Aiming to help voters gain an understanding of the experience and views of candidates for Hamilton City Council, the following questions were posed to all candidates. The questions were developed via a crowding sourcing process on Twitter, along with additional questions aimed to help develop a greater understanding of candidates views and experience.
Answers highlighted in Red are candidates standing for East Ward
Answers highlighted in Green are candidates standing for West Ward
Answers highlighted in Blue are candidates standing for Mayor only
Answers highlighted in Orange are candidates standing for the Maaori Ward
What governance experience would you bring to the role of elected member?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I have served on Trust Waikato since 2018 and have been part of ongoing strategic review, policy development and investment decisions. I also have experience on a number of community boards including Diabetes Waikato, Living Wage Aotearoa, Te Ohu Whakaita (Matariki ki Waikato) and most recently Earth Diverse.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
I’m currently chairperson of Go Eco, the largest sustainability charity in the Waikato and the organisation that looks after our regional food waste rescue scheme, Te Puna Kai o Waikato (our community gardens), the Bike Hub, Predator Free Waikato, Project Echo (monitoring of our indigenous, endangered bat species), and supporting our various gully restoration groups. I have been on the Go Eco board for three years, and sit on our audit and risk committee as well.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
I have some governance experience as an executive member of two university clubs – the New Zealand Students’ Space Association (Christchurch branch) and the University of Canterbury Political Science Society. My roles involved decision making, representing the club, and managing financials. I became involved in these clubs because I loved science (both space and political) and I wanted to play my part in elevating those organisations – the same reason that I am running for public office. Though I acknowledge that my previous experience is limited, I bring a passion for Kirikiriroa Hamilton and an eagerness to learn so that I can bring our city into the future.
What do you feel are three key differences between governance and operations with regard to the role of elected member? And how would ensure you do not cross the line between the two?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
- Governance is about setting the strategic direction. Operations is about the day to day, nitty gritty.
- Governance determines investment priorities. Operations puts those investments into play.
- Governance ensures that health and safety risk is well understood and managed. Operations reports on any developing risk so that governance can make appropriate improvements to keep people and the community safe.
Council has a wonderful team of staff who help facilitate good governance. If I was unsure about correct process, I would check in with them. Maintaining the correct lines of communication is vital. If I required more information from staff, I would contact the senior managers in the first instance.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Governance is about strategic thinking, the big picture, and managing risk. It’s not to say that operations don’t do some of these things, but their primary role is the delivery of services and programmes of work. Governance is about balancing short-term gains with building the overall vision for the city – not about micro-managing day-to-day decisions.It’s also critical to champion staff’s work and remember you’re representing the community. For our city to function, we need Council to be a great place to work and that means Councillors getting in behind the work staff do in the community. Councillors also need to build great relationships and ensure their behaviour represents the best of Hamilton – locally and nationally.Councillors need to keep all of this at the forefront of their minds to be effective at their roles – it’s about constantly reminding yourself why you’re there and what part you play.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
.Council are responsible for setting the direction for work programs, making decisions about the development of our city, and securing and distributing funding, but do not undertake any of that work. Elected members need to focus on the big picture, the strategies and culture shift that we are developing in this city, and trust stuff to undertake the necessary work. From my perspective, the greatest challenge will be the speed of the democratic machine. It is important to acknowledge that change takes time – often, a frustratingly long time. Council is only one part of a greater team that takes care of our city. I will take my training and my role as an elected member seriously in order to not overstep the scope of my position.
What changes, if any, would you make to increase the ability for Hamilton residents to engage with the political process in council?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I have made many submissions to Council and always find it daunting. The chambers themselves are quite overwhelming for our community. Council used to have some of their meetings out in the community and, with the appropriate covid protocols, I would like to see this happen again. Civics education in schools is a vital development and should be supported by Hamilton City Council. I really like the way Smart Waikato invites students to participate in various career options, and I would like to see this kind of initiative for Council. I also think Youth Council is a neat way to involve youth in the decision making that Councils undertake. I think there could be a lot more technology used to aid increased community voice into Council. Council meetings are live streamed but not on social media platforms that are accessible to more people.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
As a start:
– Allowing the public to record submissions they want to speak to in advance (within the time frame)
– Schedule meetings for a range of times and days of the week, including Saturdays
– Citizen panels to ensure that key decisions for our city have input from experts and people with lived experience
– Use co-design to bring stakeholder groups along on the city planning journey
– Where possible, give longer timeframes for submissions and give stakeholder groups notice in advance of submission periods to allow for better community organising
– Allowing the public to record submissions they want to speak to in advance (within the time frame)
– Schedule meetings for a range of times and days of the week, including Saturdays
– Citizen panels to ensure that key decisions for our city have input from experts and people with lived experience
– Use co-design to bring stakeholder groups along on the city planning journey
– Where possible, give longer timeframes for submissions and give stakeholder groups notice in advance of submission periods to allow for better community organising
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
Council has introduced a public forum at the beginning of Council meetings to allow the public to comment on matters in the upcoming meeting, in addition to live streaming all meetings to their YouTube channel. This is really conducive to public participation, and I support continuing these policies. However, Council meetings and documentation remain complicated and difficult to understand. To improve the public understanding of the outcomes of meetings and Council decisions, I would like Council to release summaries of meetings, potentially as a one-page graphic available on social media.
What cause would make you join a public protest?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I’ve joined many protests, including asking the government to urgently address poverty, insecure housing and homelessness, and climate change.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
I’ve joined a few protests in Kirikiriroa – I’ve attended rallies in support of Palestine (2014), co-organised a vigil for survivors and victims of domestic violence after Grace Milane was murdered (2018), supported the School Strike for Climate protests (2019), and the Black Lives Matter march (2020). I also spent time at the Ihumātao occupation (2019) in Tāmaki Makaurau. This year, I have attended the safer streets rally (which included a bike ride from Steele Park through to Garden Place)
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
I have protested for climate action, including the School for Climate Strike in 2019 and the recent Pack the Chambers in August 2022, and safe cycling through the Share the Streets Rally that I co-organised in March 2022. My motivation is to create a future that is better than today, which is the same reason that I am running for public office.
Tell us about a challenge you believe the disabled community faces in Hamilton, and what you would do as a councilor to help address those challenges
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
Access to community facilities and transportation are significant challenges. I would work hard to ensure that all Council facilities follow universal design principles and that our public transport meets the needs of our disabled community. Through my work with Poverty Action Waikato, we are part of the national Fairer Futures campaign calling for increases in the disability allowance. Many people in the disabled community are forced to live on low incomes and can struggle to make ends meet. This must change. I think the local government has a role in advocacy to central government to ensure everyone in our city, including our disabled community, has a liveable income.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Where to start. As a disabled person myself, one of the biggest challenges is being overlooked and not listened to or considered. One-quarter of the Waikato identifies as disabled and our aging population is set to triple by 2050 – disabled people are a significant proportion of our population. I believe in the social model of disability: we know bodies come in all forms with all sorts of variations, and it is our society that is designed either deliberately or out of ignorance to exclude us. Disability has to be at the forefront of our city design decisions – because if you’re not disabled yourself, you may be in the future as you age, or you may have loved ones that are disabled – and you don’t want you or them to be excluded due to decisions which could have easily been adapted to include more people in our city.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
The disability community in Hamilton faces inaccessibility in our city, particularly in our transport system. Many sidewalks are too narrow or undermaintained for safe use of mobility aids; curbs drop too steeply; and bus stops are not protected from the elements. Council needs to give greater focus to accessibility in the next term by co-designing with the disabled community so that their needs are met.
What have you successfully advocated for to date? (outside of the day to day responsibilities of any paid employment)
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I have worked with RESTORE and Whakamana ki Rotoroa to advocate for Lake Rotoroa. Due to this advocacy, Council has invested $1 million dollars in capital improvements to the lake, and the Council is embarking on some community consultation and workshops to develop a suite of options for improving the lake water quality.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
As Chair of Go Eco (not a paid position), I regularly support submissions to Council (e.g. the Long Term Plan), as well as make media statements. One particular success was advocating for Hamilton City Council to prioritise climate projects in their “shovel-ready” funding proposal to central government – we issued a press release which was picked up by the media, and then were pleased to see Council mirroring our requests in their proposal to the government.In addition to this, I initially joined Bike Waikato as a volunteer (and later their Communications & Engagement Coordinator – a paid role). I co-wrote submissions and facilitated community submissions via an online tool built by myself and my partner. This advocacy had significant impact – particularly on the Hamilton City Council Biking and Micro-Mobility Plan, which saw Council adopting the most ambitious option, now waiting on Waka Kotahi’s approval for a 30-year programme of work.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
In March 2022, I co-organised the Share the Streets Rally for safer cycling which saw massive turnout from the cycling communities around the Waikato. I also regularly attend the Infrastructure Operations Committee to comment on cycling issues from my perspective as a regular cyclist. At the recent Annual Plan public consultations, my story among others helped bring forward funding for improving cycling infrastructure in our city. It is not all recent – when I was in high school, I founded an action group that advocated for LGBTQ+ students at my high school, including holding events to raise awareness about our issues and amending school code of conduct to provide explicit protection against LGBTQ+ bullying. I am proud to have affected positive change in my community.
What do you think life will be like for Hamilton citizens in 20 years’ time? What will you do as a councilor/mayor to positively affect this?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I tend to think hopefully and optimistically about the future, despite the challenges we face. Due to our Climate Change Action Plan, Nature in the City and other strategies, there will be a lot more collective community action that enhances collective wellbeing. People will share food, skills and resources more commonly. The service industry and arts will be thriving, while the consumption of non-essential items will likely reduce. Our gullies will thrive, our lake will be swimmable, our river increasingly healthy and our natural areas will be thriving with indigenous vegetation, trees and birdlife. Our children will be able to bike, walk and scooter safely to school, or catch the bus. Public transport and active transport will be the new norm. There will be more well-designed town homes and apartments in the city and housing will be accessible and affordable.I will continue to advocate for Council to invest smartly into strategies that prioritise wellbeing in our city. The health of our gullies impacts the health of our river, so investing into restoration and tree planting is vital. I will continue to advocate for a clean Lake Rotoroa. I will support the promotion of community climate action and the resourcing of our community centres to enable this action. I will support urban intensification that delivers liveable local neighbourhoods, so that all people have access to parks, recreation, arts, essential services and education. I will live by example and be a positive role model for our community.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Many of the plans we’ve started, like Nature in the City, will have hit significant milestones – we’ll have twice as many trees shading our city, our gully systems and Waiwhakareke will be two decades closer to being thriving indigenous ecosystems. I hope we’ve ensured everyone can adapt to climate change and our communities are empowered to live low-carbon lives. The Biking and Micro-Mobility Programme will have provided safe, affordable, efficient options – maybe our density has enabled a 20-minute city! Our city design recognisies diversity and ensures that everyone is included in our city, regardless of age or ability.I hope we’ll even have updated our plans to be even more ambitious. To enact any of this, we need to start now and follow through on much of the good work that’s already in the pipeline, and continue to advocate for the best future for ourselves and generations to come.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
Life will be different. Hamiltonians will live in warm and high-quality houses in walkable and well-planned communities. Buses will come often, and Hamiltonians of all abilities will be empowered to go to work, school, and recreational activities by bus, bike, and walking. When Hamiltonians need to drive, it will be safe and easy, with few other drivers on the road and safe infrastructure. Parks will be plenty and great places for communities to meet up. Though severe weather events may happen, the city will be prepared and nobody will be left behind.
We need to invest now in the changes that we need for a productive future. I will push to encourage cycling and walking by investing in dedicated infrastructure, such as a network of separated cycle networks and wide, accessible sidewalks. I will work with stakeholders to increase the service of our buses. Getting mode shift right means that we can invest in middle-density housing. We also need to start a program of renter advocacy – almost half of Hamiltonians are renters! – to improve the quality of our rental homes. Altogether, this will step us towards a city of good housing and good transport, meaning that we are guaranteed good outcomes for our environment and our community spaces.
In the past 20 years what’s the biggest thing that Hamilton did right? And what was out biggest missed opportunity?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
Investing in wellbeing would have to be the biggest thing that Council has done right. City wellbeing is enhanced through community facilities, libraries, parks, nature, arts, active transport and well-designed housing and neighbourhoods. There is more that needs to be done to improve these investments, but the steps that have been taken so far have all contributed to a more thriving city.We have missed an opportunity in terms of investing in cycling infrastructure and reliable public transport. Our three children have grown up without having safe cycleways to school – generations of children have been raised in a car centric city. People, including our children, need a variety of reliable, safe transport options.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park. It’s an awesome feeling to have been in a newly-planted area, working in the hot sun with no shade, rescuing saplings from being smothered by weeds – only to walk back through the park and see a plaque saying “2014” surrounded by trees taller than me, creating shade, food and habitat. Waiwhakareke is a 500-year project to restore 65.5 hectares to its original ecosystem. I’ve had many conversations while out there about how it facilitates a meaningful connection to where we live and leaves a legacy behind. While Hamilton City Council purchased the land and co-ordinates plantings, critical to Waiwhakareke’s success is the fact Council listened to community advocacy from Tui 2000 Inc. Its ongoing success is due to the community turning up rain or shine to do the mahi. Council needs to keep listening to the community and have a multi-generational vision for our city. Unfortunately for us, we live in a city where popularity has been more important than ensuring our infrastructure is up to scratch – so rates have been kept low in the past at the expense of our present. In the recent Long Term Plan, there was no option not to have rates rise, the question was simply how much people could stomach. Our water infrastructure is inadequate for our current city, let alone for the projected growth and climate change (and even the upgrades afforded through that rates rise will still not be enough – that’s how behind we are).Our transport system is the most car-dependent in Aotearoa. It’s where the majority of our carbon emissions come from, creates pollution, and costs the city in delivering and maintaining the roads. Yet we know safer cycling and walking infrastructure and frequent public transport options are well used and in demand!
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
Despite the lack of a connected network, we have some beautiful and high-class cycle paths. I am a particular fan of the Wairere Drive shared cycleway, which I use to travel between the Base and the University. However, we have not taken full advantage of what our growing cycle network could be – as our city grew, Hamilton should have invested in mode shift and good-quality cycling infrastructure (instead of green paint). It is shame that we did not make this investment at the forefront, as it is expensive to retrofit infrastructure. We are finally turning this around, and I will continue supporting this critical work.
What specific plans do you have to address the poor state of repair of many of the footpaths in the west area, and how do you plan to pay for it?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
No footpaths in our city should be in a poor state of repair. Council is currently refreshing the Access Hamilton Strategy, and this would be good opportunity to bring these concerns to Council’s attention. The upkeep of footpaths is an essential function of Council and should be resourced through rates.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Our footpaths are in a shocking state. The ability to move around our city safely is a big issue for many groups – from people with disabilities to parents and children (especially with prams) – because it fuels social isolation.The only way to fix footpaths is simply to fund them – there’s no other magic solution and it’s not as if we can go without (which I say living in an area without any paved footpath connecting our street to the main road – so I walk on the edge of a 60km/hr road to catch the bus or go to our local shops, and it’s been like that for three years).We also need people to not park on the footpaths we do have and when there are roadworks to be thoughtful about detours. Once again, it comes back to thinking of everyone in our city when decisions are made.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
Footpaths are chronically underfunded, but this is turning around. We must change our culture around transport in our city – where roads and driving are heavily subsidised, despite not being an efficient use of money with poor outcomes for our city and the environment, while sidewalks and biking paths are under maintained or non-existent. We must value walking just as much, if not more, than driving. I believe that our city should remove subsidies from roads, such as by charging a market price for parking in the city centre, and use this money to invest in footpaths and cycling infrastructure. This is fair because active transport costs the city less in infrastructure and maintenance costs, in addition to saving money through reduced congestion and carbon emissions. We must also establish a work plan to maintain that infrastructure, such as sweeping when necessary.
It is currently unsafe in many parts of the city for vision impaired primary school child to walk to their local school due to a lack of safe crossings on many major routes, for example Newcastle Road in Dinsdale has ZERO pedestrian crossings or controlled crossings – what plans would you implement to create safe pedestrian access and crossings along roads such as Newcastle Rd?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
Creating livable, walkable streets should be prioritised for a number of reasons including wellbeing, safety and climate change. We need to put children, including visually impaired children, at the heart of our planning and investment. I would advocate for pedestrian crossings or controlled crossings to be installed so that children can get to school safely.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
There are a few different ways safe crossings are being rolled out:- As part of the infrastructure for two bus routes – the Comet and the (soon-to-be launched) Meteor. The Meteor will be south-east to north-west route (Silverdale, University through to Frankton, Dinsdale, Rotokauri). That does include Dinsdale Rd, but not Newcastle Rd (so there could be more crossings nearby).
– Safer speed areas (planned speed limit reductions + physical street changes) are a part of the “low-cost, low-risk” programme (more about that here) – currently being worked through for Forest Lake Rd and Mahoe St.
– School travel planning is another piece of work the Council does in collaboration with schools to identify safety issues and solutions.Safe crossings are critical and it sounds like Newcastle Rd needs to be rolled into one of these plans (if it hasn’t already). This is another example of needing to prioritise the disabled community in our design.
– Safer speed areas (planned speed limit reductions + physical street changes) are a part of the “low-cost, low-risk” programme (more about that here) – currently being worked through for Forest Lake Rd and Mahoe St.
– School travel planning is another piece of work the Council does in collaboration with schools to identify safety issues and solutions.Safe crossings are critical and it sounds like Newcastle Rd needs to be rolled into one of these plans (if it hasn’t already). This is another example of needing to prioritise the disabled community in our design.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
Retrofitting accessible infrastructure is a challenge that we must absolutely tackle as we move towards mode shift. In the short-term, we need a culture shift. All new infrastructure projects must be people-centric, not car-centric, and include accessible and walkable considerations by default. In the medium-term, we can invest in traffic calming, reducing speed limits on key routes to make the road environment more accessible for those outside cars. Nobody should pass a school, especially during school hours, at 50 km/hr – fast enough to kill. In the long-term, we must undertake a systemic review of our network with regard to walkability and accessibility, partnering with Waka Kotahi and other stakeholders to secure the funding necessary for this critical infrastructure. I cannot guarantee any specific projects, but I can guarantee that I will continue to push for walkability and accessibility if I am elected
With the cost of rising petrol, more people are using ebikes, which are also a useful mobility mechanism. What plans do you have to address the lack of sufficient, suitable, safe, segregated biking paths linking various parts of the city?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I support Hamilton’s Biking Plan and proposed investments. I am hopeful that the central government’s emissions reduction plan will result in greater investment into active transport infrastructure, and I will be advocating to central government for this investment.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
I don’t own a car – my e-bike is my primary form of transport (read more about why I made that decision here) so trust me when I say I am extremely aware of the state of our cycling infrastructure.We need to change our transport system – to give people cheaper, more efficient ways to get around, to reduce the biggest source of carbon emissions in the city, so that people who need to drive have less congestion, and to reduce pollution. Luckily for us, we have some transformative pieces of work in the pipeline – like School Link (to connect 19 schools) and Uni Link (to connect the university to the CBD and western suburbs) – but we need councillors around the table who will ensure they’re prioritised, well-funded, and thoughtfully implemented.These plans could be nixed if we don’t elect people who understand the urgency of changing the status quo.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
A network of sufficient, suitable, safe, and segregated biking paths is critical in our growth as a city – but it will take more than a single term of Council to create the infrastructure that we deserve. In the short to medium term, we should invest in cycle wands to make our current infrastructure usable. We can also repurpose road space to create the space we need for cycling infrastructure and use traffic calming strategies (such as planter boxes, extended sidewalks, and speedbumps) to reduce speeds to allow drivers and cyclists to safely share the road space. In the long-term we must invest in safe and separated biking paths by developing a network plan as a guide instead of making ad-hoc improvements. We must also work with key stakeholders, such as Waka Kotahi, to deliver funding to make that plan a reality.
Given that many councils and territorial areas have unsafe drinking water (including nitrates in the drinking water, e.coli in the drinking water), overflowing sewage pipes, and degraded stormwater facilities why does the candidate support/not support the proposed 3 waters bill?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
Independent, technical studies have determined that the Three Waters proposal and reforms have several benefits including:
1) improved quality, reliability, safety, and environmental sustainability of the 3 waters
2) A more financially stable and flexible service; e.g. the new entities will be better able to resource the infrastructure improvements
3) technical efficiency gains and better access to, and use of, water expertise
4) cost savings for ratepayers. The government’s economic study projects $500 – $1000 per person lower cost than without the reform.
5) safeguards against privatization.Hamilton’s Three Waters are in better shape than most of the country. However, we are growing, and the cost of water infrastructure is beyond our current capacity. I do not see any reason to reject the Three Waters reforms outright. However, I am eager to better understand the viewpoints of those opposed to the reform, and I will always listen to the concerns of the community.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
More than 1.7 million litres of wastewater has been discharged into the Waikato River. The Long Term Plan (LTP) has $400 million unfunded water initiatives and we need even more funding to meet the city’s growth. Pink is the insufficient water infrastructure after the work in the LTP (funded via the 8.9% rate rise).
Council has admitted it can’t afford to fund improvements through rates increases alone, yet has rejected Three Waters despite no alternatives being on offer.The Government has implemented 45/47 recommendations to the Three Waters bill but Council still has concerns about local control. The entity covering Hamilton will still have to meet Waikato River Authority obligations – already a co-governance model of local hapū and Crown representatives. Large entities can borrow to meet the infrastructure deficit, and allows Council freedom to invest in other areas. Three Waters is better than no reform, but considering Council has already made its submission rejecting the bill, any further improvements will require lobbying MPs, rather than Councillors.
Council has admitted it can’t afford to fund improvements through rates increases alone, yet has rejected Three Waters despite no alternatives being on offer.The Government has implemented 45/47 recommendations to the Three Waters bill but Council still has concerns about local control. The entity covering Hamilton will still have to meet Waikato River Authority obligations – already a co-governance model of local hapū and Crown representatives. Large entities can borrow to meet the infrastructure deficit, and allows Council freedom to invest in other areas. Three Waters is better than no reform, but considering Council has already made its submission rejecting the bill, any further improvements will require lobbying MPs, rather than Councillors.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
There is no doubt that change is needed to guarantee safe drinking water for all New Zealanders, including Hamiltonians. I support reform, but there must be a clear governance structure that incorporates local representation and strong protection against privatisation. The structure also needs to guarantee that the new entities will not suffer the same challenges as territorial authorities in providing water services, such as debt limits. Nevertheless, transferring assets and debts to new entities provides an opportunity to free up funding for other critical infrastructure projects in Kirikiriroa.
What will you do as both a candidate and an elected member to ensure you maintain a high level of media literacy and source checking to help stop the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
I will check and declare the sources of information that I share and utilize to inform myself.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Having a master’s degree in media provides me with robust media literacy skills, and I’ve also attended trainings from The Workshop – who are evidence-based public narrative researchers. Understanding how groups weaponise narratives of fear to motivate people is hugely important in our current political climate. I’m not an expert in everything and it’s important to take advice from actual experts, look at research – including the methodologies used – and make sure you’re basing your decision-making on the overall vision for our city, not just whoever is shouting the loudest.Through my work in the COVID-19 Directorate, I know how dangerous disinformation (deliberately malicious false information) is. I do not allow my social media platforms to become avenues for spreading conspiracy theories. I am happy to have discussions with people who are genuinely interested in a topic (even if I don’t share their perspective on it), but I don’t tolerate conspiracy theories.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
As a university student, I understand the need to reference my sources. I read widely on the subjects that I am interested in, including publications from our Council, studies from Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas, and news articles. I am committed to only commenting on issues when I am informed and confident on the subject.
An important quality in a leader is admitting when they have made a mistake. I acknowledge that I am not always correct. There are always a variety of opinions and experiences that I cannot know everything about – that’s why it’s important to listen and have humility. For this reason, I am always willing to update my views in light of new evidence or arguments.
If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
A horse because they are strong, intelligent, helpful and loyal.
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
I asked my friends, and one of them said a marsupial because they have pockets – I do always endeavour to have pockets!I’ve been on a journey to learn my whakapapa and part of my family immigrated from the Orkney Islands. They have a breed of sheep called the North Ronaldsay, which evolved to eat seaweed because of the island’s habitat. There was a DNA study that showed a very close match between sheep remains from 3,000 BCE on Orkney with the present-day breed. Outside of quite enjoying seaweed and sharing a similar wooly haircut, I think I’m good at adapting to different environments – even if it means changing the way you do things. That’s what all of us will need to do in the face of climate change, and if we can, hopefully we’ll survive another 5,000 years like the North Ronaldsay sheep too.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
I would be a cat. I am fiercely independent, but I’m not afraid to stand up for myself (as anyone with a cat will know if they’ve missed dinnertime by a few minutes!). And of course, I love a good mid-afternoon nap..
If Hamilton was an ice cream, what flavour would it be?
Anna Casey-Cox (East Ward)
Chocolate Fudge Sunday because it’s a delicious swirly mix!
Louise Hutt (West Ward)
Duck Island’s Blackberry Sage & Honey (and not just because it’s my favourite flavour). Blackberries are resilient (if you’ve ever tried to get rid of a blackberry bush you’ll know what I mean) and bold, sage is a very down-to-earth flavour and maybe a bit unexpected in ice cream, and honey is sweet and is made through a community working together. Despite being three quite different flavours, they go together beautifully and make something wonderful. I really love showing my friends from other places around Hamilton – there are lots of fun, unexpected treasures here. The people are pretty humble and many of our communities have needed to be far more resilient than they should have been – and yet, when our communities come together, we’re all better off for it.
Melissa Smith(West Ward)
Let’s say Rocky Road, but aspiring to be Hokey Pokey (the best flavour, of course!).
