Kaipara District’s new Council has officially taken office, following a swearing-in ceremony at the Matakohe War Memorial Hall.
The formalities began with an opening karakia led by Tawhiri Littlejohn (Te Uri-o-Hau), followed by a kapa haka by Dargaville High School and Dargaville Intermediate School students.
Voters delivered five new councillors for this term: Luke Canton, Joesephine Nathan, Denise Rogers, Mike Schimanski, and Snow Tane. Craig Jepson, Gordon Lambeth, Jonathan Larsen and Rachael Williams return to council after having served previous terms.
Council Chief Executive, Jason Marris, officially opened the inaugural council meeting before inviting Mayor Jonathan Larsen to make his statutory declaration.
Mayor Larsen returns to council for his fifth term, including most recently as deputy mayor. In his inaugural address, he reflected on his deep connections with Kaipara District.
“Kaipara is a vast and unique district, and it’s an honour to be elected as its new mayor,” said Mayor Larsen.
He thanked the community for electing such a talented group of councillors.
“The Council you see before you are without exception all passionate about the Kaipara and doing their best for the district. They are all committed to leading our district forward in a united way,” he said.
Mayor Larsen also outlined some of his key priorities for the 2025-2028 triennium, including improving the resilience of Kaipara’s roading network, rates affordability, clear communication on Council expenditure, and navigating upcoming water reforms.
A key focus will be leveraging the advantages created by the proposed district plan and the recently announced Northern Corridor motorway, to capitalise on a unique economic competitive advantage for Kaipara.
“Making it cheaper and easier to start businesses in Kaipara will create more jobs, and more vibrant local towns. This will allow local services such as doctors and dentists, and hospitality offerings to be profitably established, and help weekend markets to thrive,” he said.
“It’s safe to say that the stars are really starting to align for Kaipara.”
“Kaipara really is becoming the place to be!”
