By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting
Former litigation lawyer Kuru Ketu is the youngest member elected to the Ruapehu District Council, securing one of the district’s three Māori ward seats in his first run for public office.
The 32-year-old environmental consultant, who lives in Matapuna, Taumarunui, says he is determined to make good on the mandate Māori voters have given him.
“I’m really keen to get stuck straight into the mahi and have already started some planning for the next three years.”
Ketu believes his election sends a strong message from Māori voters about confidence in the next generation of leadership.
“It signals that, across the board, our people are actively thinking about succession.
“Rangatahi bring with them a huge sense of hope for a better tomorrow, and that encourages our people to keep pushing forward too.”
Ketu (Ngāti Hāua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto) said his return to Taumarunui after a busy early career shows a “cycle of investment, service and love for our community”.
“I have an important job to do in terms of representing the rangatahi perspective but also [to] break down some barriers for rangatahi to enter these spaces come the next election.”
Ketu said his campaign was built on kindness, positivity and solutions.
“Often, we see campaigns run in a way that takes advantage of the not-so-nice side of humanity, the side that is quick to mistrust or is influenced by fear.
“You can have a position and advocate for it but without getting down in the weeds or being combative towards those who have a different view.”
Financial and governance challenges
He plans to move quickly on financial and governance challenges.
“I’d like to focus on correcting the LTP (long-term plan) deficit that has been highlighted to us over the past year. We have tools to address this, and I think we need to get into that sooner rather than later.”
He also wants to strengthen how council measures performance and value for money for ratepayers.
“I don’t think there is a proper framework in place to show ratepayers that the services they receive are value for money. That is [partly] a communication failure but also because the measurement tools are not fit for purpose.”
Other key areas on his list include aligning council standing orders with community expectations, establishing an effective water services CCO, and ensuring proportionality in the upcoming representation review and elected member remuneration process.
‘Grow Māori engagement’
Outside the council table, Ketu is already planning initiatives to grow Māori engagement and participation in local governance.
“One [kaupapa] will be focused on blooding rangatahi (16-40) into governance roles.
“I am planning on holding weekly interactive workshops starting in 2026. The aim is to have other rangatahi ready to stand in the 2028 elections, or in elections for marae and land trusts.”
A second kaupapa will focus on regular reporting back to Māori about council work and ensuring Māori continue to direct council’s mahi.
“Through this, I hope to engage our people in local politics more, so that come 2028 our voter turnout is over 60%.”
Ketu’s background in law, iwi environmental management and working with local government, gives him confidence stepping into council decision-making.
“Although I’m new to this table, I am not new to this space or the decision-making role. In that sense, my background has prepared me for this role.”
Asked how Māori perspectives might shape council decisions, Ketu said the key would be communication and shared values.
“It is my responsibility to ensure I am contributing a values-based perspective to the decision-making process.
“Closing the divide is a shared responsibility, but, equally, we as Māori have to take the lead – and I’m prepared to do that.”
‘A lot of mahi to do’
In a separate poll, voters narrowly chose to retain the Māori ward with only 90 votes in it – 2022 votes to keep it, 1932 to remove it.
The poll underscored the importance of his next three years, Ketu said.
“The margin [between] keep and remove is very tight. That signals that I have a lot of mahi to do over the next three years.
“It’s all about education and showing value. My aim at a minimum is to get those who voted to remove Māori wards to ask themselves why they voted no. I’m positive I can do that and will lean heavily on my communication skills to bridge as much of the gap as I can.”
For those who voted to keep the wards, he said the task was to build confidence and capacity to take on leadership roles.
“This will ensure the long-term sustainability of Māori wards, but also Māori participation in decision-making going forward.”
As for how he wants to be judged when this term ends, Ketu said: “I hope that by the end of this term, our people can say that their vote for me was not a waste.”
The new council table will include returning mayor Weston Kirton, returning councillors Rabbit Nottage, Robyn Gram, Viv Hoeta and Brenda Ralph, newcomers to the general ward Luke Pepper and John Chapman, and returning Māori ward councillors Korty Wilson and Channey Iwikau.
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