By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting
Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase is seeking a second term for Ruapehu District Council, standing again in the Māori ward and making a second bid for the mayoralty.
She is also contesting seats on the Taumarunui-Ōhura Community Board and the Taihape Community Board for Rangitīkei District Council.
Hadley-Chase says her focus is on open communication, encouraging people to share their opinions, and ensuring all parts of the district are represented well.
“If I get the opportunity again, this will be my second term,” she said.
“The first one was really a lead-in to ensure that we had good representation at the table and that our Māori wards would be able to be sustainable. I’m standing again to ensure that the legacy moves on.”
She says she is guided by her kuia, her mother and aunties, and by the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tika and pono, and the values of her hapū and iwi.
Māori ward councillors don’t just represent Māori voters, she says. “When you are elected as a Māori ward councillor you are elected to represent the entire community – all of Ruapehu, not just Taumarunui, not just Kākahi but every single person that resides in Ruapehu.”
Her top priority, she says, is ensuring that all voices are heard and that “everyone gets along”.
“It’s the people who live in Ruapehu that care about Ruapehu the most. So we have to ensure that we all get along.”
On the policy front, Hadley-Chase is concerned about what she sees as stagnant economic development in Ruapehu, where agriculture and tourism remain the two dominant sectors.
She says there is also a need to strengthen health and education services.
“We need to ensure that the people who live here are well, are well educated and receive the health services that they deserve.”
She believes a lack of understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Te Awa Tupua and te ao Māori remains a challenge for council and the wider community.
“We have three Māori ward councillors and all three of us bring different gifts, but also the same gift and that is experience and knowledge in mātauranga of te ao Māori.”
Hadley-Chase is also concerned about water policy, particularly the impact of new legislation on communities. She says Te Mana o te Wai should be a guiding principle, but government changes were undermining that.
“With the water services bills and Local Water Done Well, there are complications that are going to impact water users in general, and may drive up rates to the point where people could be rated out of their homes.”
Hadley-Chase is a trustee of Mōrero Marae in Taumarunui and is active at her other marae. While she is strongly engaged with her hapū and iwi, she says her accountability extends to all.
“Accountability isn’t just to Māori, accountability is to everybody.”
Her final message to voters is clear: enrol and participate.
“Māori don’t realise how, by engaging, we can have so much more power in local and central government.”
Awa FM – Te Reo Irirangi o Whanganui
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