Raglan Politics

What are we going to tell our council to do with the government's council merger program? Tony Mayow, former Council Manager and Community Development Activist, is back in the studio to help us figure out what a good council might actually look like.

Lisa joins us ahead of the Strengthening Our Voice In Local Government event this Sunday at 2pm in the Town Hall. We talk about the options facing our community and how the governments merger process will work, what the answered questions are and how people can have their say.

Mayor Aksel joins us in the midst of a hurried tour around the district talking to communities about what they want out of the council merger plans. We find out the latest thinking from the region's Mayors as well as the popular sentiment amongst ratepayers - and discuss the options currently on the table.

Penny Hulse is the former Deputy Mayor of Waitakere City and the Auckland Super City. She was also a panel member on the 2023 Review Into The Future Of Local Government report. She will speaking at a public meeting in the Town Hall on Sunday at 2pm so we caught up with her in advance to get her thoughts on the Simplifying Local Government plan and her experience with the Super City Formation.

Noel Smith our local councillor for the Waikato Regional Council joins us to talk about the nationwide council shakeup and what it means for the work they do at the Regional Council.

WEL Energy Trust Election, Stormwater issues, overcrowded buses, a brief history of local body politics in Whaingaroa.

We talk to Ross about the council merger process and what the Community Board perspective is on the big changes coming our way.

Ross talks to us about the local boards plans for the community, what it's like working with the council beauracracy, we also look back at the WSL, discuss the proposed church on Wi Nera St and find out how the process of delegating power to the community boards is going

The Government wants to reduce the number of councils in New Zealand so we've got Tony Mayow in the studio to reflect on his experience with the Auckland Super City merger. Tony spent much of his career trying to make councils more responsive to their community and has experience of ensuring councils their democratic intent through the merger process.

We also discuss the Community Board Meeting and community swimming pool .

John Lawson joins us to have a look at Wednesday's Raglan Community Board meeting and the issues they'll be discussing.

John and Aaron come up with their own council amalgamation plan - starting around the 13 minute mark - but before that they also talk about the mythical Raglan Structure Plan and how close we are to manifesting the plan, plus they look at the WSL and whether it will be coming back

With just 3 months to meet the government's deadline for council amalgamation plans we get current Mayor Aksel Bech on the line to find out what the process will be and if we will get a say in the process. We also talk about whether Raglan Lawns will still have the council contract to mow locally and hear the Mayor's perspective on the WSL.

We catch up with Lisa about what's been happening with Council over the last few months, including setting rates, the rates cap, Wainui Reserve and the recent Community Board Meeting. We also review the recent WSL surf event and look at the changes that council has to make under the governments new local body merger orders.

WDC Mayor Aksel Bech joins us to talk about the Government's local government reforms and how the will impact the reforms he's trying to make within Waikato District Council. We also talk about the rates cap and the work he'll be doing once he's back from the Christmas break as well as the many other changes that the government is bringing through.

John and Aaron attempt to discuss all the big events and headlines that happened in 2025. It was a year that produced a new mayor and a new sewerage treatment plant but also continued the problems with people getting in trouble at sea.

Ross joins us in the studio to look over the issues discussed at the Raglan Community Board's first full meeting since the election. Meeting times, trial Raglan bus, summer prep with Xtreme Waste and Police, Descretionary Fund, sealing Rural roads, Greenslade Playground, Wainui Reserve 30 year plan, town planning, council reporting issues, Harbour water quality.

Lisa Thomson joins us to talk about; freedom camping, this week's community board meeting, a new water tower, cell phone tower government changes to the local body scene, stormwater, traffic issues around Raglan Area School and summer preparations

John and Aaron try to figure out what the government is trying to achieve by breaking up regional councils and look at the Community Board agenda for tomorrow's meeting.

Our new Community Board Chair Ross Wallis is in studio to talk about the new powers that the Mayor has delegated to Community Boards and about the Board's plans for the next three years.

Our Councillor Lisa Thomson has been appointed Chair of the new Community Voice and Choice Committee - one of the three main committees of council - so we talk with her about her hopes for this new role and what it means for the new Mayor to prioritise community engagement in such a significant way, We also check in on local issues and how the new community board is coming together.

Mayor Aksel joins us to talk about changes he's making to the way council operates and to the new powers he's delegating to the Raglan Community Board. We also talk about his desire for transparency and for communities to have more of a say in how the council operates.

We talk about the efforts at the Regional Council to try to stop Plan Change 1 plus look at various projects and opportunities to give feed back to the District Council. We also look at how many times sewer lines have been incorrectly connected to the stormwater system - something that has caused very high E Coli. readings in our harbour.

Ross Wallis joins us in the studio fresh from being elected as Chair of the Raglan Community Board earlier in the week. We talk about the plans for the next three years and what it might mean if the new Mayor goes through with his plan of giving more power to the Community boards

John Lawson is in studio to look at the final election results and maybe predict what's going to happen over the next three years. We also look at couple of consultations happening at the moment about activities on our beaches and also freedom camping on James St.