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A Rotorua councillor is not seeking re-election because she feels she has “failed to achieve anything meaningful” for her people in the role.
Another councillor stepping down at the election said he hopes the next crop of councillors will be picked based on talent over “specific agendas”.
The election is about six months away and will include a binding poll on Rotorua’s Māori ward, with any change to be implemented from the 2028 term.
Local Democracy Reporting asked sitting council members whether they planned to seek re-election this year.
Councillor Lani Kereopa has decided to step down after one term on Rotorua Lakes Council. Photo / Andrew Warner
Of the three Māori ward councillors, only Lani Kereopa responded. The first-term councillor said she would not be standing again.
“I have so far failed to achieve anything meaningful for my people during my time on council and I believe my time and efforts would be best placed elsewhere.”
Kereopa said her main reason for standing in 2022 was concern around the impacts of proposed housing intensification on iwi communities.
Her goal was to have papakāinga residential areas such as Te Koutu, Whakarewarewa, Mourea and Rotoiti recognised within the district plan as places of significance and bastions of iwi resilience.
Rotorua councillor Lani Kereopa at a July meeting. Photo / Laura Smith
“I failed spectacularly.”
She aimed to spend the end of her term sharing her learnings with Te Arawa and resident mātāwaka in the “hope our whānau and hapū can better prepare for who they might want and need to represent our collective interests moving forward”.
She also wanted to ensure the council met Local Government Act obligations to Māori in a way hapū and iwi believed was meaningful and appropriate.
Kereopa believed there was a “good chance” Māori wards would be lost in the referendum, which would either motivate or disincentivise Māori engagement with local government.
Rotorua’s other Māori ward councillors, first-term councillor Rawiri Waru and New Zealand’s longest-serving councillor, Trevor Maxwell, did not respond on their election intentions.
Mayor Tania Tapsell and most general ward councillors confirmed they planned to run again.
Deputy Mayor Sandra Kai Fong did not respond.
Councillor Gregg Brown said he would not stand for personal reasons.
He believed the city was headed into a better future compared to when he stood in the last election.
“With most of the major concerns resolved or in the works, we can now focus on broader issues.”
Councillor Gregg Brown says he will not be seeking re-election. Photo / Laura Smith
Brown forecasts rates increases to be one of this year’s key topics. He hoped to see candidates with diverse experience stand and hoped talent was prioritised over “specific agendas”.
Rotorua voter turnout has been relatively static over recent local government elections.
It was about 46.5% in 2022, which resulted in 22,920 votes, excluding special votes. Department of Internal Affairs data shows 45% as the average for district councils that year.
It was about 46% in 2019 in Rotorua, about 46% in 2016 and about 43.5% in 2013.
Electoral Commission enrolment statistics showed at the 2022 election there were 49,017 people enrolled, 86.7% of the estimated population using Statistics NZ data.
As of February, there were 51,296 voters enrolled in the Rotorua district, an 89.7% enrolment rate.
There were 13,550 on the Māori roll, 4791 rural voters and 32,955 general.
Electoral Commission deputy chief executive Anusha Guler said local elections were run by local councils but the commission gave councils electoral roll data.
Guler said as local elections were held by postal vote it was important for people to check addresses were correct to receive the voting papers.
She urged people to talk to potential first-time voters in their families and encourage them to enrol.
About 59% of the estimated population of 18-24-year-olds in Rotorua were enrolled as of February, while over-70s were at about 100%.
Māori can choose to be on the Māori roll or the general roll for local elections but any change needs to be made before July 10.
Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist since 2019.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
