PHOTO
Residents may be wondering how council moved from needing more time to prepare for the local reform process to saying yes to a Head Start proposal.
With only three months to assemble a proposal ahead of the August 9 deadline, discussions needed to progress quickly.
What prompted decisive action for me came in the form of inspiration as I was driving to attend a gold service medal award ceremony for a volunteer fire brigade.
I reflected on how our first responders take charge during emergencies; they gear up and make critical decisions based on the information or incident presented to them.
That’s exactly what I did with the Head Start process and provided three options, inclusive of your feedback to the Otago Mayoral Forum.
One of these was accepted and voted on by the Central Otago District Council.
Leadership is what the community ask for in its mayor and councillors, and that is why we voted in support of the Head Start proposal submitted to the government.
I understand that we don’t yet have all the details and answers that everyone is eager to know, and it has been challenging not to deliver that level of clarity immediately.
We are now awaiting the government’s decision on which Head Start proposals submitted for Otago will be deemed viable.
If selected, the design and details will follow.
I’ve also strongly advocated to ensure that the rural voice is heard in this reform process and not sidelined; agriculture, in its many forms, is a significant part of our district, alongside industry and tourism.
The combined land area of the proposed three councils (Central Otago, Clutha and Queenstown Lakes district councils) is about 2.5 million hectares, with 98% being rural.
So, who has the biggest environmental footprint?
It’s essential to note that the alignment of our catchments is an integral part of the reform, as what occurs at the head of our rivers ultimately flows into the mighty Clutha River — from the mountains to the sea.
There are concerns about potentially inheriting Queenstown’s debt, but this is not the case at all — debt can be ring-fenced.
The government must communicate the next steps of the Head Start proposal as swiftly as possible so we can gain a clearer understanding of what lies ahead.
The next update from the government on the reforms is expected in late September.
For now, the only certainty is that change will occur because of these reforms — we just don’t know yet what that change will entail or the details.
This is very much still a work in progress.