The Chatter sat down with newly-elected Waikato District Council Mayor Aksel Bech; although tight for time in his meeting-packed first fortnight; here’s what he said.
You won by an unprecedented majority, what does this mean for you?
More than anything I take this as mandate – residents and ratepayers want to see changes. And the majority says “get on with it” and that’s exactly what we will do!
Why do you think so many people voted for you?
Right across the District, and more than anything, the unaffordability of rates was the number one issue. We’ve now heard that rates is a prime driver of inflation in NZ -and along with rising costs of insurance, fuel and groceries people just needed to see rates affordability as a major focus of council. I also hope my prior experience as Deputy Mayor and focus on strengthening community empowerment was part of people’s decision!
Your campaign slogan was a challenge – ‘for rates sake”; can you expand on that?
It’s an acknowledgement that all council spending has to be reviewed with a view of increased affordability. We have to look at the way in which services are delivered – with a focus on increased shared services with our neighbouring councils who do the same thing for their residents as we do. And we must make sure we are actually delivering what our people need and can afford to pay for.
Ultimately rates must go up by less than household incomes or we will continue to go backwards. That’s no easy task and won’t happen overnight -but we can’t have rate increases hurting the very people we mean to serve. And we are here to deliver to our ratepayers, not to treat them as a bank.
And what about improving community participation; how’s that going to work?
I truly believe that those that live in a community know that community best. Not me and certainly not our MP’s down in Wellington; it’s locals who know their own places and spaces the best.
So let’s give as much decision-making power as possible to those communities, and I ‘m confident they will do a better, quicker and cheaper job than anyone else could.
Right from the get-go we will start delegating, to the local Ward Councillors working alongside their community committees and boards, the ability to decide things like new road names (in subdivisions), renewal of community facility leases (like club rooms on council land etc), and distribution of discretionary funding as seed or smaller project starter funds without the need to go back to Council for further permissions.
And what projects get done is of course decided by community itself. Let’s start there and see how much further we can go with that!
Realistically, you need time to get your councillors aligned and up to speed. But what can we expect to see before the next rates decisions in May next year?.
True, but we do have just three new councillors, with 10 returning, so the job is a little easier than you might expect. And we are all acutely aware of the challenges around affordability that we face, so there’s already good alignment.
By May 2026 I am working to see more shared services announced with consequent savings in staffing costs. Expect a thorough review in how we operate with a focus on more delegation.
And expect to see a review of all deferred capital projects and immediately planned ones to ensure we are looking at the right priorities for our communities. It is my hope we can stop these run-away rates in their tracks; but I know it won’t be easy. We’ve got some hard decisions to bring back to communities, and that’s where your feedback is crucial. We’ll also be working to make that feedback simpler for you.
If you had one thing to say to Waikato district residents, what would that be?
Thank you for your mandate and belief we can work out way to greater community say in the things that matter AND greater rates affordability. I, and my councillors, take that very seriously and we will be putting all our energies towards that. It might not happen immediately, but I can assure you it will be the litmus test for everything we do in looking for greater efficiencies within the council that will result in better outcomes for our communities
Finally, you have teenage children; how’s this workload going to affect your family life?
Our youngest is finishing school this year, with just exams to go, then off to Canterbury for University next year. Our son is already at Uni also and our eldest daughter working in mental health support at Waikato Hospital – so actually, my wife Susan and I are about to become empty nesters!
In that sense, taking on the role of mayor comes at the right time for us as a family – and I look forward to giving it the time it needs without being conscious of the kids needing me at home….because they won’t be home anyway!
To those who voted for me, thank you. And to those who didn’t – or didn’t vote at all- be assured my councillors and I will be working hard to make real changes to make Waikato a place everyone can be proud to call home
