8TH August 2025

Kia Ora and thanks for coming along to this campaign launch.

It’s hard to match in a political speech the stunning  performance you just heard from Amen, Taemen and Mira from our Nelson College for Girls.

They are a reminder the talents our city has amongst the next generation, the growing diversity of our population and the importance of the creative sector to the identity of our city.

I want to begin tonight by acknowledging those who have formally nominated and seconded me, Murray Sturgeon and Alison McAlpine.  I describe them as my fairy godparents – albeit I’m not sure how good Murray would look as a fairy in a tutu.

These two special Nelsonains epitomise so much that is good about this city.  I feel the responsibility that comes with their nomination to nurture those values as I seek a second term as Mayor.

I also want to thank the capable team led by Gary Stocker that are running my election campaign. Two special thankyous to Karen Lane who has organised tonight’s function and my wife Linley. Karen is a generous friend, a supremo event organiser and so knowledgeable of our city and region.

Linley is, as that beautiful song says, ”the wind beneath my wings”.   She is not just a wonderful wife but the commercial lead for exports at Nelson’s biggest seafood company and the voluntary Chair of Nelson’s Miyazu Sister City Assn. She does this city proud as Mayoress.

Last month the Nelson City Council, the fourth oldest in our country, marked 150 years of democratic governance. I am its 30th Mayor. Some barely lasted a year, some like the legendary Peter Malone served for 12 years. Each just becomes a footnote in history. Tonight is not about me but about what sort of future we want for our city.

There is much that has been achieved since 2022. I said three years ago that the greatest challenge for our city was the repairs following the worst disaster to hit Nelson in 50 years. I am proud of the job Council has done in sorting the dozens of damaged homes and getting our city’s infrastructure fixed.

A major issue in 2022 was the Government’s plans to take from our city its three waters assets worth over $800 million. I pledged to use all my political skills to prevent Nelson being put in a new entity with Wellington, a basket case in respect of water, that would end up costing Nelson ratepayers dearly. Council this week signed off on its Local Water Down Well Plan which secures this core infrastructure.

There are many other areas we have got good stuff done like getting the Elma Turner Library repaired and reopened, getting more community houses built, improving underground infrastructure all over the city, doubling the use of public transport with the new e-Bus service, cleaning up the 10,000  tonne of contaminated waste at Tahunanui Beach, and reducing Greenhouse gas emissions from the landfill by 40,000 tonne a year.

I am particularly pleased with the results from my advocacy work as Mayor under both the previous and current government. The $12 million for the storm recovery work, the $1.6 million for the new Beach Surf Club, the $500 million plus for the hospital redevelopment, the $3.4 million for the beach cleanup, the $5 million for the rain radar, the $9 million for improving flood protection from the Maitai River.

There are three measures of Councils performance that show we are heading in the right direction. Council independently surveys each year residents views. Satisfaction with Council in 2022 was at a low of 51%. It improved to 54% in 2023 and 60% last year. The Nelson City Council had the top overall rating of the 18 Councils that used the same Key Research survey. Independent polling by Curia confirms this positive trend with Council’s rating as average or above increasing from 52% in June 2022 to 72% in June 2025.

The credit for these results can be shared by the full Council. It has worked much more constructively as a team this term. Council was wasting tens of thousands of ratepayers money on Code of Conduct disputes – six in the last term and four in the term prior. There has been none these last three years.

Elections, though, are not about the past but the future and tonight I want to talk about some of the things I want to help achieve over the next three years.

My top priority is on city revitalization and economic recovery.

Council needs to improve the infrastructure and vibrancy of the central city.  We need to attract more businesses and facilitate development.

I want us to step up our Nelson tourism promotion. I believe Council made an error in closing the iSite in 2021 but I have not been able to garner the support yet around the Council table to re-open it. It needs a new format in the information age but tourism is a people business that needs a human face.

I am excited about the potential of NMIT now we have won the battle for its reestablishment and local governance. Council needs to partner with NMIT on promoting Nelson as a great place to study.

I have long made plain my ambitions to grow Nelson’s blue economy and links with the sea.  Council yesterday committed to developing a masterplan for the development of our beautiful waterfront around Wakefield Quay extending the work I did 20 years ago with the Nelson 2000 Trust.

We will next year open new boat lifts – 650 tonne at the port and 110 tonne at the marina. Our city has this week hosted the NZ Seafood Conference and next week the Aquaculture Conference, and it is these industries that offer Nelson huge opportunities. The Government has announced a policy of developing long term strategic partnerships called Regional Deals, and my ambition in the next three years is to conclude such a deal centred on growing our Blue Economy. It is Nelson’s competitive advantage.

It will also not surprise you that I will continue to advocate for doing more with our neighbouring Tasman Council. I initiated a Joint Regional Transport Committee in 2022 and will pursue further areas of joint activities, of which with the Government’s RMA reforms, planning and resource management is an obvious candidate. My preference remains a full merger.

These and many other ideas are included on our campaign website that goes live today and a flyer for all households. I thank the many generous volunteers that have agreed to help deliver these 23,000 flyers over the next month.

I want to conclude tonight with a specific campaign initiative – the UNDER FIVE RATES PLEDGE.

The biggest issue for Nelsonians, as for New Zealand right now, is the cost of living. Statistics New Zealand noted last month that the largest contribution to inflation in the last year was Council rates.

Nelson rate increases have been lower than most Councils over the past three years, despite the huge cost of the August ’22 storm damage, but we need to work harder at getting efficiencies and savings.

Tonight, I am signing a pledge that I will not in each of the next three years support a rate increase in excess of 5% except in an extraordinary event like a natural disaster.

Councils do navigate a difficult balance between investing sufficiently to progress their city or district while keeping rates affordable for families and businesses. I am confident we can make the investments Nelson needs in infrastructure and revitalising the city while keeping rate increases under 5%.

I am wanting to lead a directional change in rates policy in Nelson. They increased by 38% in the last decade, two and half times the inflation rate of 15%. My long term goal is for rate increases to be in line with inflation and our cities growth. This change is going to require hard work by both elected members and staff but it is needed to support a more affordable and successful future for our city.

I cannot achieve this 5% rates cap alone as the Mayor is just one vote around the Council table. That is why I am also inviting any Council candidate that wishes to, to join in making this Under Five Rates Pledge. Council candidates supporting the Under Five Pledge are not endorsing my mayoral candidacy nor am I endorsing them. But we will be committing to a common policy position. It will help electors make their choice about and it will help set a clear direction for the next term of Council.

This policy is also about making Nelson an attractive place to live and a great city for business and investment. Many Councils are planning double digit rate rises for years. I want part of Nelson’s competitive advantage to be the city where rate rises are under control and less than 5%.

I love serving as this city’s Mayor, advocating for it, helping people, backing local businesses and making Council work better.

Linley and I are so proud to call Nelson home. We love its creative spirit, its diverse businesses, its caring community, its active lifestyle and its natural beauty.

We are committed to giving it our all to make it even better.

I seek your help over the next nine weeks to help win this election.

The prize we are campaigning for is a revitalised city, a pro-growth Council and affordable rates.

Nga mihi nui.