Students from kura kaupapa in Kaikohe, Kaitāia and Whangārei perform the haka.
Photograph: Peter de Graaf/RNZ

It was not your typical council briefing evening.

It looked more like a multimedia spectacle, liberally interspersed with slick video presentations, aroused excitement by the school’s unified cultural group, and filled with a series of self-congratulations tempered by incessant puns and acknowledgment of things still needing fixing.

This was the first Far North State speech at the Turner Center in Kerikeri on Tuesday night.

Far North mayor Moko Tepania addresses the crowd.
Photograph: Peter de Graaf/RNZ

Mayor Moko Tepania told the audience of business, iwi and community groups that the main aim was to reconnect with residents of the Far North.

“Tonight is an opportunity to share the new direction this council is taking to respond to a number of important challenges and be transparent about it. The theme of this talk is The Road to Recovery, so I’ll go over what we’re doing. We’re getting better. There’s a lot,” he said.

Challenges that have hit the region “like a juggernaut” since 2019 included a record-breaking drought followed closely by Covid lockdowns and 10 major storms between July 2022 and February 2023.

The damage caused by hurricane Gabrielle to the roads of the Far North was especially great.

“We are left with 175 vouchers with an estimated cost of $41 million. Approximately $1 million equates to a 1 percent interest rate increase, so without modification or assistance, that would be a 41 percent interest rate increase.”

Paying for roads was difficult at the best of times in the Far North, which had one of the largest road networks of any region in the country (2700 kilometres), but only 28,000 taxpayers had to pay out of a total population of 71,000. BT.

The evening also provided an opportunity to introduce councillors, community board members and council staff to the public.
Photograph: Peter de Graaf/RNZ

Despite this, Tepania said the council managed to keep the average rate increase for this year at 4.5 percent, the lowest in the country.

He attributed this to new and innovative ways of doing things and a $5 million dividend from city-owned company Far North Holdings.

The mayor also laid out the challenges of getting wastewater, drinking water and stormwater infrastructure up to scratch, with just under $170 million left for improvements over the next three years.

He has been outspoken about failures at the district’s sewage treatment plants, saying the council has been “yellow carded” by Northland District Council four times in recent years for breaching consent conditions.

“One of the most important issues for me is how to stop flushing our toilets into our kitchen. We need to find permanent alternatives to discharge treated wastewater into our beautiful streams and harbours, especially Hokianga Harbour.”

More than 200 people attended the Far North State speech at Kerikeri’s Turner Centre.
Photograph: Peter de Graaf/RNZ

Tepania had some bouquets for the central government, including Waka Kotahi’s aid for local roads and more than $100 million pumped into the agency. Reopening of State Highway 1 From Mangamuka Gorge south of Kaitāia.

He has also made some brickbats and moves to impose binding referendums for Māori wards in councils across the country, particularly over uncertainty caused by changes to the Three Waters legislation.

This was one of the problems driving the current situation. national Hīkoi mō te Tiritihe said.

An update on the Mangamuka Pass, which has been closed on and off for the past four years, drew one of the biggest applause of the night.

“Fortunately for Hana Kōkō (Santa Claus), or whoever heard my prayers, the parade will now reopen on Friday, December 20,” he said.

There was also an announcement and name change next month that would secure the future for Kaitāia airport, which has long been in limbo due to a dispute over land ownership, and promises of a breakthrough on Kaitāia’s troubled Sweetwater project.

The plan to draw water from the Sweetwater aquifer to shore up the drought-prone Awanui River has so far cost the council more than $17 million without providing the town with even a drop of potable water.

Tepania said many promises have been made about the program in the past, but it will actually start providing water in December.

The evening opened with a thrilling performance by Te Aho Matua, a combined kapa haka group made up of students from three kura kaupapas around Northland.
Photograph: Peter de Graaf/RNZ

Although the mayor insisted he was merely a frontrunner for the city’s 400-person staff, Tuesday night’s event was indeed a Moko show.

The only other performance that attracted attention was a thrilling waiata set by a kapa haka group made up of students from three kura kaupapas around Northland.

Afterwards, Tepania said he was pleased with the turnout.

“Our aim as an organization was to use this as a springboard to reconnect with our communities and demonstrate the incredible importance we place on partnership. I didn’t know that someone would show up on a random Tuesday, but we did. 205 of us, and not just anyone, but key movers and shakers in the Far North.” “

The impetus for the event came from chief executive Guy Holroyd, who said the council had a “bad reputation” wherever he went; He therefore asked for something to be done to improve the council’s connection with the residents of the Far North.

The idea for a state-of-the-nation-style speech came from a city council staffer who had worked for mayors in Arizona.

Audience members RNZ spoke to spoke positively about the event.

Andrea Panther, from the Kaitāia Business Association, said her town had been hit particularly hard by storms and road closures in recent years.

He said the presentation was fair because it covered every part of the Far North.

“I thought this was a great presentation to remind us of the terrible challenges we faced, how we overcame them, and the positive outcomes we planned for,” he said.

Lisa McNab from Te Hiku Iwi Development Foundation was also enthusiastic.

“I left here very excited and much more knowledgeable. I thought it was a great reminder of where we came from and where we need to go.”

Perhaps the most prominent critics in Tuesday’s audience were the mayor’s mother and father, but they were also impressed.

Te Aroha Tepania gave 10 out of 10 to her son, known in the family as Mokopedia for his ability to acquire knowledge.

“It’s been great. But I also take my hat off to the staff working behind the scenes. They’re the ones who put it all together.”

The Far North State speech is expected to become an annual event.

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