pressing economic conditions to manage, and the slow recovery of Thames compared with its neighbours of Paeroa and Waihi is concerning. We must perform better, and assisting businesses and ensuring there are jobs so people can earn a living must be a priority. Our Blueprint, and the District Plan rules that are developed to give effect to Blueprint, will be an important step forward in creating opportunities and removing the ridiculous barriers that currently exist.

I have chosen to play a supportive role for our local community groups, and I have to say it is this part of my job that I love the most. We have so many amazing people in our community doing just wonderful things that truly make a difference to our lives. Whether they are emergency services, social support networks or creating opportunities for physical activities each and every one of these people give of themselves to help others. Those are values that I hold dear.

I am looking forward to our future!

TCDC Insult to Democracy

The Thames Coromandel District Council meeting yesterday was an almost unprecedented failure of democracy. It is deeply disappointing that councillors, having failed to have their resolution passed, simply walked away rather than stay and discuss a way forward. I feel for the communities who have been waiting many years to get some finality on other issues, only to have them shelved for another six weeks until the next council meeting. I have not witnessed such an appalling lack of professionalism in my entire life, and as one bystander commented, in the thirty years they had been in local government they had never seen it either.

I sincerely hope that those who are fixed on one particular outcome can see the greater good for the benefit of the community and find a way to compromise on a way forward.

Community Groups & Economic recovery

This weekend has highlighted how important Community Groups are to our local economy. On Saturday the Thames Genealogy group held an expo at the Thames Civic Centre. With genealogy groups coming together from all over New Zealand there was an impressive turnout of stall holders and an equally impressive turnout of visitors taking the opportunity to research family connections. Many of these people came to Thames, stayed overnight in motels, ate dinner at restaurants, brought coffees and lunches and at a time when every dollar counts I can only thank the Genealogists for having the inspiration to stage this event. It is only the second one for Thames, and is set to grow rapidly. The additional good news of this event is the newly restored Carnegie Building saw an unprecedented influx as the attendees of the expo took the opportunity to visit The Treasury, home of 'our stories', which is within the Carnegie Building. Council long deliberated over the expenditure on this project, and the option of closing the building permanently was favoured by some, however the decision to proceed with restoration was made and I am sure one that all can be very proud of now.

The other event I attended was the Coromandel Peninsula Coastal Walkways AGM. With attendees from Kuaotunu and Whangamata as well as the core members from Tairua and Pauanui it was again awesome to see what this small group of dedicated volunteers are doing for our community. All around the Peninsula this group are working side by side with DOC and landowners to create walkways for all to enjoy throughout some of our most scenic places. The volunteers who are out there working on the tracks are reporting that not only are there a huge number of residents taking the opportunity to enjoy these assets but they are seeing more and more visitors on the tracks stopping to ask them questions and even take photos of our volunteers! We even heard of a couple enjoying a cycleway so much they are going to move here so they can enjoy it more often, and you just can't beat that kind of endorsement!

Thanks to the encouragement of Dave MacPherson I join the world of bloggers. I can only aspire to his wit however with a bit of luck may just bring a new view to current issues!