Kōhi Māori ward councillor Toi Iti says he will not be standing for reelection for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, citing central Government meddling among his reasons.
It’s a U-turn on his decision in early June to stand for the Eastern Bay general ward seat being vacated by chairman Doug Leeder.
He said two main factors influenced his decision, the first being his commitment to Ātea.
The new creative hub is being formed by Te Ahi Tahutahu Charitable Trust at the Whakatāne District Council-owned former Wally Sutherland Motors building on The Strand.
As a trustee of the charitable trust and director of his father’s company, Tāme Iti Limited, which has a Memorandum of Understanding with the trust to manage the operation, it was a large commitment.
Another reason is that central Government changes to local government have left him feeling “hamstrung” as a councillor.
“At this stage, local government is in such a stage of flux,” he said.
“Especially for regional councils, with the RMA (Resource Management Act) reforms, which is the main piece of legislation for regional councils.”
He said the writing was on the wall at the recent Local Government New Zealand conference in Christchurch, which he attended.
“We were told in no uncertain terms, ‘you will not be announcing any plans over the next while, until everything gets into place’.
“That’s what councils do, every triennium we come in, we do a long-term plan.”
He said reforms had created a lot of frustration with massive amounts of work on the part of the councils going to waste. A recent Fresh Water Plan, which the regional council had been researching and engaging with the public on since 2020, was one example.
“The huge amount of consultation, the time and resource that was spent consulting on Fresh Water Plans and then (central government) coming in and wiping it. That is the reality of local government at the moment.
“We’ve heard minister [Shane] Jones saying, ‘what are regional council’s even there for’. There is, in the last year or so, the feeling that we might just become rubber stamps. We certainly are treading water because we are unable to pass plans.
“There’s still work that can be done while you’re there, but we are certainly a lot more hamstrung than when I first went into office.”
After consulting with his family, some of whom are also involved in the Ātea project, Mr Iti said he wanted to focus his time and energy on a project that he felt would have a real impact in the community.
“I would love to do everything, but I can’t. It came to a point where I had to make a choice.”
He said a lot of people thought the reason for not standing for regional council was that he planned to stand for Parliament.
“I have been approached by a couple of parties, but at this stage, the work I’m doing next to my father is a window I’ll never get to look through again. I think the project, Atea, will bring a huge amount of value to the community, not just in the creative sector, but across the board.”
“My energy is better spent doing that, at this stage. I’m certainly not saying never again, but it is my reading between the tea leaves that local government is not going to look like it currently does over the next couple of trienniums.”
Mr Iti said there were some great candidates standing for regional council in the Eastern Bay.
“Mawera Karetai will be a fantastic addition to the council. She will certainly bring the scientific and environmental acumen and advocacy to the table. Of course, with her son Jack having rode for Māori wards all the way down to Wellington, I think that is a whānau that is committed to local government representation for Māori.”
For the general seat he fully endorsed Malcolm Campbell.
“I’ve worked beside him for the last triennium and he’s a hard-working councillor.”
“Sarah van der Boom in terms of environmental advocacy, has all the credentials on that front too.”
