After 45 years in Waipa farming and machinery, I’ve earned the right to talk dirty politics. Dirt grows the grass that feeds our cattle and horses. Dirt grows the crops and fruit trees that feed out families. Dirt ends up paying the wages of nearly everyone in the region, including the towns and council staff. Your dirt matters to me.

 The Better Waipa team knows rural rates on high farm values means you pay more than townies. We also know that rural rates get spent on our big towns, while rural folk miss out on basic services – water, sewage, rubbish collection, new roads, and nearby libraries. That’s dirty politics.

 I’m no politician. I’m not afraid to kick out the Bullsh*t because I will wear my gumboots to council meetings. I will represent Pirongia and Kakepuku with honesty, hard work, and commonsense. I say what I mean and I mean what I say.

 I’m standing with Better Waipa because we need a team with commonsense, practical experience, and technical skills to run Waipa Council the way it should be run. It is a provider of engineering services (Roads and Waters), and social services (Libraries, parks). We need value for money, not rate rises and debt to cover speed bumps and cycleways. Let’s get Back to Basics, fix the system, and support the farmers whose dirt and hard work pays for it all.

 Les Bennett for a Better Waipa.