This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and readability.
Aaron: What do you feel you’ve achieved over the last three years? Over the last two years?
Lisa Thomson: Well, actually, I’ve been reflecting on the last three years. I’ve been reflecting on what we have achieved – and I go back further than three years, because a lot of the work we do doesn’t just happen quickly.
When I stood for the Raglan Community Board back in 2015, I stood on a platform saying I looked forward to the day it was only the surf pumping in the moana and not treated wastewater.
And we are one step away from that as you know. This year we have just pushed the ‘Go’ button, we opened our new wastewater treatment plan on the 5th of August. That’s a major milestone for Council and for myself.
I feel very privileged to have been part of that process, and to now have a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant – the best in New Zealand – here in Raglan. The next step is land-based discharge treatment, which will be rolled out over the next three or four years. So I feel extremely proud of doing that.
As well as that, our new roading contract for the southern and northern networks of Waikato District Council went live on the 1st of July this year. That was because we could see the inefficiencies of the previous Alliance contracts, so we pushed for a new contract model. I’m really proud of that, and of looking at how we can do more with what we have and improve connectivity on both the sealed and unsealed roading network, but also the maintenance and stormwater – so I’m really proud of that.
Over the last three years I’ve also worked across different organisations in Whāingaroa to secure funding that hasn’t come from ratepayers but has had a direct impact on community wellbeing. For example, the Destination Management Organisation, which operates the Information Hub outside the museum, and the water tower revitalisation project. That came partly from Blueprint funding and another significant amount of funding came through the Raglan Naturally umbrella, supported by the DIA.
That project also captured the information and kept the story alive of the earlier iterations of the water tower. We also created storyboards that explain where our water comes from, because a lot of people don’t know it comes from the Riki springs. I’m incredibly proud of that.
And of course, the wharf project. We started working on funding for that through the Provincial Growth Fund at the end of 2019. Key to that funding application were the relationships we had in the community with Bob McLeod and Gabrielle Parson, who were both on the Community Board, developing those relationships with key stakeholders, as well as relationships with our staff – Nick Johnson, our funding team, Leanne van den Bemd, and others.
Through that, we were able to secure provincial growth fund funding at that time, which was – off the top of my head – I think it was $1.5 million. Closer to this time, we secured additional Better Off funding, bringing the total to about $6.5 million for the wharf upgrade. But it was more than just the upgrade.
We also engaged with hapū and with the community, and we had local artists like Simon Te Wheoro, who did the amazing pā kahawai sculpture down at the wharf. That artwork explains narratives in our landscape that are older than the wharf itself.
So this project wasn’t just about connecting people to the water – it also brought in essential narratives and historical context that many in our community didn’t know. The information boards include 47 ancient names around the harbour, brought back onto the landscape so people can stand there, look at the map, and connect with each of those points.
There are also taonga species panels Simon created, giving effect to the special birdlife and fish that are integral to who we are as a community. I’m really proud of that – of being able to bring funding into the community that didn’t come from ratepayers.
We also looked at connectivity between Greenslade Road and Lorenzen Bay. That footpath –the shared cycleway and footpath there was funded 90% through NZTA and 10% through rates,
Aaron: NZTA fund footpaths?
Lisa Thomson: Yes, it’s possible through the roading budget.
There’s also the Papahua connecting footpath that we have. I remember in my first term on the Community Board, and later in my first term as a councillor, there was a strong desire to have a footpath connecting Papahua through to Raglan West. And we’ve got that, and again, a large portion of the funding came from sources other than rates.
And of course, Aaron, we can’t forget the Town to Surf footpath upgrade – the shared cycleway and walkway on both sides of the road between Opotoru Road and Smith Street. If you remember, that used to be open drains prior to the work that we did. We solved that stormwater problem and now have a beautiful footpath connecting not only to Smith Street but the other side from Papahua right through to Wainui Reserve Bush Park. That project was funded through the Tourism Infrastructure Fund – just under a million dollars worth of funding to do that upgrade.
And further to that, I’m really proud to be involved with the Destination Management Organisation. We secured funding to create information boards telling the story of the sea-to-surf footpath in its first iteration back in the early 1990s, when Kate Haywood and others were closely involved. Kate reached out to me, about two years ago, wanting to immortalise that story. It took some time, but we now have funding for an information board that will go on the corner of Marine Parade and Wainui Road, where there’s a chair – I call that Bob McLeod’s chair – looking up the harbour toward the fire station. That project will relive the story of an amazing community-led effort, and we’ll be sharing the names of all the people who contributed to the original footpath.
There are loads of projects – I could go on,
Aaron: I think we’d run out of time.
Lisa Thomson: Another thing I’m really proud of, Aaron, is championing Māori wards and Māori representation. In my first term in 2017, myself and my colleague Councillor Janet Gibb – who is retiring this year after 12 years – along with Donna Flavell from Waikato-Tainui, stood in the Council chambers advocating for Māori representation. When it went to a vote, only two of us supported the establishment of Māori wards.
Aaron: What year was that? 2017?
Lisa Thomson: 2017. And then we fast forward to 2021, when the Local Government Act was amended and the provision for a binding poll was taken out of the legislation. I am proud to say that we in Council made the decision to establish two Māori wards at that time.
We are really fortunate here in Whāingaroa that we have Councillor Tilly Turner as our Māori ward councillor, who also sits on the Raglan Community Board. I’m proud we established those two Māori wards, and Councillor Turner has been re-elected unopposed for this round.
I’d also like the community to know that there are three people standing for the Northern Ward. In the last election, like me, Councillor Turner had to go through the full election process. I’m proud of that outcome, and I’m a passionate supporter of keeping Māori wards. For me, when I fill in my voting form, it’s an easy yes – no stress. It’s a full tick for keeping our Māori wards.
Aaron: Okay, but what about the little things? You’ve talked about some big items there, but in the general day-to-day or week-to-week, what are the smaller or funny things you find yourself doing as a councillor?
Lisa Thomson: You’re on 24/7. You’re not just Lisa Thomson going to the supermarket or having a meal with your whānau at the Raglan pub. [laughs] When you’re out in public, you are the councillor, and I engage with people everywhere.
For example, at my marae on Monday night – I’m the secretary for Mōtakotako Marae – so I’m active in that space. We hosted a community opportunity to learn about the Toreparu Wetland Project, which is a large wetland on the other side of Karioi, to the south of here – a very important wetland. Wetlands are important anyway. So we hosted the Karioi Project, Love Bitterns, and Regional Council, Manaaki Whenua, and our hapū– we updated everyone on our restoration work.
As a councillor, I’m working in those spaces, seeking ways to amplify the work people are doing at the flax roots. Through our marae, we secured funding from Waikato-Tainui’s Taiao Fund and engaged the Kārioi Project to do our trapping over the next year. We have a trap line, and we also secured funding for self-seeding traps around the Toreparu to help with pest eradication. We’ve got bitterns and native bats in that wetland.
We’re also working with local landowners adjacent to the Toreparu. At the hui on Monday night, more than 65 people attended, showing strong interest. We’re collaborating with farmers like the Jacksons over in Whānga, on the western coast of Kārioi, who are doing amazing work. They’ve got a nursery to propagate special species from their farm and have shared plants with our marae for Toreparu restoration.
And then there are the day-to-day concerns: people contact me about the roading network, particularly in Makomako, Te Papatapu, Phillips Road, and Ruapuke. I’m often in conversations with locals about those issues.
Aaron: I was gonna say are rural people not happy with the roads?
Lisa Thomson: In some instances, yes, and I don’t blame them – we need to do better for our rural communities, but also for our urban communities as well. Our roading network is essential for safety, wellbeing, and connectivity. That’s why we’ve started our new roading contract. If I’m re-elected, Aaron, I want to see that roading contract embedded with better outcomes for our community.
At our infrastructure meeting on Wednesday, we discussed the need to re-establish regular meetings between staff, the roading contractor, and our communities – at their halls, whether it’s Te Mata Hall, Te Uku Hall, or Waitetuna School. We need to meet communities in their own spaces to hear their concerns, because we have to build the trust and confidence of our communities. That’s something I’ll be pushing if I’m re-elected.
Another example of working with partners and contractors is with Xtreme Zero Waste. I met with the principal of Te Mata School, because the school and Board of Trustees had concerns about the recycling container next to the rugby field. They were having real problems with rats and with illegal dumping. So we worked with Xtreme Zero Waste, our staff, and the school to find another location. We moved the container to the corner of Te Mata Road and Te Hutewai Road, and we upgraded that drop-off site.
Aaron: I want to leap in, because we’re going to run out of time. You’ve obviously been very busy, but I’ve got a few other questions I want to ask in the remaining 10 minutes or so.
Everyone’s been forced into this national debate about rates, which I find frustrating because there’s no nuance – it’s just “rates are too low.” It occurred to me this morning that the Back to Basics call is basically ring-fencing 85% of the rates and saying savings will come from the other 15%. That struck me as a strange way to do it.
Anyway, the general call is to cut rates. Where are you on that?
Lisa Thomson: Everyone wants affordability for our communities. But when you cut rates, what services are you going to cut for those same communities?
Even with the amendment bill from central government – which we’ve put in a submission on – about “getting back to the basics,” it doesn’t include public toilets. It doesn’t include cemeteries. It doesn’t include our statutory obligations for planning and our bylaws.
Aaron: So what happens to the cemeteries of Council?
Lisa Thomson: That is the question. The idea that we can just put rates caps on and that will solve all the problems is kicking the can down the road. At the forefront of every Council decision is affordability, but these are intergenerational decisions. They’re not just for today – they’re for the generations yet to come, who we need to do better for.
If we keep kicking the can down the road, as we’ve done for the last 30 years on essential infrastructure, then in another 30 years – two generations from now – they’ll be picking up the pieces of decisions we already know don’t work.
Look at Clutha District Council. The outgoing mayor, after 12 years – four terms of running on a rates cap of 4.5% – regrets that decision. Because now they are absolutely crippled by what is required of them in terms of their waters provision.
Aaron: Has he actually said that?
Lisa Thomson: He has said that. If you look it up, you’ll see he admits they are now crippled by the requirements for water provision. If you look at the Clutha mayor, he has absolute regrets on the decisions that they’ve made.
They were proud of having no debt and being financially strong. But now, with the water reforms and other requirements from central government – and knowing we all need to do better – those decisions are crippling their communities.
So I say to our community: be careful what you ask for, and be clear about what you’re willing to cut. Will it be our libraries? Our parks and reserves? Our sports fields? Or the smaller things that cost very little but support wellbeing, like blueprinting or community programmes?
I put that challenge out to our community, and to communities across the region: be very, very careful what you wish for.
Aaron: So your opponent in the race for the Whāingaroa Ward is saying that Council needs to be held to account. Is Council not being held to account at the moment?
Lisa Thomson: We have audited accounts and books. We go out with our full Long-Term Plan, and all of that information is there. In our role as councillors, in that governance space, we are there to act on behalf of our communities and ensure we are holding Council to account in terms of spending.
I can’t speak for my opponent; I can only speak for myself. But everyone sitting around the decision-making table at Council works really hard. At the forefront of our minds are our communities. What Raglan wants is very different from what Huntly wants. What Hunlty wants is again very different. What Tuakau or Pōkeno want is different again, and what Raglan wants, is very different from what Meremere wants, because the communities are different, so a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. It’s not equitable and it doesn’t deliver good outcomes for our communities.
So no, I don’t support capping rates. I support good decision-making, based on all the information in front of us. We’re also fortunate to have a new CEO, Craig Hobbs, who is keen to work with our Community Boards to ensure they are well-equipped and active.
When you’re looking at who to vote for, look for people who can put the time into the roles they’re standing for. You need to be committed – to read your agendas, attend meetings, and be active. As a councillor, you can’t possibly cover all of the organisations and spaces in the community by yourself. You need to work closely as a team with active Community Board members.
We’re lucky in Whāingaroa: we have two ward councillors who sit on our Community Board who also advocate in Council, as well as a strong board. Some communities only have a community committee, which doesn’t give them the same ability or influence.
So I really encourage our community to get out and vote for people who are going to put in the work behind the scenes to get things done. I know that I work hard, and I’ll continue working hard to serve our community.
Aaron: A question I’m asking all the candidates – hopefully all of them – is about vision.
My response to the rates debate is that, especially for Community Board members, they’ll probably only spend about 1% of their time on rates. Even for councillors, it’s still not the majority of their time talking about rates and Council.
So what do you do the rest of the time? This is really a vision question – what’s the point of being a councillor?
Lisa Thomson: Because you have the opportunity to be visionary and to show leadership.
For example, we’re coming out to consult and engage with our community on the Wainui Reserve Management Plan – a 30-year plan. I actually think it should be seven generations into the future, because Wainui Reserve is the jewel in the crown for our community.
For me, it’s about combining bodies of work. When we put in the discharge pipe for land-based discharge up to Wainui Reserve, let’s also create a shared walkway and cycleway that goes hand in hand with that. That way, we get two jobs done for the price of one. That connectivity from Papahua right through to the reserve–would be completed.
The future of the reserve, once the discharge is there, becomes an absolute goldmine in terms of learning opportunities. Students could learn about engineering through monitoring that discharge, while also being involved in restoring birdlife and taonga species. We’re looking at where to have our sports fields – why can’t we have them up at Wainui Reserve? What does the future look like if we were to have an outdoor pursuit centre up there, where our students are engaging in the environment, where they become the monitors of that water that’s been discharged.
Students would be participating in the restoration of birdlife and taonga plant species. We could even have celestial navigation taught, because we’ve got our star compass up there. It’s a segue embodied into the learning environment in that space.
That’s just one future-proofing idea I have. There are so many opportunities if we are visionary enough to step into them. And it always comes back to relationships, Aaron – seeking funding from sources other than ratepayers. I think we’re very good at that. For example, look at out little Toitu Project team under the Raglan Naturally umbrella, working with Mmana Whenua, has brought about $500,000 worth of funding into our community over the last year and a half to two years.
Aaron: I’ve got a couple of questions I want to get through quickly.
Our community – we think we’re pretty special here, with our own unique character. What is it about the Raglan–Whāingaroa community that’s different, that we want to preserve? Do you know what that thing is?
Lisa Thomson: I know some of what that is. It’s our ability to collaborate, to co-create, and to work together for the greater good.
If I think about the organisations doing amazing things – the Repair Café, which gets funding from our Waste Minimisation Fund through Council, our community gardens, Xtreme Zero Waste, and the Raglan Holiday Park Papahua – an amazing community facility that is providing opportunities for our community.
Look at the pump track, funded by Raglan Holiday Park Papahua. Alongside that, we completed $1.5 million worth of stormwater work – not charged to the ratepayer – which benefited the soccer fields that used to flood.
We’re great at seizing opportunities because we’re innovative and creative. I love our community – and we punch well above our weight.
Aaron: So the last question is – do you want to give us your pitch? Why should people vote for you?
Lisa Thomson: Because I work hard. I’m creative, I think about ways we can do things collaboratively, I build strong relationships, and I’m not scared to lead from the front.