Elections 2022: Rotorua council candidates share their stance on city issues

Rotorua Business Chamber's councillor candidate forum was held this week. Photo / Laura Smith

Most councillor candidates seeking election to Rotorua Lakes Council believe the organisation's senior management structure is "top-heavy", a forum has heard.

The Rotorua Business Chamber hosted the councillor candidate forum on Tuesday. The 27 candidates were invited to introduce themselves and answer questions from both host Bryce Heard and the public.

Each present candidate gave a two-minute speech detailing who they were and what their focus was, before answering 18 'hot topic' questions that mostly involved a show of hands indicating where they stood on various issues.

Questions from Heard had been pre-circulated to candidates and included sets of questions based on rates and debt levels, housing and wider issues.

One of the questions was if candidates thought the senior management structure at Rotorua Lakes Council was "top-heavy", "about right", or if they did not have a view.

The majority raised their hands for it being "top-heavy", and present councillors Trevor Maxwell, Mercia Yates and Merepeka Raukawa-Tait were the only three to say "about right".

Council spending has been a topic many candidates have weighed in on during their campaigning, and Heard asked at the meeting if candidates thought the current council debt level of just under $300 million was unsustainable and needed to be reduced, if it was about right, or if it still left room for more borrowing.

Most candidates felt it was too high, while Maxwell and Raukawa-Tait said it was about right.

One of the wider issues in the questions posed to candidates regarded what their position was on the council running non-public and confidential meetings and workshops.

Kariana Black raised her hand to say she was opposed to it "full-stop", and the majority said some were needed but there had been too many. No-one was happy with the status-quo.

The last question asked candidates to explain in three words what, for them, was the single biggest issue.

Brendan Davis
Democracy, integrity and engagement.

Robert Lee
Democratic decision-making.

Ryan Gray
Housing and attracting investment.

Nick Chater
Climate change mitigiation.

Fisher Wang
Housing, future and integrity.

Trish Hosking
Climate, climate, climate.

Mercia Yates
Education is the key.

Don Paterson
Restore Rotorua's mana.

Trevor Maxwell
Māori representation, co-governance and Three Waters.

Shirley Trumper
A mayor who can build a council team.

Karen Barker
Collaborative teamwork.

Potaua Biasiny-Tule
Name recognition. Potaua.

Hana Tapiata
Cultivating community.

Sandra Kai Fong
Fixing Rotorua's reputation.

Steve Pinder
To get elected.

Gregg Brown
Fenton Street motels.

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait
Significant social issues.

Kariana Black
Housing, hope and accountability to candidates.

Kaya Sparke
Housing, community and environment.

Rawiri Te Kowhai
Health and wellbeing.

Conan O'Brien
Transparency, accountability, principles.

Rania Sears
Transparency, infrastructure and our economy.

Voting closes at midday on Saturday, October 8.