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JUNE 12, 2025
Council defends comms By Mary Anne Gill
A new investigation by a national taxpayer pressure group claims Waipā District Council is funding its own political communications’ machine to shape perception rather than deliver outcomes. The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union say a 63page response from the council following a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (Lgoima) request reveals the council paid its 12-strong Communications and Engagement team nearly $800,000 on spin in nine months. In response Waipā chief executive Steph O’Sullivan - who The News gave an embargoed copy of the Taxpayers’ Union statement
to - said the council had 9.5 full time equivalent positions, not 12. The council, which is a $2.8 billion business with a $150 million operating budget, welcomed public scrutiny and transparency especially when it came to how it spends ratepayers’ money, she said. “It’s misleading to suggest this work is about ‘spin’. The external communications and engagement strategy adopted by the council in 2023 purposefully reset the way we inform and engage with our community to ensure we deliver on our vision of building connected communities, and that we continue to grow trust and confidence in council.” Union investigations
coordinator Rhys Hurley released the information to The News saying the council was not listening, just lecturing. “Internal documents show the council has issued 66 media releases in just four months, built a new communication strategy, new roles and toolkits for its public image while just 17 per cent of residents believe the council is acting in their best interests,” he said. “Ratepayers aren’t asking for Facebook reels or branded tote bags they want their bins emptied, roads fixed, and rates kept under control. “This isn’t community engagement, it’s reputation management. Ratepayers are funding a political comms machine that’s
more interested in shaping perception than delivering outcomes,” said Hurley. “Spending $800,000 on spin in just nine months while pleading poverty is indefensible with an average rates rise of 14.8 per cent. If Waipā cared about their ratepayers, they’d start by cutting this comms circus.” O’Sullivan said overall trust in the council grew from 19 percent to 21 per cent from 2023 to 2024, which indicated the council was making progress. “But there is a long way to go and trust and confidence are only rebuilt with deliberate intention and action.” The council had grown its digital audience by 40 per cent since July last year
Rhys Hurley
in response to a changing media landscape where daily newspapers were no longer able to serve their communities like they did in the past. “It is an integrated approach to help ensure people get the right information, in the right way, at the right time.”
Steph O’Sullivan
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union aims to scrutinise government spending and highlight public waste. • Read more cambridgenews.nz, including the council’s full response and the Taxpayers’ Union Lgoima request and response.
A Zulu for mayor? By Mary Anne Gill
A 19-year-old Zulu orphan brought to New Zealand for a new life by his adoptive parents to live in Pōkeno has announced he is standing for the Waikato mayoralty. Fabio Rodrigues will also run in the Tuakau-Pōkeno ward for council on a platform to bring affordability, accountability and energy back to local government. It is now a three-horse race – incumbent Jacqui Church and former deputy mayor Aksel Bech are also
standing – but Rodrigues says he represents change. Rodrigues was born in Durban. His birth mother died within hours, and his birth father was jailed after he abandoned the baby, leaving him on top of a rubbish bin for days. “The doctor said I had 48 hours to live and here I am.” Rodrigues’ luck changed when Elaine and John Rodrigues adopted him and two other Zulu children to become part of the family with their only birth child, a son who has since died. Rodrigues is the youngest.
They emigrated to Howick and then Pōkeno when Rodrigues was eight. He went on to attend Pukekohe High School and now studies law and political science while working and campaigning. “I’m standing because when I was settling in primary school, I had a conversation with a ward councillor that stuck with me. She said that in New Zealand there’s a promise – a promise that no matter who you are or where you come from, if you keep your nose clean and work hard, you’ll
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