Gulf News has asked candidates for the Waiheke Local Board a series of questions about how they work, their goals and their opinions on key local issues. Answers from seven of the twelve Waiheke Local Board candidates are included in this article. Russ Chambers, Robin Tucker, Blair Anderson and Greg Wyatt had not responded to our questions in time for this week’s publication. Jim Hannan is also standing.
This week’s questions are:
1. What would be your top priority if elected?
2. What signs of progress would you hope to be able to show towards that within the first six months?
3. What else do you hope to have achieved by the end of your term?
4. What can you do on the local board, or council, to address the impacts of climate change on Waiheke?
Bianca Ranson
1. My top priority is listening to our community to advocate for, and amplify, their voices for an active, inclusive, diverse and healthy island. I am committed to working with other board members that the community chooses in their interests to represent them and Waiheke.
2. During the first six months as a first-time local board member I look forward to having established a strong working relationship with other board members and having a robust understanding of local board governance and processes. I also look forward to learning from the returning more experienced board members.
3. Collecting and composting food scraps or para kai means less rubbish goes to the off-island landfill. Food scraps can be put to good use and turned into compost for home and community gardens. The increased cost of living and our need for food resilience on Waiheke means there is an opportunity for us to better manage this resource. A key goal of mine by the end of this term is for Waiheke to manage food waste on-island.
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
