Compton congratulates Gurunathan on win, excited to serve as Districtwide Councillor

Newly elected Kāpiti Coast Districtwide Councillor Gwynn Compton has congratulated Mayor K Gurunathan on his re-election, and is looking forward to working with him and the new Council and Community Board teams over the next three years to tackle the big challenges facing the Kāpiti Coast.

“I’ve congratulated Mayor K Gurunathan on his win and I’m looking forward to working with the Mayor and the new teams at council and our community boards over the next three years,” says Mr Compton.

“While I’m naturally disappointed to have not been successful for the mayoralty, I always knew it would be a huge challenge to win the top job as a first time outsider and I’m proud of the campaign I ran and the issues I championed. It’s why I also stood as a districtwide candidate, and I’m incredibly humbled and excited to have been elected to represent the people of Kāpiti.”

Gwynn Compton also has thanked his family, friends, and supporters for their help over the past 10 months.

“No one runs an election campaign on their own, and I’ve been very fortunate to have the support of my family, friends, and hard working volunteers, who I’d all like to thank for their help. I’d especially like to thank my wife, Renee, who along with being an amazing mother to our two boys, has been my campaign manager and has done an amazing job keeping everything on track.

“I also want to congratulate all the new and re-elected councillors and community board representatives on their successes tonight, as well as thank those who won’t be returning this term for their service to our communities.”

Compton proposes full hour of public speaking, additional evening and weekend meetings, and easily accessible video archive of Council meetings

Due to public frustration at the short length and split nature of public speaking time at Council meetings, the difficulties of attending Council meetings in person due to work and life commitments, and the lack of any searchable video archives of Council meetings, Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton has proposed a number of sensible changes to make it easier for people to have their say and ensure Council is open and transparent.

“A clear message I’ve heard from the public during this campaign is that they want a single, longer time to share their views at Council meetings, rather than the two separate 30 minute blocs either end of a Council meeting as is the current practice. Given the end of Council meetings can vary by up to four hours depending on what’s on the agenda, it’s little wonder almost no one sticks around waiting for the final 30 minute slot at the end of the meeting,” says Mr Compton.

“If I’m elected as Mayor, I’m proposing to make the first hour of each Council meeting a proper open forum, where members of the public can come and speak freely. The first 30 minutes would be for items not on the agenda, and the second 30 minutes specifically for items on the agenda.

“This simple and common sense change will make it much easier for people to have their say on the issues that are important to their communities, rather than them having to wait around all day or guessing when Council might finish working their way through the agenda as is currently the case.”

Gwynn Compton has also committed to Council exploring having more flexibility around meeting times as to allow people who commute, work, or have other commitments during the day to also be able to attend Council meetings in person and speak.

“The current one-size fits all approach of having Council meetings during the day on Thursdays instantly cuts off a large number of people who have other commitments during the day. Council needs to provide residents a greater ability to speak to Council in person, and that means looking at how we can have additional meetings in the evenings, or potentially even an occasional weekend meeting, to help make it easier for people to participate in our democratic processes.”

Along with more flexible meeting times, Gwynn Compton says that ensuring video recordings of Council meetings are archived in an easily accessible way on the Kāpiti Coast District Council website is long overdue.

“We need to do a much better job of ensuring the public can easily access video recordings of Council meetings. Only being able to watch the live stream as Council is meeting, rather than being able to go back and view archived meetings after the fact, excludes a large number of people who have busy lives during the day, but still want to see what took place. Having an easily accessible video archive of Council meetings is another common sense solution that’s long overdue, and will help improve the openness and transparency of Council."

Still time to vote in Kāpiti's election

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton is reminding people that there’s still time to cast their votes right up until 12pm on Saturday 12 October, even if they didn’t get their voting papers into a post box by the 8 October cut off date for mail deliveries.

“This election is all about deciding the future direction of Kāpiti and ensuring we have a Mayor and Council who will actually take action to tackle the big issues our communities are facing. That’s why it’s so important for people to make their voice heard by casting their vote, and there’s still time to do so even if they didn’t manage to put their voting papers in the post by Tuesday’s mail delivery cut off date,” says Mr Compton.

People can still cast their vote by delivering their voting papers in person to a Kāpiti Coast District Council service centre in Paraparaumu, Waikanae, or Ōtaki, one of the district’s libraries, taking it to the main council building on Rimu Road in Paraparaumu, or visiting the mobile voting station as it moves around the district.

For the thousands of people who commute to Wellington each day for work, they can also cast their votes at the polling station at Wellington Railway Station, or at the Wellington Regional Special Vote Hub at the Wellington City Council, Arapaki Manners Library and Service Centre on Manners Street.

Gwynn Compton is also urging those who aren’t yet enrolled or haven’t received their voting packs to cast special votes.

“Even if you aren’t yet enrolled or haven’t received your voting papers, it’s still not too late to have your say. If you haven’t enrolled, didn’t receive your voting papers, have lost or damaged your voting papers, or you’re on the unpublished roll, you can still cast a special vote,” says Mr Compton.

Full details on how and where to cast a special vote are available on the Council’s website at www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/vote under “How and Where to Vote - STV”.

“Remember, you can still cast a special vote right up until 12pm on Saturday 12 October, so please make sure that you make your voice heard by voting in this election.”

KCDC and Mayor's failures behind Council waterfront property purchase

News that Kāpiti Coast District Council has purchased a piece of prime commercial land at 26 Marine Parade in Paraparaumu Beach, valued at $1.6 million, following the owner being unable to develop it due to Council’s restrictive planning rules, suggests a failure of both Council and Mayor K Gurunathan to make Council genuinely easy to do business with, says Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton.

“The fact that one of Kāpiti’s largest and most experienced property developers couldn’t make a prime piece of waterfront land at Paraparaumu Beach commercially viable due to Council’s restrictive planning rules, exposes Council’s ‘Open for Business’ culture as an abject failure. Things need to urgently change at Council if our district is to properly manage the rapid growth we’re experiencing, and we’re fast running out of time with the opening of Transmission Gully less than a year away,” says Mr Compton.

Gwynn Compton has also called out Mayor K Gurunathan, with the purchase of 26 Marine Parade illustrating that the Mayor has failed to deliver on his campaign promises from 2016.

“Mayor K Gurunathan needs to front up and explain his inability to deliver on his promises. He’s talked a big game in previous campaigns about making Council more open for business, as well as having Council conduct itself in a genuinely open, transparent, and democratically accountable manner. Yet here we are, just days out from an election, with the news that Council’s failure to be open for business has forced a sizeable developer to sell their land.

“What’s more, despite elected members pleading Council’s poverty on the campaign trail when defending steep rates rises and the inability to adequately fund community facilities, Council has somehow managed to whip out the chequebook to purchase this land at short notice. On top of that, our community has been left in the dark as to what’s happening, how much has been paid, or what Council even plans to do with the land.

“If we’re serious about meeting the challenge of accommodating the rapid growth Kāpiti is experiencing, then we need to be enabling smart development, not holding it back. As Mayor, I’ll use the upcoming independent review of Council as a lever to get real change and ensure that Council works for and empowers our communities, rather than working against them as so often seems to be the case now.”

Update on #SaveKapitiCheese

Kia ora everyone,

I just wanted to drop you a quick update to say we've had more than 1,300 people so far sign the petition to save Kāpiti cheese, which is an incredible result in just two days. It's relied purely on you all sharing this with your friends and families, and shows just how important the factory and the jobs it supports is to our community - so please keep up the good work and keep encouraging people to visit www.savekapiticheese.nz to add their names.

We've had plenty of local media coverage, as well as some national media coverage on both the Spinoff and Newshub. Kāpiti Cheese is one of New Zealand's most iconic and internationally recognised brands, and the idea that none of the cheese that's had a 35 year association with our district will be produced here anymore is eliciting a justifiably strong reaction from people.

The purpose of the petition is threefold - it's to send a clear signal to Fonterra that they should reconsider their decision, it's to show workers that the community is here to support them, and it's to demonstrate to any third parties who might be looking at taking over operations at the Te Roto Drive site and keeping cheese making, or a similar food business going there, that our community will be right behind them.

It's why I was disappointed to read today that our district's Mayor K Gurunathan described this petition as a pea-shooter and your signatures as "a mosquito on the backside of an elephant thinking it's relevant."

I think that type of attitude and comments from our Mayor towards the more than 1,300 people so far who have signed their names is hugely disrespectful both to your views and to our community who are wanting to fight to keep the cheese factory open and save as many of those local jobs as possible. 

We might be small, but we can make our voices heard, and in doing so we can help save that factory. It's not dissimilar to what happened down in Dunedin when Cadbury closed the chocolate factory there, and the community rallied together to help support a new venture. While they weren't able to purchase Cadbury's site from the resulting crowdfunding effort, they were able to support a new chocolate maker to establish themselves in the city and provide local employment to some of those who lost their jobs.

I was also told when I set up the petition to oppose Victoria University of Wellington's proposed name change that it wouldn't work. Yet 13,000 signatures later, countless emails and phone calls, and the Minister of Education not only declined permission for the name change, but he cited the petition as a key reason why he didn't feel the university should be changing its name. That pressure eventually translated into the university backing down from the proposal too.

The petition isn't the only thing I've been working on in this space, and I've already initiated conversations with people in our local business community who are interested in keeping the factory operating in some capacity. It's very early days in what would be a complex process, but given the successful history of Kāpiti cheeses, I'm confident that a solution can be found over the next six months.

Which is why it's so important that you keep sharing this petition, keep encouraging people to sign, and keep getting the word out that we want to save Kāpiti cheese.

Ngā mihi,

Gwynn Compton

Authorised by G Compton, 60 Manly St, Paraparaumu.

Huge show of support as 1,000 sign petition for Kāpiti cheese workers

With 1,000 people having signed the Save Kāpiti Cheese petition in one day, petition organiser and Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says it’s a huge show of community support for the 65 workers and their families facing redundancy at Fonterra’s Te Roto Drive factory in Paraparaumu.

“The Kāpiti cheese factory has been an integral part of the Kāpiti Coast for 35 years, and the fact that cheese carrying the iconic silhouette of Kāpiti Island is still produced here is a significant source of pride for our district. This is why Fonterra’s short-sighted decision to close the plant has been such a kick in the guts for our community,” says Mr Compton.

“Having 1,000 people sign their names in just one day to call on Fonterra to stop the closure is a huge show of community support for the 65 workers and their families. It also sends a clear signal to the cooperative, or any other interested parties who might be looking at purchasing the operation, that the people of Kāpiti will be right behind any attempt to help keep the successful story of cheese making in Kāpiti alive for another 35 years.”

Those looking to sign the petition are encouraged to visit www.savekapiticheese.nz and share the petition with their family and friends.

Mayor K Gurunathan joins Fonterra in selling out Kāpiti cheese workers

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says that Mayor K Gurunathan’s resigned acceptance of the loss of 65 jobs at Fonterra’s Te Roto Drive factory simply isn’t good enough, and that Kāpiti’s Mayor should be leading the fight to keep the factory open.

“Mayor K Gurunathan’s resigned acceptance of Fonterra’s closure of its Te Roto Drive factory, and his vague hope that employees might find jobs elsewhere simply isn’t good enough, and it amounts to him joining Fonterra in selling out Kāpiti’s cheese factory workers. It shows that the Mayor isn’t prepared to fight for our communities when the going gets tough, and the people of Kāpiti, but especially the 65 Fonterra workers impacted today, deserve more from their Mayor,” says Mr Compton.

Gwynn Compton says his reaction to the closure marks a clear contrast between what he’ll bring to the role if elected as Mayor, and how Mayor K Gurunathan operates.

“Within minutes of Fonterra’s announcement being made, I’d already set up a petition to fight the closure at www.savekapiticheese.nz and have been spending my own time and money rallying community support. As a community, we can and we must challenge Fonterra’s short-sighted decision, and the Mayor should be leading that fight, not meekly rolling over and hoping everything will turn out okay.”

Gwynn Compton has already enjoyed success leading this type of activity, with his petition opposing the proposed name change to Victoria University of Wellington being signed by over 13,000 people and resulting in the Minister of Education declining the name change request, and the university eventually abandoning it all together.

“As Mayor, I’ll fight relentlessly for every job in Kāpiti. We’re already facing a massive employment challenge in the next two years as the Transmission Gully and Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway projects finish, meaning hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of economic activity will leave the district.

“Mayor K Gurunathan’s failure of leadership today further reinforces the call for change at Kāpiti Coast District Council. If I’m elected as Mayor, I’ll bring fresh leadership, smart thinking, and a community-led approach to Council, as well as leaving no stone unturned when it comes to fighting on behalf of our communities.”

To sign the petition opposing the closure, visit www.savekapiticheese.nz

Petition launched to save Kāpiti Cheese following Te Roto Drive factory closure announcement

Visit www.savekapiticheese.nz to sign your name

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton has slammed Fonterra’s decision to close its Te Roto Drive site in Paraparaumu with the loss of 65 jobs, calling on the cooperative to reverse the decision and not make hard working locals pay the price for issues elsewhere in the cooperative.

“The hardworking team at Fonterra’s Te Roto Drive factory are paying the price for incompetence elsewhere in the cooperative. This short-sighted decision to close Te Roto Drive means that after 35 years, there will be no cheese carrying the iconic Kāpiti brand that will have been produced on the Kāpiti Coast,” says Mr Compton.

“What’s more, announcing the closure of the Te Roto Drive factory only hours after CEO Miles Hurrell claimed Fonterra would focus on being a national champion for ‘Aotearoa New Zealand’ makes a complete mockery of his remarks. How can Fonterra be a national champion for our country if they won’t even produce one of its most internationally recognised and awarded cheeses in the very community that features on its logo?”

To combat the closure, Gwynn Compton has launched a petition calling on Fonterra to reverse their decision, and is encouraging people around New Zealand to sign it: www.savekapiticheese.nz

“Fonterra has already sold off one iconic New Zealand brand in Tip Top to offset their disasters overseas, now they’re selling out the community behind one of their last remaining internationally recognised brands. It’s simply not good enough for an organisation that purports to be a champion of provincial New Zealand.

“When the provenance of the food we eat - the authentic gate-to-plate story - is becoming one of the most powerful marketing tools around, then Fonterra should be investing in facilities like their Te Roto Drive factory, not closing them down. If Fonterra is to remain true to their claim of being a true New Zealand brand, then ensuring that Kāpiti cheese continues to be made in Kāpiti is the only option available to them.”

KCDC gambles and loses with ratepayers' money on speculative interest rate swaps

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says that Kāpiti Coast District Council has gambled and lost with an $8 million drop in the value of its speculative interest rate swaps as detailed in the 2018/19 Annual Report, taking the net unrealised loss on interest rate swaps to approximately $18.5 million over the past five years, and seeing Kāpiti paying higher interest rates than are necessary on the district's huge debt.

The loss highlights how unsustainably high debt has driven the Council to use speculative financial instruments that could potentially see ratepayers on the hook for ongoing multi-million dollar losses. Council is also running the very significant risk of being locked into paying unnecessarily high interest rates that could cost ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars more each year, especially if interest rates continue to fall as has been suggested is likely with economic growth slowing.

“Interest rate swaps were sold to ratepayers as a non-speculative tool to reduce interest costs on Council’s high debt. Managed well by a suitably large organisation, such as central government or multinational companies, and in an increasing interest rate environment, they can do that. But the reality is they are speculative tools and they do carry significant risks, especially for small and highly indebted councils like KCDC,” says Mr Compton.

“What’s more, if talk of interest rates falling further pans out, as looks likely with the Reserve Bank trying to stimulate slowing economic growth, then this will only further exacerbate an already bad situation for KCDC’s interest rate swaps, with ratepayers being left to pick up a growing bill.” 

Gwynn Compton says that Mayor K Gurunathan also needs to front up and explain himself to ratepayers, with the Mayor having been a staunch defender of interest rate swaps in the past, as well as the Council’s now abandoned scheme to borrow $30 million to gamble on the share market.

“When Mayor K Gurunathan was defending the Council’s nonsensical scheme to borrow $30 million to gamble on the share market, the Mayor also defended the Council’s practice of using interest rate swaps as not being speculative. The Mayor was forced to backpedal on the risky nature of borrowing $30 million for the investment fund following the Auditor-General’s intervention and community outcry, and now it looks like the Mayor has been caught out again over the true speculative nature of interest rate swaps.

“If I'm elected as Mayor, I’ll ensure Council takes a sensible and responsible approach to managing its finances. When we have nearly $10,000 worth of debt for every household in Kāpiti, we need to take a cautious and prudent approach to reducing it, rather than taking unnecessary and unaffordable risks as is currently the case.”

Mayor K Gurunathan’s Kāpiti News column of 22 August 2018 claiming that things like borrowing $30 million for the investment fund and using interest rate swaps wasn’t speculative.

Mayor K Gurunathan’s Kāpiti News column of 23 January 2019 following the Auditor-General’s intervention and community outcry where he claimed to have been always worried about the risk of the investment fund.

Doubling of population growth shows need for fresh leadership focussed on results

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says data from Census 2018 released today, showing the average rate of population growth in Kāpiti has more than doubled, reinforces the need for fresh leadership with a focus on delivering results, rather than more reports, summits, and task forces.

Census 2018 shows that average population growth on the Kāpiti Coast has more than doubled, increasing to 1.9 percent per year since 2013, compared to just 0.8 percent on average per year between the 2006 and 2013 censuses.

“Since launching my campaign back in January, I’ve been speaking about the need to get on top of growth and manage it smartly so that it works for Kāpiti, rather than sitting idly and letting growth undermine our communities as is currently happening,” says Mr Compton.

“Unfortunately, our current Council is still yet to take meaningful action on the big issues facing the Kāpiti Coast. For example, they’ve sat on the recommendations from the Kāpiti Coast Communities Housing Taskforce for over two years, and are now revisiting it with another report by a new consultant. Likewise, the refresh of the district’s economic development strategy is long overdue and continues to be delayed, incurring additional costs and creating more missed opportunities for our communities.

“As Mayor, I’ll stop the endless talkfest at Council and get it focused on delivering real results for the people of Kāpiti. We can’t afford to persist with a Council that’s been caught twiddling its thumbs while thousands more people move to Kāpiti, especially when that growth will only accelerate once Transmission Gully opens.”

Since 2013, an extra 4,569 people are now living on the Kāpiti Coast, with high growth areas including eastern Raumati, northern Paraparaumu, central Waikanae, Peka Peka, Te Horo, and both Ōtaki and Ōtaki Beach.

“Before even a single car has driven the length of Transmission Gully, we’re seeing a population explosion on the Kāpiti Coast that carries on right through into southern Horowhenua. With our schools already at or over capacity, limited after hours and no accident and emergency medical services, and transport infrastructure bursting at the seams, this growth boom underscores the need for the government to urgently fund the vital infrastructure and essential services our growing region needs,” says Mr Compton.

“I’m unapologetically ambitious for Kāpiti and, as Mayor, I’ll fight relentlessly to get the government to step up and play their part in supporting our communities.

“If the government can find nearly $80 million for a train between Hamilton and Auckland that will carry fewer passengers than extending commuter rail to Ōtaki was projected to back in 2013, then they can find the money to invest in our transport infrastructure - like electrifying and double tracking the rail network to Ōtaki and beyond - and completing the roading projects our district badly needs.

“They can also find the money for our schools, they can find the money for our healthcare services, and they can find the money to help Kāpiti mitigate and adapt to climate change. We can’t continue to accept the status quo of fighting over the scraps left by other regions, as has been the case so far this Council term.”

Gwynn Compton the clear first choice for Mayor

With voting papers now arriving in mailboxes, Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says he’s the clear first choice this election. Gwynn Compton is the only candidate who has put together a comprehensive and ambitious policy platform to help Kāpiti meet the challenges facing its communities, to turn things around at Council, and to seize the opportunities ahead of the district.

“Since announcing my candidacy back in January, I’ve been out meeting with people throughout our community, listening to their issues, and developing solutions for the problems they’re facing,” says Mr Compton.

“I’ve put together the most comprehensive and ambitious policy platform of any candidate this election. The significant challenges facing Kāpiti mean that we need a Mayor who has done the hard yards, and who has put together a compelling vision to ensure Kāpiti remains the best place in New Zealand to live, work, and raise a family.”

Over the past nine months, Gwynn Compton has released policies covering the full suite of Council activities, including:

• creating a better run, financially responsible, and community-focussed Council, as well as overhauling Council’s governance structure to create a focus on delivering results,

• tackling worsening housing affordability and social housing shortages,

• diversifying Kāpiti’s economy by backing local businesses to create more jobs with higher wages, 

• combatting climate change by having the whole Kāpiti Coast be net carbon neutral by 2040 - 10 years ahead of the rest of New Zealand,

• improving transport connections between Kāpiti’s communities, especially through better public transport services, and fighting for the electrification of the rail network to Ōtaki to enable truly fast and frequent commuter rail services,

• proposing an ambitious “Coast to Crest” green corridors programme to bring native flora and fauna back to the heart of Kāpiti,

• initiatives to support Kāpiti’s community and its volunteer organisations, which will help preserve our unique small town vibe and close community feel, in the face of increased pressure brought on by growth.

“Across seven priority areas I’ve identified nearly 50 actions to implement over the coming three years. There’s been lots of talk from this Council on the big issues facing Kāpiti, but very little of that has translated into meaningful action for our communities,” says Mr Compton.

“It’s clear that we can’t keep doing things the same way at Council and expect different results. It’s time for change and it’s time for action. I’ll be the Mayor who will deliver the change that’s needed at Council to enable real action on the ground for the people of Kāpiti.”

Compton outlines overhaul of Council governance to drive focus on delivering results

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton has unveiled an overhaul of Council governance to enable elected representatives to better focus on the most important issues facing Kāpiti in the next three years.

“It’s clear that the current governance structure at Council isn’t geared towards addressing the big challenges facing our communities. The overhaul I’ve outlined will enable and empower Councillors to get on with delivering the results our communities are asking for, rather than what we have seen of years of talking, reports, and missed opportunities,” says Mr Compton.

“Too little action has been taken on issues like housing and economic development, despite the massive challenges for both these areas when Transmission Gully opens and the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway is finished. There’s also a need for a significant focus this term on reforming the way Council operates through implementing the recommendations from the report into Waikanae Library toxic mould disaster as well as the upcoming independent operational review of Council. We need a Council that's both efficiently and effectively run to get the best value for money for our ratepayers, and so we don’t repeat the expensive mistakes that have left community assets run down."

Gwynn Compton’s new Council governance structure will see a combination of All of Council committees, subcommittees focussing on priority issues, and Councillors being empowered to lead in specific portfolio areas.

Portfolio leads will be appointed as chairs or deputy chairs of the related committees. They will be responsible for playing a strategic and policy development role in their specific portfolio, as well as being the Council’s spokesperson in that area. They will also be expected to actively work with Community Boards on their portfolio issues, and be the community’s point of contact for activities within their portfolio’s area of responsibility.

Community Boards will continue to play an important role, with representatives from each Community Board sitting on the Climate Change and Environment and Community Facilities and Wellbeing subcommittees, and portfolio leads needing to work closely with them.

“With the new governance structure and clearly defined portfolio leadership roles for Councillors, we’ll be able to see the new Council team take charge of these important issues and hit the ground running after the election,” says Mr Compton.

“I’m the only mayoral candidate who’s put in the hard yards to create a comprehensive and ambitious policy platform. It will allow Kāpiti to address the challenges coming our way, while also enabling us to seize some of the exciting opportunities ahead of us. Council governance has been in clear need of change, and my overhaul will be an important step in ensuring we have a better run Council that is financially responsible, community-focussed, and delivers effective results for the people of Kāpiti.”

Gwynn Compton’s proposed overhaul of Council governance

Changes to the All of Council Committees include moving finance to sit within the audit and risk committee to ensure better alignment between these interconnected areas, especially in light of ill-thought out proposals in recent years such as borrowing money to invest in the share market. Council Reform will be added to the Operations committee, which will have responsibility for overseeing the implementation of recommendations from the Waikanae Library report and the forthcoming operational review into Council. There is also the creation of a Housing and Infrastructure committee that will provide the focus needed to address the growing challenges around housing affordability and social housing shortages, as well as the significant infrastructure and transport, issues facing Kāpiti, both in dealing with growth and managing upgrades of aging Council-owned infrastructure.

ALL OF COUNCIL COMMITTEES:

• Operations and Council Reform

• Finance, Audit, and Risk

• Strategy and Policy

• Housing and Infrastructure

• CEO Performance and Employment Committee

New subcommittees include the creation of a Climate Change and Environment subcommittee, which will be responsible for applying a climate change lens to all of Council’s operations and decisions, as well as overseeing both Kāpiti Coast District Council becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2025, as well as the Kāpiti Coast becoming carbon neutral as a district by 2040 - 10 years ahead of the government’s target for the rest of New Zealand. A new Community Facilities and Wellbeing subcommittee will focus on ensuring that the wellbeing of Kāpiti’s communities - young, old, and everyone in between - is reflected in Council decision making, as well as the availability of suitable community facilities to support them.

SUBCOMMITTEES:

• Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti

• Climate Change and Environment

• Community Facilities and Wellbeing (including representatives from community organisations)

• District Licensing

• Grants Allocation 

• Appeals Hearing

• Campe Estate

Other committees and subcommittees may be established as required to deal with major areas of work, such as the Annual and Long-Term Plan processes as and when they arise. Representatives from each Community Board will also be involved in the subcommittees. 

Eleven new portfolio leads will be established, with Councillors, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor appointed to each of the roles. As per the refreshed Economic Development Strategy currently under development at Council, the Economic Development and Major Projects portfolio lead will be part of the governance group set up to oversee that strategy involving business, iwi, and community leaders, hence why this specific area isn’t explicitly reflected in the name of a specific committee or subcommittee, though it would be covered through both Strategy and Policy Committee and full Council meetings.

PORTFOLIOS:

• Housing

• Infrastructure

• Economic Development and Major Projects

• Climate Change and Environment

• Council Reform

• Community Facilities and Wellbeing

• Revenue and Finance

• Transport

• Māori Partnerships

• Arts and Culture

• Age Friendly Communities

The Public Art Panel will continue in its role, but opportunities to have more public involvement in its deliberations will be investigated with its members.

PANELS

• Public Art Panel

In addition to the above, new regular public reporting requirements will be introduced on key issues facing the district. This is so residents can more easily keep track of the results being delivered by Council in areas such as economic development, climate change, housing and infrastructure, and progress on Council reform.

Harmonious Council? High staff turnover tells different story

Mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says new figures showing Kāpiti Coast District Council’s annual staff turnover is running at nearly twice the New Zealand average for local government put paid to Mayor K Gurunathan’s claims of there being a harmonious Council.

The figures, obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, reveal that Kāpiti Coast District Council’s voluntary turnover rate of 21 percent in the 12 months to 30 June 2019 is nearly twice the national average for local government of 11.5 percent.

“Mayor K Gurunathan is making big claims about Council being more harmonious under his leadership. Councillors might not be slapping each other with wet bus tickets in Code of Conduct hearings anymore, but on the ground Council is going through staff in a situation reminiscent of Nero fiddling while Rome burns,” says Mr Compton.

The high staff turnover figures also reinforce the findings from the report into the Waikanae Library toxic mould debacle, which specifically stated that high staff turnover and the loss of institutional knowledge were significant factors, and that these went “some way to understanding why the scale of the problem at Waikanae Library was not identified.”

“All of this suggests that our elected representatives have let down our community, and Council’s staff, in terms of carrying out their governance duties, especially under section 39 (d) of the Local Government Act, which requires local authorities to be good employers,” says Mr Compton.

“People leaving the organisation at such high rates suggests a toxic culture, which is costing ratepayers money through increased recruitment costs, and a less effectively run Council due to the lack of institutional knowledge and no staff continuity. As Mayor, I’ll use the independent review of Council as a lever to get real change. A well run Council, and one that is also a good employer, is one that will deliver quality services and good outcomes for our community.”

Other incidents undermining Mayor K Gurunathan's claims of harmony during this term include the Mayor getting into a public spat with the Chamber of Commerce over a survey that criticised Council, and residents taking defamation action against him that ended up costing ratepayers at least $10,000.

Kāpiti residential building consents drop, highlights lack of leadership, action, and urgency from Council

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says Statistics New Zealand’s latest residential building consent numbers highlight that the current Council has failed to take meaningful action on housing, took the strong residential consent numbers it inherited for granted, and how fresh leadership is now needed to treat the issue with the urgency it deserves.

Statistics New Zealand’s data on residential building consents to July 2019 shows they are continuing to fall in Kāpiti, now being 27 percent lower compared to the same 12 month period two years ago. Kāpiti’s residential building consent numbers look even worse when, over the same period, Horowhenua’s residential building consents have increased by nearly 30 percent.

“Right at the very moment when we need to see an increase in the number of houses in the pipeline to accommodate the growth being driven by Transmission Gully, our consent numbers are collapsing. It’s evidence of a Council that took previously strong housing growth for granted and has failed to take emerging housing issues seriously,” says Mr Compton.

“Last year, when the July 2018 residential building consent numbers showed a sharp drop of 17 percent over the same 12 month period, Mayor K Gurunathan was dismissive of concerns. That failure to take things seriously is now coming back to bite the Kāpiti Coast with increased demand and reduced supply forcing house prices up beyond the reach of many first home buyers and putting increasing pressure on the rental market too.

“We can’t stop people wanting to move to Kāpiti, and this head in the sand approach from Council where they’ve shown no urgency on housing means we’re behind the eight ball. Housing affordability and social housing shortages are quickly getting worse, and Transmission Gully hasn’t even opened to traffic yet.”

Mayor K Gurunathan may be trumpeting his establishment of the Kāpiti Coast Communities Housing Taskforce as an achievement during his term as Mayor, but Gwynn Compton says the reality is that the Mayor has been missing in action on housing.

“Despite the Kāpiti Coast Communities Housing Taskforce delivering comprehensive recommendations back in July 2017, these have largely been ignored for the past two years by Council. What’s more, the Mayor didn’t even turn up for the taskforce’s most recent public meeting where it was making important decisions about its future direction, focus, and structure.”

“The Council’s failure on housing is further illustrated by the fact they’re now scrambling to get another report delivered from an external consultant just weeks out from the election in an effort to make it look like they’ve done something. It’s simply not good enough,” says Mr Compton.

“What’s needed is real leadership, urgent action, and a Mayor who’ll take the housing crisis seriously. As Mayor, I’ll have a laser focus on addressing our housing issues, whether it’s fixing the problems people experience dealing with Council when trying to build a home, or fighting relentlessly to get the government to play their part in freeing up excess land and providing more affordable and social housing.”

More information on Gwynn Compton’s housing policy is available at www.gwynncompton.co.nz/policies

Ambitious vision of “Coast to Crest” green corridors for Kāpiti

An ambitious “Coast to Crest” series of green corridors that would run the length of the Kāpiti Expressway, as well as linking beach ecosystems to the Tararua ranges using the Waikanae and Ōtaki Rivers and smaller waterways, is at the heart of the environment and open spaces vision unveiled by Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton to keep the district’s green spaces the envy of New Zealand.

“With Kāpiti Island to the west and the Tararuas to the east, the Kāpiti Coast has some of the best and most accessible areas of remaining native forest in the country,” says Mr Compton.

“Even so, there’s more we can do to help support native biodiversity while also having positive benefits for our waterways, controlling noise pollution from the Kāpiti Expressway, and combating climate change - and that’s where my ambitious Coast to Crest green corridors programme would come in.”

With the government’s One Billion Trees programme actively looking for opportunities to support native plantings, Gwynn Compton’s plan calls for Kāpiti Coast District Council to work with Te Uru Rākau (Forestry New Zealand), the New Zealand Transport Agency, other government agencies, Greater Wellington Regional Council, iwi, community groups, and private landowners, to create a series of interconnecting green corridors criss-crossing the district.

The plan is partially based on the successful Green Corridors Range to River programme in the Manawatū, which is working to better connect the Manawatū River to the Tararua ranges via its tributary streams through extensive plantings of native trees and bush.

“Kāpiti already has an enviable reputation for its native environment and the Coast to Crest programme would further build on this by serving as a bridge for reintroducing native biodiversity back into Kāpiti’s communities.

“Kāpiti Coast District Council is ideally placed to act as the lead agency for the Coast to Crest programme. It can help coordinate across a range of government agencies, regional council, iwi, community groups, and private landowners to bring together central government funding and local community know-how to help put native flora and fauna back into the heart of Kāpiti,” says Mr Compton.

Other elements of Gwynn Compton’s environment and open spaces policy include supporting the work of the Wainuiwhenua Working Group in Paekākāriki to ensure Perkins Farm doesn’t get sold off for private development once Transmission Gully is completed, reviewing the Town Centres Project so adequate green space is being preserved for future parks and recreational areas around the Paraparaumu and Waikanae town centres, and looking for opportunities to incorporate outdoor fitness stations along Kāpiti’s beach-side parks, similar to what works so well in other coastal communities around the world.

More information and Gwynn Compton’s full environment and open spaces policy is available at www.gwynncompton.co.nz/policies

Damning Waikanae Library review shows fresh leadership needed at KCDC

The damning review of how Kāpiti Coast District Council failed to handle years of leaky building issues which led to toxic mould at Waikanae Library further shows why fresh leadership is needed at Council and supports the call for a wider review of Council’s asset management practices says mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton.

“This damning review has uncovered systematic failures and hints at a toxic culture within Kāpiti Coast District Council, making it even clearer that fresh leadership is needed to bring about wholesale changes in the organisation,” says Mr Compton.

“The review is forthright in blaming a single-mined pursuit of austerity, poor lines of communication, substandard policies and practices, and issues with high staff turnover at Council that have meant effective and efficient decision making has been sacrificed, with staff feeling unable or unwilling to raise concerns.

“This type of toxic organisational culture is set from the top down, including from elected members, and it is simply not acceptable as it’s costing ratepayers potentially millions of dollars and leads to poor outcomes for our community. The culture at Council has to change and I’ll make sure it changes if I’m elected as Mayor,” says Mr Compton. 

Gwynn Compton also says the report from Morrison Low supports his call for a wider review of Council’s asset management policies and practices, and his recently announced policy for an audit of all Council-owned assets.

“It was apparent back in February when it was revealed 16 years of leaky building issues had been ignored that Council’s asset management policies and practices were rotten, which is why I called at the time for these to be reviewed. I also recently announced that I’ll implement an audit of all Council-owned property to ensure there’s no further issues literally hiding in the woodwork.

“These ongoing and systematic issues within Kāpiti Coast District Council only further reinforces why fresh leadership and a community-led approach are urgently needed. It’s exactly what I’ve promised to bring to the table if I’m elected as Mayor, and I’m looking forward to getting on with the job of fixing our Council.”

Housing consents fall, Kāpiti now more expensive than Porirua and the Hutt Valley

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says the district’s housing crisis is continuing to deepen with QV data showing average house values in Kāpiti are now more expensive than both Porirua and the Hutt Valley. Meanwhile, just released Statistics NZ data shows residential building consents in Kāpiti have fallen to their lowest levels for a six month period since the current Council was elected, and their lowest levels since the first half of 2016, despite consents hitting highs not seen since the 1970s elsewhere in the country.

“We’ve been waiting years for Kāpiti Coast District Council to show leadership in addressing worsening housing affordability, and we’re still waiting to see meaningful action. With the quickly approaching opening of Transmission Gully set to further ramp up the pressure on Kāpiti’s housing stock, we need housing consents to be increasing, not falling,” says Gwynn Compton.

Gwynn Compton says that while the initial signs from Mayor K Gurunathan were promising when he set up the Kāpiti Coast Communities Housing Taskforce in 2017, the lack of follow through on the taskforce’s recommendations since they were delivered to Council two years ago is contributing to locals being squeezed out of Kāpiti by rising rents and property prices.

“We have a situation where urgent action could have and should have been taken in 2017 to get ahead of the growth that was obviously going to come from Transmission Gully. That missed opportunity is now hitting Kāpiti Coasters in the pocket as they have to shell out more and more money just to put a roof over their heads, or face leaving the communities they call home.

“We can’t stop people wanting to move here, so we need to be smart and proactive about how we handle that growth to ensure the Kāpiti Coast remains a community for everyone. It’s why I’ve promised that when I’m elected as Mayor I’ll make it a priority to address Kāpiti’s worsening housing affordability and social housing shortages, as Kāpiti Coasters cannot afford any more delays in dealing with this crisis.”

Gwynn Compton’s plan to deliver real action to address Kāpiti’s housing crisis is available at www.gwynncompton.co.nz/policies

RMA overhaul a good start, but challenge in turning recommendations into reality

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton says news the government is overhauling the Resource Management Act with a focus on delivering more affordable housing is a good start, but the key will be whether any changes make it into law given how politically problematic past attempts at reform have been.

“It’s good to see the government getting things started on overhauling the Resource Management Act and in particular that they’re focussing on how the RMA can be improved to help increase the supply of affordable housing,” says Mr Compton.

“However, history shows us multiple governments have attempted to fix and reform the RMA and those efforts have typically resulted in either minor tinkering that only adds to the complexity of the law, or have floundered on the fraught political seas of the issue.”

Gwynn Compton says these past difficulties in progressing changes to the Resource Management Act reflect the need to balance the views of communities, protections for the environment, while still enabling development to take place.

“The reality is RMA reform is incredibly difficult. It’s vital any changes preserve the ability of communities to have their say on developments that may impact them and continue to have adequate protections our environment, while balancing these against the need to simplify and clarify the law and processes around it to reduce the often onerous cost and time burdens that are required to get resource consents.

“I look forward to the government and the Resource Management Review Panel working closely with local authorities and the communities they represent to make sure the overhaul of the RMA delivers practical recommendations that can be turned into reality, rather than being another missed turn on the perilous road of RMA reform.”

Diverse economy, more jobs, higher wages at heart of economic development plan

With road infrastructure projects winding down in the next two years, Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton has announced his economic development plan which seeks to create a more diverse economy by backing local businesses to deliver more jobs and higher wages.

“Kāpiti has benefitted immensely in the past six years from the construction of the expressway and Transmission Gully, but looking ahead we face a significant challenge to maintain economic growth as these massive infrastructure projects wind down,” says Mr Compton.

“We can’t go back to just being dependent on the aged-care and retail sectors, hoping tourists see us as a coffee stop, or waiting for the next big transport project to arrive. We need to do more to back Kāpiti’s businesses so they can grow, deliver more jobs and higher wages, and create new opportunities for locals.”

Gwynn Compton’s plan calls for the creation of a new contestable Economic Development Fund that will assist growing businesses by co-funding resources, projects, and training where doing so will help deliver new jobs and higher wages. It also seeks to ensure the currently underway refresh of Kāpiti Coast District Council’s Economic Development Strategy is completed and implemented using a community-led governance model that will help oversee the Economic Development Fund.

“Over the past two years I’ve been involved in helping Kāpiti’s entrepreneurs and community groups as they’ve worked to take their business or project idea to the next level. One of the biggest hurdles for them has been the lack of any locally focussed fund that can help them access things like facilitators, project managers, training, and other resources. This is where small grants from an Economic Development Fund would make a huge difference,” says Mr Compton.

“Another significant hurdle has been the lack of a functioning economic development strategy, with the previous strategy having been largely discarded and discredited long before it expired in 2018. It’s why it’s vital that the refresh of the Economic Development Strategy continues to have the backing of the community, as we can’t create a vibrant and diverse economy that provides opportunities for everyone if we don’t have a community-led plan to get there.”

Gwynn Compton has also flagged that he intends to review the Town Centres Project to make sure it’s still fit for purpose and is delivering genuine value for Kāpiti’s communities and ratepayers. He also supports the scaling back of the proposed Kāpiti Island Gateway Centre and biosecurity check-in facility at Paraparaumu Beach to a smaller and more sensible option than the hugely expensive $15 million proposal that has previously been bandied about by Council.

In his Economic Development Plan, Gwynn Compton has also indicated he is supportive of initiatives such as the development of a National Whale Museum and Marine Discovery Centre in Kāpiti, as well as re-opening the recently closed i-SITE in a suitable location that works better for visitors to the district.

Other economic development initiatives Gwynn Compton intends to pursue include working with government to identify opportunities for more departments to locate new teams out on the Kāpiti Coast - similar to the Police Digital Communications Centre, expanding the ongoing work with iwi to support Māori businesses and to better tell and celebrate Kāpiti’s rich Māori heritage, and build on the successful Kāpiti Arts Trail to create a broader “Creative Coast” year-round programme of events to support both the arts trail and highlight Kāpiti’s creative sector.

“Backing local businesses to deliver more jobs, higher wages, and new opportunities for Kāpiti Coasters will help create the sustainable and diverse economy we need to ensure Kāpiti remains the best place in New Zealand to live, work, and raise a family for years to come.”

Gwynn Compton’s full economic development policy is available at www.gwynncompton.co.nz/policies

Gwynn Compton announces ambitious transport plan to better connect Kāpiti

Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton has unveiled an ambitious transport plan that would see Kāpiti’s communities better connected with each other as well as the rest of the Wellington region.

Kāpiti’s road transport links are set to improve significantly with the opening of Transmission Gully and the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway in the next two years, so in response Gwynn Compton’s plan has been built around fighting to get more public transport for the district - such as the extension of commuter rail to Ōtaki - and investing in expanding and improving Kāpiti’s network of shared cycling, riding, and walking pathways.

“The Kāpiti Coast has benefitted from a sizeable investment in road transport with the Kāpiti Expressway and Transmission Gully, but what’s been lacking over that time is a corresponding investment in meaningful improvements to public transport. Fast, frequent, reliable, and accessible public transport is a key part of any commuter network, and there’s a clear and growing need for regional and central government to step up and invest in this space,” says Mr Compton.

With Gwynn Compton’s petition calling for the extension of commuter rail services to Ōtaki already building up a head of steam, his transport plan includes proposals which look to build better connections for all of Kāpiti’s communities.

“When Transmission Gully opens, we’re going to have an influx of people moving to Kāpiti because they see the district as a viable destination from which to commute into Wellington,” says Mr Compton.

“This is why I’m championing the extension of commuter rail to Ōtaki. Not only would this spur a range of improvements to the Wellington rail network that will help enable faster and more frequent trains to operate from Kāpiti into Wellington, but it will also provide better connections to jobs, education, healthcare, and other essential services for people from Ōtaki and further north.”

Other elements of Gwynn Compton’s plan call for connecting all of Kāpiti’s communities to a network of shared cycling, riding, and walking pathways, properly sealed and separated from road traffic where practical.

“The shared pathway alongside the new Expressway is a great start, but we need to continue to invest in improving and expanding our shared pathway network. I want to see every town and village on the Kāpiti Coast connected to a shared pathway network by 2030, including having better connections running east and west of the main Expressway north-south shared pathway.”

Given the regional nature of much of transport funding, Gwynn Compton is promising to be a strong advocate for Kāpiti to get more bus shelters built, explore options to expand the MonthlyPlus pass scheme to also include bus travel for those holding 10 trip train tickets so as to take pressure of rail commuter car parking, and to lobby for Kāpiti’s Metlink bus fleet to be fully electric by 2025.

Gwynn Compton’s plan also calls for the rollout of more electric vehicle charging stations around the district to encourage the take up of electric vehicles and cater for growing demand. He also intends to back the Finish our Road campaign to have a full interchange built at Peka Peka as to avoid Waikanae’s roads being filled with more traffic, as well as to ensure Peka Peka and Te Horo aren’t cut off from the rest of the Kāpiti Coast when the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway opens.

Full details of Gwynn Compton’s transport plan can be found at www.gwynncompton.co.nz/policies