Back to Blog

From ‘Significant Natural Area’ to ‘Significant Council Incompetence’—A True Story

Like many landowners across New Zealand, I received a letter from Waipa District Council regarding the arbitrary designation of Significant Natural Areas (SNA) on private land.I found this disgraceful that in our so-called democracy, that Councils have been empowered to seize control of private property without compensation (approximately 4,000 hectares in Waipa) under the Resource Management Act—and even more appalling was to witness certain private interest groups and segments of t...

The Aftermath..

In the aftermath of the RS Sand/Fulton Hogan resource consent application for a sand mine in Cambridge, I am left asking one simple question: How did we even get here? Yes, the eventual withdrawal of the application delivered the result the community deserved but it should never have come to this. Why was this allowed to progress at all?Let me be clear: I am not against industrial development in the Waipā District. Industry plays a vital role in supporting employment, business, a...

WDC Please STOP.....

Impassioned plea by Sharon Stirling to Waipa District Council...

TRAFFIC CHAOS - A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

Cambridge and Kihikihi have undergone a transformation in recent years. Promoted as being for the benefit of our "growing" communities, Waipa District Council has closed roads, installed speed bumps and removed car parks, all done to increase safety for - well, everyone apparently! Congestion happened immediately. And I seriously mean immediately! With the usual alternative routes (also known as feeder roads) out of the equation, drivers had no choice but to join the ever growing ...

NO MORE SMOKE & MIRRORS

Journalism is sometimes referred to as ‘the fourth estate’ because of the power of the press to balance the power of the government, the police, and the wealthy.* The news media kept the people informed, which is the vital foundation of democracy. Bob Woodward, the journalist who broke the Watergate scandal, popularised the phrase “Democracy dies in darkness”, which elegantly expresses the importance of exposing political machinations to public view. Yet many of New Zealand’s coun...

Lack of Transparency

The lack of transparency in local government, a matter that is not only evident in our own Waipā District Council but also across many councils throughout New Zealand.Local councils exist to manage regions effectively and to provide essential services to their communities. However, their core responsibilities are increasingly being sidetracked by “pet projects” and initiatives that fall outside their primary purpose, with little or no visibility or accountability.Unfortunately, when residen...

Waipā’s Debt Crisis: Who’s Really in Control?

Waipa has a higher debt per ratepayer than Hamilton and has seen a significant increase in residents struggling or unable to pay their rates. With the upcoming rate-able year bringing an over 15% increase in rates, followed by a 9% increase the following year, financial pressure on ratepayers is mounting. Additionally, there will be a massive increase in debt to fund new infrastructure that must be repaid in the years ahead—at a time when global uncertainty is creating an unpredictable social ...

THE BLUE BLOB

Cambridge people remember the Innovating Streets debacle where coloured dots were painted in our intersections, planter boxes replaced car parks, and orange sticks blocked access to streets. This was all done without consultation as part of a social engineering program. We were gaslit as speed bumps were renamed "speed cushions" and the dots were "to distract drivers into slowing down for safety". Distracting drivers is the opposite of safety. Te Awamutu was next, but the negative reaction ...

FROM START TO FINISH

The services provided by council are the same for almost every street in every town and village in the district. Roads, water infrastructure, rubbish collection and for several streets leaf collection during late Autumn. That's the bare basics. What we all probably agree as the councils core services. Then we can add in municipal assets and their ongoing expenses (town pools, halls, heritage structures and the like). After all of that, there is the operating expenses expected for all organisatio...

WHAT’S WRONG WITH O’REGAN?

Three years ago, Susan O’Regan’s official candidate profile said everything we wanted it to say. That’s why I voted for her. That’s why I am so disappointed now. Here’s what she wrote: We need a better future Waipa for everyone. We need energetic, experienced, fresh leadership to drive us through a challenging but exciting time of change for our District.You need a Council that's easier to deal with and understands you. A Council that listens, communicates effectively and delivers...

Genuine ‘Back to Basics’ needed for Waipā Residents

Better Waipā candidates recognise reasons why trust in Waipā District Council (WDC) continues to decline. But absurdly, inefficient bureaucracy and numbers/salaries of public-service workers are increasing. Along with Better Waipā volunteers, the TaxPayers’ Union (TU) - a group which aims to ‘lower taxes, reduce waste, and improve accountability across all levels of Government’ - has also been investigating Councils’ wasteful expenditures.Confusingly, although WDCs colourful public re...