Mayor Dan Gordon says the election was focused on challenges facing the country such as the cost-of-living crisis and the substantial infrastructure deficit.

“I want to congratulate Matt Doocey and Stuart Smith on their re-election, as well as the new MP for Te Tai Tonga Tākuta Ferris and Rino Tirikatene who looks to be returning to Parliament as a List MP. The Council and I are looking forward to working with all of you,” says Mayor Gordon.

“I also wanted to acknowledge Dan Rosewarne, who while unsuccessful I have enjoyed working with since his appointment as a List MP and want to wish him well for the future.

“With the election now over the new Government has a responsibility to address these significant issues. And local Government is here to help in partnership.

“The main thing we want to see from a new Government is a commitment to localism and a move away from centralisation for its own sake. We hope to see a significant review of the sector’s funding model so that is more sustainable and rewards councils who demonstrably govern well and so add value to their communities.  It is important that the sector’s funding model supports and enables local government to address at a local level the challenges facing the country.

“Waimakariri District Council has been vocal in our opposition of Three Waters Reform. Through our work with Communities 4 Local Democracy we have proposed a better way to achieve reform one that is in partnership with Councils.

“We were pleased to see that both National, ACT, and NZ First have Three Waters policies that are closely aligned to our proposals. The new Government will now revisit the previous Government’s flawed reform proposals.  Waimakariri’s bottom line is that water infrastructure needs to remain in local ownership and where locals have a real say about its future. We are looking forward to the opportunity of working in partnership and supporting the new Government on Three Waters.

“Nationwide, councils are currently operating in an environment of uncertainty with a series of proposed reforms such as the Resource Management Act, Civil Defence, and the Future for Local Government reviews. This needs to change.

“These reforms all affect the very core of what we do. It’s important the new Government is transparent and inclusive of Local Government in its review and decisions around these changes. We support local decision making as opposed to centralised services that are at arms-length from communities.

“As a growth District, infrastructure is paramount for us and there is only so much we can fund alone through rates.

“We welcome the commitments to the Woodend Bypass by both main political parties. We’re also advocating for better infrastructure investment from the Government through Waka Kotahi for the wider District including a replacement of Skew Bridge in West Kaiapoi as well as an Eastern Rangiora Link Road.

“We would hope to see a commitment and firm timeframes allocated to these projects from the successful Government. This is essential infrastructure that is long overdue. They are key priority routes in our planning for future growth in the District and ones we’ve been advocating strongly for several years.”

“The new Government has raised the possibility of place based deals. We are keen to see how we could make such a deal work for our community and alongside neighbouring Councils.

“We are optimistic about our Council’s future with the new Government and look forward to working in partnership with them for the betterment of the Waimakariri District, Greater Christchurch and Canterbury.”