Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson’s first year on the job

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson and partner Jeannette Reid at home in Mangawhai. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland’s three mayors have been in the job for just over a year. Reporter Susan Botting sat down with each of them to find out how they are finding the role, what they consider their achievements and what is still left to do. This week she speaks to Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson.

Being part of the anti-mandate protest at Parliament has guided Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson’s leadership.

Jepson said being at the parliament protest in 2022 reinforced his position on standing up for one’s beliefs - even when they were in opposition to the government.

The self-described centre-right politician is just over a year into his first stint in local government, after being elected as Kaipara Mayor in October 2022.

He leads Kaipara District Council (KDC), where 70 per cent of its politicians were newly voted in last year.

“The swearing-in of a predominantly new council brings a different perspective and a change in philosophy and direction from the previous council,” Jepson said.

Jepson, who is from Mangawhai, helms a $61 million council operating budget, a 10-person group of elected representatives (including his role) and a council with a staff of 168.

He has a $133,501 annual remuneration and leads a district with 27,300 people. Ratepayers forked out $44.8m in rates during his first year.

KDC had one the lowest rates rises for the 2023-2024 financial year, at 4.96 per cent.

“Prudent council spending of ratepayers’ money is always a focus,” Jepson said.

Change has marked Jepson’s first year.

“My sister said to me before I stood, ‘stop going on about what you’re not happy with. Get in there and change it’.”

The changes he pushed for have often gone against prevailing views.

“I knew at the time I was elected that it would be hard, and it has been,” Jepson said.

“If you have an opinion it can be a dangerous place in local government.”

Controversy over karakia being used to open KDC council meetings erupted almost immediately following his election.

One year on, the karakia is gone from formal council meeting openings and endings after politicians decided against it.

The group instead use an unofficial de facto opening, scheduled for five minutes prior to the start of formal council meetings.

Dame Nadia Glavish outside Kaipara Council chambers during the protest against the karakia ban. Photo / Tania Whyte

An elected politician informally speaks as they wish, including choosing to use karakia. This is not included in the council meeting livestream as it’s outside the formal meeting.

Change is also unfolding into the new year for KDC’s climate change mahi.

KDC in September cancelled its already-booked and budgeted $33,000 climate policy development and council emissions accounting, which was set up by the previous council.

At the time, the council said cancelling this work would not affect Northland’s landmark Ruawai adaptive pathways pilot project, which includes managed retreat consideration.

However, Jepson in late October started pushing for the money his council puts towards the pilot to instead go to the Ruawai-Raupō drainage scheme in the same location.

Kaipara’s GE stance is also under the spotlight.

Other council dismantling came in May when KDC withdrew from Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) membership - one of just three out of 78 councils to do so.

“I’ll be honest, I haven’t missed them and I don’t think most of my councillors have either.

“I am completely confident in our continued ability to join with other councils and collectively lobby central government on issues where needed,” he said.

Local Democracy Reporting Northland asked Jepson whether the raft of KDC changes under his leadership risked moving the council too far away from the essence of local government.

KDC’s governance history includes several years where the government put commissioners in charge of the council.

“No, we’re not moving too far from being a local government council,” he said.

“The government has good auditing processes and rules in place to protect against that.”

Jepson said he has a clear mandate from his district to make changes, after being elected with a significant majority.

He has not changed his views against Māori wards – or co-governance - since being elected.

Jepson said the wards brought unrealistic expectations that were perpetuated by their presence.

Meanwhile, he wants to capitalise on Kaipara’s position next door to Auckland.

He wants to get Aucklanders buying into more cheap Kaipara housing subdivisions.

Jepson is also pushing for a Kaipara waste-to-energy plant to process Auckland’s rubbish. This includes working with the majority overseas-owned operators aiming to build a controversial $350m equivalent in Canterbury, for which the Government has recently taken over the consenting process.

He said Northland local government leaders and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown were all on board with finding out more about the plant, which would also process Northland waste.

On Three Waters, Jepson said he was not against it its Entity A in principle. But he was definitely against its co-governance. The entity would otherwise be good for the council. It would take on KDC’s Three Waters debt.

Jepson said he looked forward to a better version of Three Waters in the wake of the newly elected Government.

Meanwhile, Jepson gave the council, under his leadership, a B-plus report card score for rating how well it has served its people.

This score comes in spite of a recent Kaipara residents’ survey report which shows public faith in council leadership has declined.

In response, Jepson said new things took time to bed in.

Jepson said the past year had been challenging. The council was facing a $34 million cyclone roading damage bill from Cyclone Gabrielle and other storms. Most roads were restored but there were still 59 sites with significant complex repairs.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson in Dargaville in February with an army unimog and crew helping with the Cyclone Gabrielle response. Photo / Susan Botting

His hope for Kaipara’s future was that it grew a robust economy.

Jepson talks big for the future, including of a new sealed Kerikeri-like airport for Dargaville, Mangawhai’s huge golf tourism opportunity along with a hotel plus conference and event centre for the settlement and more.

He says it has been a tough year but enormously satisfying.

“I am proud to be serving Kaipara”.

Next week: Far North Kahika Moko Tepania.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air