Far North District Council watchdog Des Mahoney, here with a petition asking for an inquiry into the council back in 2003, has died after a long battle with cancer
Far North District Council watchdog Des Mahoney, here with a petition asking for an inquiry into the council back in 2003, has died after a long battle with cancer
Mahoney died on Saturday after along battle with cancer.
Mahoney has spent the past 30-odd years ‘holding the council to account’ and trying to expose what he deemed waste or overspending.
While a staunch critic of the council at times over the years, one of his last acts saved ratepayers several million dollars.
The old Kauri Dam, which was once the back up water source for Kaitāia, was on on land owned by Ngākahu/Ngākohu Whānau Ahuwhenua Trust, of which Mahoney was secretary. When the dam was in need to decommissioning the council got several quotes for the work, which came in at up to $8 million.
However, he took on project management for the job and got the work done for less than $1 million, using local contractors through Bellinghams Quarries and saved ratepayers millions of dollars.
The Kauri Dam, which was once a back up water supply for Kaitāia has been decommissioned, with the work by long-time council critic Des Mahoney saving ratepayers millions
Mahoney told the Northland Age last week that the decommissioning work was one of the best, and most enjoyable jobs he had ever been involved with, as working with the Bellinghams made it go very smoothly.
‘’It just shows what can happen when you use local contractors and local expertise to get a job done. We showed that bigger isn’t always better and that using dedicated local people, who all have a real interest in getting the job done as effortlessly as possible, is the way to go.’’
Mahoney said to be able to save the ratepayers so much was a fitting way for his council watchdog role to end, and he hoped the council would use it as a model for the future.
‘’We don’t always need the big city engineers and experts, costing thousands of dollars an hour when you have dedicated, hard working local people who know how to do it and can do it quicker and at far less cost,’’ Mahoney said.
‘’We used all local so all the money for the work stayed locally too, rather than going back to the city.’'
Councillor Mate Radich, who was part of the dam decommissioning working group, said the way Mahoney handled the decommissioning was a great example of what could be achieved.
Radich said this example, and saving the ratepayers so much money, was a wonderful lasting legacy from Mahoney, who had kept the council and its staff, on their toes for many years.
Far North Mayor Kahika Moko Tepania has paid tribute to Te Hiku local, Mahoney.
”Ka tangi atu mōu kua ngaro atu ki te pō. Moe mai rā e te pāpā, mamae kore, raru kore. I have a huge amount of respect for Matua Des. He definitely challenged this council over the years, but I tell you, his heart was always in the right place for all of the people of the Far North,” Tepania said.
”We owe him our gratitude for his project management of the decommissioning of the Kauri Dam which saw a local approach save us millions of dollars over initial cost estimates to decommission.”
The decommissioning of the dam will be a legacy that the Far North District Council will dedicate to Matua Des and we will ensure to work with the Ngākahu/Ngākohu Whānau Ahuwhenua Trust to see the full completion of this project this spring.”
