Reefton man puts hand up for vacant Regional Council seat
By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
The Reefton man who was the third-highest polling candidate for a West Coast Regional Council seat in the last elections is putting his hand up for the seat left vacant by the untimely death of Westport’s Frank Dooley.
Dave Hawes who polled 794 votes in 2022, compared to Dooley’s 1769, was not far behind runner-up and sitting councillor Mark McIntyre, who took the second Buller seat on the council with 849 votes.
Under the Local Electoral Act, the Regional Council has only two options to deal with the vacancy for a second Buller representative.
It can leave Dooley’s seat vacant until the council elections next October or appoint someone in the interim.
A by-election is held only if there is a year or more to go until the next council elections.
The council resolved yesterday to appoint a qualified person in the new year, from a short-list to be drawn up by chairperson Peter Haddock, and councillors Mark MacIntyre and Brett Cummings.
Hawes said the most democratic option would be to appoint him – since Buller voters chose to put him next on the list two years ago.
“I don’t need the job but I’m willing to serve now, as I was then. I was a Buller District Councillor for 15 years, and I worked with people of all political stripes.”
Hawes’ ‘green’ credentials – 15 years leading DOC’s Reefton work crew - might work against him in a strongly pro-mining council, he said.
“But I’m a pragmatist - I come from old Westport and Reefton stock and my aim has always been to get the best outcome for the Buller.”
Regional councillors at Tuesday’s meeting this week’s noted major decisions were looming for Westport’s flood protection scheme, and suggested the appointee should be someone with a sound knowledge of the town, its land tenure and flood walls.
McIntyre said financial skills would be important, and the loss of Dooley had left a ‘ big hole’ for the council to fill in that regard.
Chief executive Darryl Lew said the ideal candidate would have all those attributes, but the council would in future have access to financial advice from the soon-to-be appointed independent chairperson of the Risk and Assurance committee.
Hawes said the primary objective should be fair and competent representation, and there was a risk in allowing a group that did not represent Buller to cherry-pick a councillor for the district.
Buller was bigger than just Westport, and there could be advantages in having a Buller rep who did not actually live in the town, he said.
“There’s going to be some tough calls to make with those floodwalls; some people will be left unprotected to protect others, and it might help to have a councillor with local knowledge but no skin in the game.”
The former BDC councillor is semi-retired and putting time into the Reefton Historical Society and local Powerhouse Trust – which aims to be generating hydro-power by Christmas.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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