Journalist and communicator wants Ruapehu seat on Horizons

Moana Ellis wants to be a voice for rural priorities and help build a sustainable local economy. Photo / Supplied

After 25 years working in news and communication, Moana Ellis has returned home and seeks a role where she can ensure a thriving and sustainable Ruapehu District.

She wants to use her fresh eyes and balanced experience to represent Ruapehu on Horizons Regional Council.

She returned to Whanganui and Raetihi six years ago, after working for provincial and national newspapers in New Zealand, England and Wales. She has a business degree and owns a communications consultancy business.

But she was raised at the foot of Mt Ruapehu and the district has been home to her family for more than seven generations. She has paddled the length of the Whanganui River, rafted the Manganui-o-te-Ao and advocated for Raetihi people deciding how to spend money resulting from a diesel spill that affected their water supply.

Ellis is on the Whanganui Regional Museum Board and is a shareholder in the Atihau Whanganui Incorporation. She's supporting Uenuku, Tamahaki and Tamakana in their Treaty of Waitangi claims.

"I know the demands the Government puts on us," she said.

"We can't work outside these frameworks - we have to make the most of them."

In particular, she hopes the Treaty settlement will unlock social and economic potential in the region.

"It's time to look forward to a thriving Ruapehu, built on great farming, world-class tourism and a connected community."

Ellis has three teenage children and spends half her working week in Raetihi and half in Whanganui.