When I was first elected in 2022, I expected to be part of shaping long-term strategy for Hawke’s Bay, monitoring our flood systems, improving environmental outcomes and strengthening community partnerships. Three months in, Cyclone Gabrielle struck. Suddenly, the job became relentless and deeply personal. Like so many of you, I experienced the exhaustion of the disaster response, one step forward, two steps back. But Gabrielle did more than test our systems, it forced a reckoning. It has challenged us to rethink our relationship with our land, rivers and climate and to lead with a deeper understanding of our vulnerabilities and strengths. That reckoning requires leadership that is adaptive and collaborative.

Over the past two years, I’ve seen what this region can achieve when we move forward together. As Chair of the Environment and Integrated Catchments Committee, I have championed evidence-based, practical initiatives, programmes that are already reducing erosion, improving water quality and building resilience from the hill country to the coast. The massive $250m programme around flood infrastructure, in partnership with Government, is among the largest flood resilience programmes in New Zealand.

I’m also proud to have been part of a leadership group that responded to community concerns and worked hard to bring proposed rates increases down from over 18% to around 9%. That outcome required tough conversations, innovative thinking, and a firm belief that we can do more with less, without compromising the future.

The just completed effectiveness and efficiency review, commissioned by us as councillors, will help clarify council strategy and streamline what’s delivered on the ground, making sure your rates are being used where they matter most. And finally, after years of discussion, we are about to step into a comprehensive water security work-stream that looks holistically at conservation, aquifer recharge and smarter water use, supporting both people, the environment and the needs of horticulture and industry.

I know many of you have felt frustration with the pace of recovery over the last 3 years and the moments where communication from council hasn’t met expectations. Some of that criticism is fair and I acknowledge that. Some of it misses the complexity behind what we’re navigating. But either way, the message is clear: we need to show up better.

As a long-time farmer and someone with strong connections to this region, I bring a grounded understanding of our challenges and opportunities. My commitment is to people and place, and to outcomes that endure. With a track record in governance and with the experience garnered in the last three years I am well positioned to provide efficient and decisive governance.

I’m standing again because the work ahead matters deeply and because consistency and collaboration matter now more than ever.

Sophie Siers