Kai te toru tekau o nga tau to rahi engari kua oti ke i a koe nga tau e iwa ki te ao torangapu.
Whakatungia he pa whakaharahara kia tuputupu nga kainga whakaemingia nga poupou pakari hai amo i a ratau otia i a koe. Kua whakaputaina ketia e koe tena ki taurangi, whakamanangia.
Kai te rite tahi nei tatau ki era atu o nga hapori o te motu, he itiiti noa no te hunga kamura, nga nahi, nga kura mahita otia te hunga mahi whakamanuwhiri.
He mohio no te hapori me whakahuri i te hunga pou hoe o tenei waka, na reira, taku whakapae i puta mai te tini ki te poti e ai ki nga tataunga, he wha tekau ma ono ira ono paiheniti o te hau kainga i poti. Kihai i arikarika. Na e whakapono katoa tatau ki tetehi wahine toa no Ngati Whakaue i tu hai mangai mo Nahinara i te tai rawhiti i nga tau kua pahemo. Hoea to waka.
E mea nei etehi kua momotu etehi o te hunga poti o te kainga i te taha katau nei na reira i rereke katoa ai te taumata torangapu i Rotorua me era atu o nga taone.
Kaore rawa a Steve Chadwick te Mea tawhito o Rotorua i whakatu ano i tona ringaringa hai Mea hou. Hai taku, kua pirorehe te whakapono o te hau kainga ki a ia.
E tika ana kia whakahoungia tana tunga. Tahia kia ma ai te papa. Ko te kaupapa nui ma Tania ko te whakarangatira i te mana o te hapori, me te whakamatutu i te mauriora o te hapori, otia ko te whakatakoto rautaki hou ma te hunga kore kainga.
Tetehi ano o ona whakaaro kia puritia rawatia nga whenua rahui, hai whenua rahui.
Kaua rawa tatau e whakatu whare ki enei wahi. Koia ano tetehi kaupapa kai te kaha whakahengia ko te kaupapa 'three waters', me te mea hoki hai tana me aro nei e tatau ki te whakarauoratanga o te Muheama. Matua kia oti i a ratau te tohe i enei take me huri mai ki te hapori, ki nga tangata na ratau enei taonga ma te hapori tonu e whai wahi ki te korero ki enei kaupapa me nga utu.
Kaore hoki a Tania e rata ana ki nga wari Maori, ' he hiahia pea no etehi o nga kaunihera engari ano matau – kaore e take ana'. Ki te kaupapa Westbrook Sport Precint me te papa takaro hahau poro ki Arikikapakapa, ' ka nui taku tautoko ki a noho tonu mai te papa hahau poro'.
Te take ki te taiao, ki a pai ke atu te wahi kohi wai wawara, kia timatangia te kaupapa kohi kai para me te whakamohoa i te wahi mahere whakapakari patu. Hai awhina i a ia ki te kawe i enei kaupapa, kai te whakaarongia ko Sandra Kai Fong hai pikituranga mana.
He roia e matauranga nui ana ki te puku, e wana ai tana tunga e kaha ai te taone.
Kai tetehi atu pekanga o te potitanga nui o te takiwa, ka ara ake ko Lani Kereopa.
He uri ia no Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Tarawhai, Ngati Wahiao, Tuhourangi me Ngati Whaoa. Tenei tuahangata e te iwi, e whakangakau nei ki te whenua me ona kawai rangatira huhua.
Na te whakaputanga o te kaupapa Wari Maori i tu ai a Lani hai mangai mo te kainga.
Koia te kakakura i whakawhiwhia ki nga poti nunui o te takiwa. Ki a ia e rua mano, e waru tekau ma waru poti.
Ki a Horowaewae Makiwhara he kotahi mano, e waru rau kotahi tekau ma wha poti, a, ki a Rawiri Waru he kotahi mano, e ono rau e iwa tekau ma ono poti.
Kua whakaatungia ketia e Tania Tapsell ratau ko Sandra Kai Fong ko Lani Kereopa i to ratau na muri aroha, ngakau whiwhita ki te hapori, ka nui hoki taku whakapono ka kawea e ratau tenei wairua ki tera wahanga o te pae o te Kaunihera o Te Waiariki.
Tokorua hoki nga wahine toa kua hinga i te paepae ko Merepeka Raukawa-Tait me Mercia Yates.
E kore rawa nga mihi e maroke i nga ngutu mo a korua kaha ki te kawe i nga take o te kainga ki te mura o te ahi. Tena korua.
— Raimona Inia
OPINION
Congratulations Tania Tapsell, mayor-elect of Rotorua.
Yours is not an easy task but you have the whakapapa and the drive to succeed.
From my observations, you have inherited a mess.
Our once-thriving town is a shadow of its former self although there are signs things are looking up.
We have made national headlines for all the wrong reasons.
There are acres of empty shops in the CBD and housing the homeless turned the golden mile of Fenton Street and other parts of the city into places best-avoided.
But Rotorua is still home and we must make the most of it.
As elected leader of our community and having been in the political arena for a number of years you know what needs doing.
At the age of 30 you already have nine years of experience as a local body politician.
Our town needs more homes and the infrastructure to support them and you have already pledged to attack this problem.
As well, like the rest of the country, we are short of tradies, health workers, teachers and people to work in hospitality.
Our community knew we needed to make drastic changes to work towards a better life and that's why (to my thinking anyway) we went against the national trend and 46.6 per cent of enrolled voters turned out.
That was more than in the past three elections.
And we have put our faith in a Ngati Whakaue woman who has previously stood for National in the East Coast electorate.
Some political commentators have cited a shift away from the Left as a reason for the change at the top in Rotorua and other centres.
Former Labour MP and Rotorua's mayor for nine years, Steve Chadwick, did not seek re-election.
My view is that we, the electorate, wanted someone we could identify with.
Tania, in your campaign launch, you promised to get us back on track and restore our reputation and address the homeless problem.
As well, you want Rotorua to keep reserves as they are instead of building homes on parts of them.
You are strongly opposed to the Three Waters proposal and want the community to be consulted on the refurbishment of the Rotorua Museum. You want a reassessment of the costs involved and any decision made after feedback from the community.
You are not a fan of the Maori wards, which, "while other councils may have needed them, we didn't."
On the Westbrook Sport Precinct / Springfield Golf Course you have said: "I support the golf course remaining and have no intention to change it."
On the environment, you want better flood collection, the introduction of organic waste collection, and an upgrade to the waste water treatment plant.
Sandra Kai Fong as your deputy is an inspired choice. The lawyer brings a wealth of governance experience and long-term community involvement to the role.
The there is Lani Kereopa who connects to Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Tarawhai, Ngati Wahiao, Tuhourangi and Ngati Whaoa.
She is a wahine toa, committed to her whakapapa and Papatuanuku. Lani is unapologetically Maori and only considered standing for council because of the introduction of the Maori ward. She polled top of the three successful candidates in the ward, attracting 2088 votes ahead of Trevor Maxwell 1814, and Rawiri Waru 1696. (Final results are expected to be posted this weekend).
Tania Tapsell, Sandra Kai Fong and Lani Kereopa have already demonstrated their passion for their communities and I believe that will continue on the next term of the Rotorua Lakes District Council.
Wahine toa missing from the council for the next term are Merepeka Raukawa-Tait and Mercia Yates.
