Te Awamutu Kihikihi Community Board
Liam Bullen – 2025
Liam Bullen – Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board
1. Should councillors sit on the two community boards or should it be just those elected to the board by the public for that specific role? (50 words)
No – Councillors should not sit on community boards as they are not elected for this role. Not having councillors will better enable the community board to independently hold the Council accountable, challenge its decisions and be a strong advocate for the community.
2. Would you support a Māori ward seat on the community boards? (50 words)
Yes – if registered Māori voters support there being a seat on the community board and there is at least one person willing to run for it.
3. Should the central business district be the main hub for retail and business or should the 15 minute neighbourhood strategy in Ahu Ake be adopted? (50 words)
The CBD should be the main hub for retail and business so that everything is all one place. Te Awamutu and Kihikihi are not big enough to support the 15 minute neighbourhood strategy.
4. Community board chairs sat in on annual plan, long term plan and other council business during this term. Is that a good thing or it doesn’t go far enough? Te Kanohi representatives have speaking and voting rights at committee meetings, should community board chairs be allowed to have that also? (50 words)
It is a good thing that community board chairs sat in on those. Allowing the community board chairs to have speaking and voting rights at committee meetings would enable the community to be better represented in those meetings and part of the decision-making.
5. In the case of the Blue Blob in Cambridge and the Kihikihi Cycleway, the community boards weren’t consulted before it was too late. Should community boards be more involved at an earlier stage? (50 words)
Yes – the Kihikihi Cycleway affects a large part of Kihikihi. The community boards and community should have been much more involved at an earlier stage and I suspect this would have resulted in a different outcome and/or design.
6. A member of the Cambridge Community Board was on the earlier Cambridge Connections project group but was sworn to secrecy and unable to report back to the board. Was that fair? (50 words)
No – the Cambridge Connections project group should be a transparent process and the community should be informed of progress. I am running for the Te Awamutu/ Kihikihi Community Board, so I support an efficient process that does create too much of a financial burden on Te Awamutu and Kihikihi residents.
7. Community advisors were appointed during Covid and the position still exists today. Should they report more regularly through to community boards? (50 words)
Yes – this will allow the community boards to be more engaged with the community.
8. What sort of decisions could community boards be involved with to take away pressure on councillors? More delegated authority? (50 words)
Decisions that affect localised pockets of the community as the boards can connect with these people to determine what they want for their area. This could include playgrounds, design of infrastructure to ensure it works for that community and the best use of public spaces such as the Kihikihi Domain.
9. Should community boards have more funding available for discretionary grants? (50 words)
No – given the recent rates rises, any extra spending should be carefully considered and only undertaken if approved by the community. The fund is a great tool but needs to be used wisely. If the community overwhelmingly wanted more funding available then I would support it.
10. Do you believe Waipā District Council should continue to have community boards? (50 words)
Yes – community boards are an effective means of engaging with the community. The community boards can act independently and hold the Council accountable in its decision-making on behalf of the community. The Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board needs to better represent the community and that’s why I am running.
