Public Service Not Self Interest

Far North Mayoral candidate, Laurie Byers, today put a line in the sand against the self-interest that has been pedalled by the Mayor and his team over the last three years.

Mr Byers said, “To me local government is about nothing other than public service. It has appalled me over
the last three years how under Brown, and his team, it has become about blatant and venal self interest.”

“The Mayor is supposed to be using the office to advance our District, not his own bottom line.”

“I was staggered when I attended the first meeting that the current Mayor held after taking office. After all his
spin I was expecting to hear a plan to take the District forward. Instead all he would allow to be talked about
were issues directly associated with his personal business interests.”

“At that first meeting he demanded reports on the Mangonui Reclamation, effectively his neighbour, the
turning bay into Alderton Park, and Kerikeri wastewater requirements for sub-divisions.”

“In 15 years of local government I had never seen anything so self-serving.”

“And then we had the debacle that the Mayor managed to turn the Mangonui reclamation into. He neighbours
that project so of course he would have a keen interest, but did we really have to see the budget blow out by
almost a million dollars just so it looked exactly like he wanted his backyard to look.”

“But the pedalling of self interest continued. Next we had the farce of the four submissions, in the Mayor’s
handwriting, but in other people’s names, supporting a change to capital rating and, curiously, opposing Te
Ahu.”

“While Mr Brown may think that it is OK to try and use his position as Mayor to save himself hundreds of
thousands of dollars, it actually isn’t.”