Mike Bain was sworn in as Waihopai mana whenua representative at the council meeting last month.
He has been appointed to the Water, Infrastructure and Growth, and Community and Regulatory committees and will also have speaking rights at full council meetings.
Mr Bain, (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) said it was important to listen and respect other people’s viewpoints.
In the process of listening to another person’s position, it was possible he could change his own mind about an issue, he said.
‘‘That’s the whole idea of having conversations and compromise and things such as that.’’
He had been encouraged by rūnaka members to consider taking on the mana whenua role after the Rev Evelyn Cook retired at the end of the last trimester.
Mrs Cook was the first mana whenua representative appointed in 2021. It was an honour to represent the rūnaka and follow in Mrs Cook’s footsteps, he said.
‘‘I’m feeling that [it] creates a meaningful partnership with council and it sort of enables us to have a voice at the table.’’
It also helped the council meet its Treaty of Waitangi obligations, he said.
He grew up in Invercargill and attended James Hargest College.
He was keen to leave school and found a job in the motor trade.
Later he completed a computer training course at the Southland Polytechnic and then became a tutor helping at risk young people.
He ‘‘loved’’ the work, challenging people to see themselves differently.
‘‘I was helping students focus a little bit more on themselves and showing them that they could achieve things.’’
More recently he has been a legal advocate where he was still helping people make positive choices.
Given he could not wait to leave school it was surprising where life had taken him, he said.
