Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden and Transport Minister Phil Twyford study soil samples at a geotech drilling site for O2NL in 2020.
Horowhenua District Mayor Bernie Wanden is at the helm during what could easily be the busiest and most transformational period in the region's history. He dropped anchor for half an hour so Horowhenua Chronicle reporter Paul Williams could ask him about the voyage so far.
If Horowhenua District Council could be likened to a ship, then it is sailing unchartered waters. There are wind shifts on the horizon that could change the face of local government, and unprecedented growth is whipping up high seas.
Rolling around on deck are major reforms to council's core business of drinking water, stormwater and wastewater, as part of the Government's Three Waters proposal, not to mention current overhauls of the Resource Management Act and local government itself.
Thrown into the hurly-burly are the challenges that come from being one of the fastest-growing regions in New Zealand, with 500 new homes being built a year and a population tipped to top 60,000 by 2041. An entire new suburb called Tara Ika is about to be built too, east of Levin, with 2500 new homes.
The construction of the major link road between Levin and Wellington finally got a green light ... a landfill decision aiming to end decades of unease has been confronted ... attempts to improve the water quality of Lake Horowhenua have begun ... two new Māori seats have been added for the elections in October ... an exhaustive long-term plan process ... the appointment of a new CEO ... the Tokopiki boundary application decision ... the list goes on.
All this in the middle of a global pandemic. And all during Bernie Wanden's first term as mayor. But you get the feeling he has both hands on the tiller and morale on board seems high.
Councillor David Allan is in a unique position to comment on the sea change. He was first elected to HDC in 1992. He was unseated in 2013, but was back at the HDC table after the 2019 election.
"There's never been a busier time. But there's never been a more exciting time," he said.
Wanden was elected mayor shortly before the outbreak of Covid-19 after a term as councillor, ousting incumbent Michael Feyen. Almost overnight, it ended a period of unrest within the council. While the current triennium had its challenges, it was a far cry from the previous three years under Feyen, whose criticisms of council and social media rants had become a revolving headline.
It came to a head in 2017 when a majority of councillors entered a vote of no confidence in Feyen as mayor. Feyen's relationship with council and then-CEO David Clapperton had also deteriorated into crisis.
Those dramas seem a lifetime ago now. Even Mayor Wanden admitted it was hard to believe what has happened in the short time since.
"The amount of change we have had to deal with is hard to believe, the difference in landscape of where we are now since October 2019," he said.
"It has been unprecedented in terms of pressures and issues. Even in the previous term, despite its challenges, we didn't have to deal with anything like we are dealing with now."
"It hasn't been helped by central government policy and strategies that are easy to generate, but difficult to put into practice."
The Three Waters reform was a case in point.
"There are 67 councils in New Zealand doing their own thing and the challenge is that we all comply with the standards that are there," he said.
"Most people believe the status quo can't remain. It has to change. But that's where the problem is. Not everyone believes the current proposal is the best way forward.
"Initially, it was either opt in or opt out ... there is a vacuum of information as to how the reform will work."
By the end of October this year, HDC will have 13 seats around the table after voting in two new Māori ward councillors, but some of that process was left on the lap of councils, too.
"There should have been an opportunity for all Māori to say I want to be on the Māori roll," he said.
"Little things like that could've been a bit more certain. The process could have been more simple and clear ... just leaving it to local government to debate and discuss is sometimes fraught with challenges."
While Covid-19 had presented challenges, it wasn't all bad. The Government's Provincial Growth Fund had seen significant capital investment in the region that wasn't anticipated, notably funding towards Tara Ika infrastructure and the Foxton River Loop.
"It has been positive in that respect," he said.
Mayor Wanden's leadership style was more action than words. Every month he tables the engagements and meetings he has attended as mayor. It's always a long list. He has encouraged councillors do to the same, and some are.
"The public have a right to understand what I am doing. It is considered a fulltime role," he said.
But the captain's log doesn't include the more passive engagements. You'll often see him sideline at sports fixtures, while if a constituent wanted to see him about an issue, he has hopped in the Nissan Primera station wagon and visited them, where possible.
"Face-to-face meetings are really important. It's not an issue for me. It's part of the role. If people feel they need a conversation with the mayor, I don't have an issue with that," he said.
"I'm open to ideas. My thing is to try and enable things to happen rather than prevent things from happening ... positive rather than negative."
Wanden said he trusted elected members to be well schooled on all issues and they were fortunate as a council to represent themselves and their communities, rather than having wider political undertones.
He said elected members have not always agreed, and nor should they. He can reconcile being on the losing side of a council vote knowing democracy is at work.
"I've got no problem with that at all. If it doesn't go my way I have to accept that, as does anyone in a democracy. That's the way it should be. I am only one vote of 11," he said.
"I don't lose any sleep. As long as elected members we are voting in the best interest of Horowhenua."
One example was his immediate response to a majority vote that saw a 1.87 per cent reduction in rates as a response to the initial outbreak of Covid-19. Wanden was in the minority, believing it more fiscally responsible to have a 1.42 per cent increase, already down markedly on the proposed increase of 6.9 per cent.
He believed there had been significant cuts already after a comprehensive review and it would only increase long-term borrowing.
"Democracy is well and truly alive in Horowhenua," he had said.
He never set out to be mayor of Horowhenua, but after decades of community involvement, from a Justice of the Peace to school boards of trustees, Horowhenua Library Trust and Rotarian, it was at the encouragement of his peers that he sought a seat on council in 2016.
"A number of people had said over a period of time 'why don't you stand?' In the first place I wanted to be part of the conversation around O2NL and roading. There wasn't really a retail voice on council at the time," he said.
"I also felt at the time we were in the press for all the wrong reasons. It wasn't a good look for Horowhenua and it needed to change, so I put my hand up and gave it a go. At the time I considered myself the best candidate, too. Otherwise, why stand?"
"Being a business owner for so many years, people have got to know me. They know my views and were able to support me by voting for me."
Wanden said one thing he had noticed in recent times was a change in how the region was viewed, both inside and out. Once thought of as sleepy without much happening, people were talking about their district with pride.
It's true. Levin once featured on a flippant news bulletin where the suggestion was it was the most boring town in New Zealand. Those jibes had died a natural death, as the district rides a fresh wave of positivity.
Wanden said he had worked hard with other mayors within the lower half of the North Island to collaborate on key issues.
"The way Horowhenua is being accepted as a significant player in these regional strategies is pleasing to see," he said.
Mayor Wanden still owns and operates Paper Plus bookstore in Levin's main street, and credited the staff there for running the ship, enabling him to perform his duties as mayor in full.
The alarm is set for 6.15am, but doesn't often have a chance to go off. Away from the job, he relaxes with a book (as you would expect), which helps with sleep, and he looks forward to the solitude of push mowing his half-acre lawn with the earmuffs on each week.
The demands of the job meant he had less time to pursue his own sporting interests. The 67-year-old was an avid runner until recently, while in his younger days he was a top rugby and cricket player.
He played centre for Wellington B and Marist St Pats, and was named in the clubs' 50-year team alongside no less than eight All Blacks, while he was 12th man numerous times for the Wellington Plunket Shield cricket team.
Some of his most enjoyable cricket came after moving to Levin with wife Sharon in 1984 and joining the Weraroa club, where he opened the batting for many years.
"I really enjoyed the cricket here. The standard of cricket here at the time was as good as anywhere else in the country, too," he said.
