Mayor Craig Little says “Good for Wairoa!” Matt takes his new position 1 July.

First a bit of background on Matt, well-known in the HB local government community, then his comments to BayBuzz follow.

Matt was born and raised in Napier and completed his schooling at St Johns College, Hastings.He commenced practice in Napier in 1991 having completed the degrees of Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws at Otago University.

As a certified Hearings Commissioner, and with specialties including in Resource Management and Local Government law, he knows local government well. He has represented Local Authority clients as well as private clients and development companies. He also has a “hands on” interest in the primary sector, running a small mixed farming operation.

With a keen interest in all sports he has played rugby, participated in triathalons and twice completed the Speight’s Coast to Coast. He maintains a keen interest in Hawke’s Bay Rugby and is a member of the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Judiciary and Appeals Committees.

Matthew chairs the Environmental, Conservation and Outdoor Education Trust, an organisation that aims to promote outdoor education from an environmental perspective while challenging students with real and adventurous outdoor activities.

We asked Matt why he was making the leap into hands-on local government.

“I have been involved in Local Government and Resource Management Law for over 34 years and I have seen examples of what good Local Government looks like and, I must say, I have seen some examples of pretty ordinary Local Government. So the career change was something that I had been thinking about for some time. The final trigger for me was cyclone Gabrielle. As a resident of Puketapu, we as a family were affected by the flooding.

“In the aftermath of the cyclone my family and I were part of the community response in the Puketapu and Dartmoor areas and this highlighted the strength and resilience of what a good community looks like and how they respond to what seemed to be overwhelming adversity. It also highlighted that the response from our local authorities was pretty ordinary and certainly not fit for purpose …

“I was a member of what was colloquially called the cyclone impacted communities group, a community group that was set up to provide leadership and direction to communities as they struggled with the individual and sometimes unique problems that they had encountered as a result of the cyclone. We met with both Central and Local Government agencies in an attempt to have input into the strategy for building back stronger and better communities. This was an exercise in frustration …

“The exception to that statement was the response of the Wairoa District Council which, to an individual from the Mayor and elected members, the emergency response team and management, right to the most junior of employees, responded really well to the cyclone and the extended period where State Highway 2 was either closed or severely compromised. This highlighted the importance of Local Government and the making of decisions for and on behalf of the community. I think the Wairoa District Council has a very strong community focus, something that I want to build on and implement for the benefit of the community.”

“I think that I can contribute to the making of good Local Government decisions for and on behalf of the Wairoa community. The Wairoa Council has good leadership from the Mayor and the elected members and I see my challenge as getting that good governance leadership to gain traction on the ground.”

As for his initial priorities as Wairoa CEO …

“First priority is to get a good understanding of councils systems, processes and needs. I don’t think that anyone should come into an organisation with predetermined views about what works and what doesn’t. From this first priority will flow the identification of whether there is a need for changes and what those changes are. 

“Second priority will be to identify what the community vision and plan are for the district and to help elected members develop a strategy for how that vision and plan can be achieved. 

“Thirdly, we need to stick to the Local Government basics and to ensure that the district has the necessary regulatory environment and the physical and social infrastructure to enable the strategy to be implemented.”

Matt will be re-locating to Wairoa and present in the office Monday-Friday “and other days as required”. “I don’t believe that the role of chief executive is one that can be done ‘working from home’ or by remote control.”

Sounds like a great catch for Wairoa.