This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability.
Aaron: In the studio I’ve got Chris Rayner. Good morning, Chris. You’re running for a third term on the board?
Chris: That’s correct.
Aaron: Tell us about that decision. Was it an easy decision to make?
Chris: Relatively. There’s still quite a bit to do–in terms of getting the land-based wastewater discharge over the line, which has been a focus for the last six years. Even before my time on the community board, I’ve been championing a transformation of our wastewater system.
We’ve got the MBR plant up and running now, which produces what they call “new water.” It’s not sewage–it’s one step short of potable water.
Aaron: It doesn’t look like sewage water. We’ve seen it
Chris: We’re excited to try and get a land-based discharge over the line.
Aaron: When you started, how easy did you think that was going to be?
Chris: I knew that was a massive challenge. It’s been ongoing in the community for over 30+ years. It took a lot of goodwill from Council, Watercare, and an active community board–and a ton of meetings.
Aaron: There’s criticism about councils using consultants–all talk and no action. How important do you think the talk was?
Chris: Extremely important. If you look at the journey over the last six years, you had guys like John and Malibu who got the ball rolling. We were up front taking it to Council, and others stepped in to work alongside. It takes both roles. Hats off to John and Malibu for the role they’ve played over the last 20 years.
Aaron: Yeah, and Malibu’s no longer with us–which is an indication of how long this has been going on.
Did I interrupt you when you were talking about why you came back? You were mentioning things you want to do.
Chris: There are a lot of what you could call growing pains. We’d all love to see Raglan stay the way it is or the way it was, but growth is happening–around the country and around the world. How do we manage that growth in a sustainable, ecological, environmental, and community-focused way?
Over the next three years, which will be my last term on the community board, the focus will be on growth–how we manage and structure our surroundings to handle it, how we integrate new members of the community, and also transport.
The big elephant in the room is the pressure on the one-way bridge. We’re looking into an arterial, inland route. It hasn’t been worked out yet; there are only draft strategies in transport planning. But at some point in the next 20 years, we’ll have to seriously consider an inland route to connect Te Hutewai, and eventually Maungatāwhiri, Te Hutewaii and Wainui Roads.
Aaron: So that’s something likely to come off State Highway 23.
Chris: Nothing definite has been identified, but the idea is probably somewhere on Maungatawhiri or State Highway 23.
Aaron: And goes through Rangitahi, or the top of Rangatahi?
Chris: If you look at the Waikato Growth 2070 plan, there are a few different growth nodes highlighted. That’s the big-picture, 50-year planning document that feeds into all the other plans. You see most of the growth nodes are on the western side of town, where you’ve got Koning land, Peacock land, or Raglan land company land. Those are the 10, 20, 30-year growth nodes.
We need to build resilience instead of being reliant on one one-way bridge. In the event of a major accident or climate catastrophe, we actually need an inland route to provide resilience for our community.
Aaron: A question I’ve been asking all the returning people: what do you feel you’ve achieved over the last three years? I know that’s challenging, because as a community board there’s often talk about the lack of power the board actually has.
Chris: Obviously for me personally, wastewater has been my major focus. We convinced Watercare and Council to separate the discharge from the treatment–pushing ahead with the treatment plant upgrade while we were still working on the discharge. That’s not normally how it’s done, and you would have heard people say you never do it that way. But we pushed hard for the MBR upgrade. We wanted the best treated water possible and said the projects had to be separated: one for discharge and one for treatment. Start the treatment now, because if we waited to solve the discharge first, we’d be years behind on the treatment.
Aaron: We were already past due date with the old resource consent, so we had to update the plant anyway.
Chris: That was a big win. And because the treatment is now so good, we can explore a discharge at Wainui Reserve that wasn’t in the initial research.
In general, the community board has a good standing with Council. We can say how it is–but in a polite way. If I send an email now, they don’t brush us off like they might have six years ago, when it felt like talking to a brick wall. Now, after building relationships, we can represent the community more effectively, call Council out on things constructively.
That’s probably the biggest change. There have been little things too: upgrades to the wharf, tweaks here and there, getting State Highway revocated. But the main thing is the respect between the board and Council. Before I got on, it felt confrontational–staff would dismiss the board. Now there’s a much higher level of mutual respect and a real working relationship.
Aaron: I’ve got one sticky question I have to ask. There was a complaint from people at Ruāpuke about your presentation to do with the rally. There’s a bylaw about rallies, and they complained to Council itself, saying that your verbal presentation didn’t represent the written submission or the wider community’s views about rallies in the area.
Chris: I know there’s a strong anti-rally lobby–very vocal. But there’s also a large group in this community who thank me for speaking up for the rally. They say, “We don’t have time to make submissions.”
In any issue–rally or otherwise–the people against something organise and speak out, while supporters often stay quiet. But you saw when the World Rally Championship was here: downtown was full, businesses were packed, and it was the off-season. Families were out–even some who had objected were there looking at the rally cars.
Honestly, the World Rally Championship has been part of Raglan my whole adult life, and even when I was a child. There are thousands of people in this town, hundreds who support having the rally.
Aaron: Council said you didn’t do anything wrong in the technical sense–how you presented. There’s no expectation that, in ten minutes you can’t verbally cover everything in a much longer written submission. I think the question was whether you represented that part of the community objecting to the rally, to the point where they’d even formed a group.
Chris: There was opposition, yes, and they had their advocates within Council. I’m pretty sure Lisa was a strong advocate for the anti-rally group. I felt it was only fair that I spoke up for those who maybe don’t beat their drums so loudly but really enjoy having the World Rally Championship in Raglan.
I had support from people at Te Mata School, from the local chemist–lots of people. I won’t run through everyone, but there were a tonne who came up to me privately and were very happy with my advocacy for the rally.
Aaron: Right, I just thought I needed to bring that up–it kind of had to be done. Let’s move on. Rates have been a big topic this election, partly because the Taxpayers’ Union has run a very effective national campaign to push the phrase “back to basics.” How do you feel about the debate around rates and their cost?
Chris: I’m behind on my rates, [laughs] and that’s because they’re expensive. They’re hurting a lot of people. But I think the Taxpayers’ Union campaign is completely misleading. The whole “back to basics” idea isn’t going to cut it. You might strip out extras and save maybe $50 a year–but my rates bill is over $10,000.
When you look at Council’s actual spending, the majority goes on water, roads, and debt servicing.
Aaron: So yours is at least double mine–because you’ve got a business on your property. It’s a large plot of land, right? Residential, but with a homestay going on? I was just wondering, because that seemed really high.
Chris: It’s just a large plot of land. I also put up a second dwelling, so there are two. But there needs to be a balancing act. My personal opinion is that the whole local government system in New Zealand is broken. We’ve got so much duplication across regional, district, and city councils.
The income stream for councils is ridiculous–rates, consents, parking fines–that’s it. There needs to be a massive overhaul and relook, maybe even considering a unitary body or council. Just trying to cut out a few small pieces of Council’s spend isn’t going to solve the problem. Debt servicing will keep growing.
Aaron: The same government that’s talking about capping rates has been super critical of the local body system. Chris Bishop turned up and behaved like a drunk guy who realised he was at the wrong party–he just abused everyone and left.
Chris: At some point it’s going to come to a head. I don’t know how that will look, but it will. They tried to do a major review of the local government system, but when the government changed it was just thrown out. It’s something that’s going to be ongoing.
Aaron: My worry is that behind this campaign the government wants more control, taking power from councils. Grabbing power for themselves. My concern with any change to local government is that we lose local contact. I think the community board works well as a forum where people can come and be heard, and I’d be worried we’d lose that.
Chris: Personally, I’d like to see community boards empowered and grow, and regional councils take over roading and water responsibilities from district councils. District councils become a bit of a minnow, handling things like swimming pools and libraries. Right now it’s duplication.
That’s just my personal opinion–I’m not the reviewer of local government [laughs]. But I do think reform is needed. I’d even consider directing part of GST into local government funding, which is what they do in other countries like Canada.
Aaron: That’s something the ACT Party said–I thought, “Oh, the ACT Party had a good idea.”
Chris: Yeah. National just bumped GST from 12.5% to 15% last time they were in power. That extra 2.5% really should have gone to local government.
These are just ideas, but in my next–and last–three years on the community board, I’ll be throwing things out there for future focus. Whether it’s transport, urban planning, or the future of local government, I want to encourage young, dynamic candidates to step up for the next election.
Aaron: Is it easy for a young person to be on the board? There’s issues of having time. With the chair’s role, it often ends up being a retired person, because they have the time. You get a bit of money, but the workload is huge. Being chair could be a full-time job.
Chris: You really need someone who has the time to do that role–whether they’re self-employed, have a partner working, or are a stay-at-home parent.
Aaron: Could you do that role? Would you like to? I’ve asked Dennis and Ross, who are both returning, and they’ve said they can.
Chris: Undecided. That’s a discussion I’ll have with the new board if I get re-elected. Me and Dennis and Ross have talked about how we could share the role a bit more. There’s a lot of driving over to Ngāruawāhia to attend meetings.
Aaron: Well, you’ve been doing that anyway, haven’t you?
Chris: Yes, I’ve been deputy chair and have tried to help Dennis as much as possible. We’ll see after the election where the cards fall, who’s in and who’s out, and then we’ll have those discussions I think.
Aaron: One of the things that frustrates me about the rates debate is that it takes the focus away from vision. I like to know that the people representing us have a vision for the community–or at least understand the community’s vision.
Not that any community has a single coherent vision, but what’s this community about, from your perspective? We think we’re fairly unique here, that we’re special. What is it that’s unique about this community that you, as a representative, should keep in mind when making decisions?
Chris: I’m not sure how much you travel around the country, but if you go to any other town of similar size, we punch above our weight. Let’s be honest–whether it’s entertainment, arts and music, surfing, sport, kite surfing, or innovative businesses like Raglan Coconut Yoghurt or Dreamview, I haven’t been to another small town of three or three and a half thousand residents that have this level of ingenuity, activities and entertainment.
Keeping that active vibe and room for innovation is important. One thing I’d like to see is more opportunities for new businesses across multiple innovative sectors, so we’re not just a tourist town. When we’ve had workshops and meetings with Council planners, I’ve said: “You’ve got all these pretty plans for new residential areas, but where’s the light industrial? Where’s the commercial? Where can someone put up a shed to start an innovative business?”
That’s what planning discussions should include–creating space for innovation and employment. We don’t just want Raglan to be a town full of fancy holiday homes.
Aaron: When I was interviewing Satnam, we were talking about rents in town–the commercial rents. That was a board discussion a few months ago too. And the issue is we do have some land zoned commercial, but there are just houses on it. Someone actually has to actually go and build. How do we encourage that?
Chris: It takes developers or property owners with vision to step up and do it. If more land close to the CBD was earmarked as future commercial, or if it had an easy pathway to rezone from residential to semi-commercial or home office, that would help.
We need to make those pathways for property owners to create different uses of their land so we have more productive use of close, flat land near the CBD. Someone in a commercial zone might not want to change their property, and that’s fine–it’s been their house as long as it’s been their house. But another person might be keen as mustard to turn their house into a commercial lot. The key is making those pathways easier for those who want to develop and innovate.
Aaron: What about the future–there have been suggestions of massive population growth through to 2070 – competing suggestions with very different numbers. Where do you see the town going? If Raglan doubles in size, what’s that going to mean?
Chris: Obviously, it will mean more services. One of the big things coming up is stormwater. We’ve almost resolved wastewater, but stormwater runoff is becoming the next major polluter of the harbour. John talked about that recently, because the stormwater runoff is probably going to become the next highest polluter into the harbour.
More people means more cars, more stormwater, more runoff. Protecting the harbour and building on the good work done before us is a focus of mine. Any new development needs strong controls on sediment runoff during subdivision construction. There needs to be really strict environmental controls for runoff.
I’m also pushing Council to prosecute anyone who illegally connects wastewater into the stormwater system. That happened recently, and it’s unacceptable.
Aaron: That was a new build, wasn’t it? I used to be in the building industry–I can’t understand how that happened.
Chris: I can’t either. Whether it was the inspector, the plumber, the drainlayer–all of them. It needs a proper investigation and a wrap across the knuckles. We need to send a message that this can’t happen.
Aaron: Do we think that was responsible for the spikes in E. coli near the museum over the last few years?
Chris: Potentially. I haven’t seen the final reports, but there’s definitely seepage–whether from new connections, old connections, or pipes–that now needs to be the focus. We have to get it right so we can keep the harbour in beautiful condition and keep improving it.
Aaron: I might have asked you this last time–you do some DJing at venues around town. Are you still doing that? Your favourite venue isn’t there anymore.
Chris: I know. I just played the Powderkeg in Ohakune on Saturday night. That was pretty cool.
Aaron: So that makes you a kind of youth representative–though you’re not so young anymore.
Chris: I do hang out with some of the younger people.
Aaron: My question is, are younger people even aware we have an election coming up?
Chris: Barely. [laughs] Occasionally.
Aaron: This district is famous for only about 30% of people voting. What’s the vibe out there at the moment?
Chris: It’s pretty funny to get some of the younger people engaged. A lot feel it’s restrictive here–the YOT Club closed down, and there isn’t a huge amount of entertainment. There is a significant amount of good music in Raglan, but everything closes pretty early compared to what people are used to. So there are lots of house parties instead.
That creates an ongoing discussion: the noise from house parties versus the need for people to gather, socialise, and have entertainment. With the YOT Club gone, it’s been taken out of a controlled environment and is now scattered around town in different places, often without any noise proofing.
Aaron: That’s an interesting debate. When there’s a venue, everyone pours out afterwards, and it becomes a hotspot for issues. But without a venue, people are going to party anyway.
Chris: Right
Aaron: So what’s the best option?
Chris: I supported the YOT Club extending its opening hours to 2am, with a half-hour wind-down and no alcohol served–just letting the music taper off. That didn’t gain traction, so I dropped it.
But the fact is, people–young and old–want to dance and listen to music. It’s part of social cohesion. In New Zealand, we don’t put enough value on the social benefit of nightlife. It’s always seen as harm: people drinking, causing problems.
But nightlife is also about connection. This is the thing we don’t put a lot of value on in New Zealand. You go to the pub, play pool, meet people you’ve never met, chat with people from different backgrounds and experiences. That kind of human interaction is important–we can’t all just live in our bubbles and sit at home.
Aaron: Isn’t it interesting? That touches on the government getting rid of the “social wellbeings”–what they called nice-to-haves. They say councils should just do pipes, roads, and rubbish. But when people come to the community board, they treat you like leaders in the community – you’re not just in charge of pipes and roads and rubbish.
They expect you to care about everything, including wellbeing. Dancing, for example–it’s a very human thing, every culture throughout history has done it. So is it the community board’s job to think about these things?
Chris: I think so, even though we don’t have a huge amount of power. What we can do is advocate, and that’s what we’ve tried to do in the two boards I’ve been part of. We’ve focused heavily on advocacy–making submissions on government bills, advocating to Council, having those contacts or submitting to Regional Council.
Individuals don’t always have the time to make submissions, but when a community board does, it carries a bit more weight. We usually get speaking rights. I even spoke to the representation review, trying to convince them to change the wards–because we’re included in the Taranaki–King Country ward, and I said, “We’re not part of Taranaki or King Country. We’re part of Waikato.” Obviously it didn’t go anywhere, but we made the case.
Behind the scenes, community board members have been writing submissions, sharing drafts within the group, making changes, and then sending them off. We hope that advocacy is effective in some way.
Aaron: We’ve gone past 10 o’clock, so it’s time to wrap up. I’ll give everyone the chance to do their pitch–tell listeners why they should vote for you. Before you go.
Chris: Oh I didn’t know [laughs].
Aaron: [laughs] I like to catch you off guard.
Chris: I’ve been on the board for the last six years, and deputy chair for the last three. I think I’ve been relatively effective. One of my main focuses is protecting the harbour, and that work never stops.
When issues come up, I like to think I can sit down with people–whether at Council or in the community–hear all sides of the argument, and then advocate for what we can realistically achieve. I get along with people across the political divide, because I don’t see the community board’s role as party-political. It’s about advocating for the community, solving problems, and laying a pathway forward so we can keep moving together as a community.