The last meeting of the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board on 7 September marked the end of an era.
After the upcoming local election, the board will be replaced with ward representation from one councillor, and a district-wide Māori ward, Te Papamārearea, with two councillors.
The area will also be supported by a Mana Whakahono a Rohe, a partnership agreement between Taupō District Council and Ngāti Tūrangitukua, the Ngāti Tūwharetoa hapū which holds mana whenua over Tūrangi township. As part of the Mana Whakahono, an equal co-governance committee made up of both Ngāti Tūrangitukua and council appointees will be set up.
Outgoing Taupō District councillor and community board member Tangonui Kingi has served three terms - nine years - on the community board. He says the board has always been about “real grassroots community engagement”.
“At a councillor level it’s similar, but the community board has always been about being in the trenches, with the community and understanding what’s going on. It allows a bigger community like Tūrangi to make sure all the intel and feedback gets to Council.”
While he understands the value of the community board, Mr Kingi says those involved have been vocal about the fact Mana Whakahono is the best way forward.
“I’ve very much enjoyed my involvement. I’ve always believed in the important function a community board plays and to this day I still do. Obviously I recognise, with others, that we also need to support other opportunities. That’s why we have whole-heartedly supported the establishment of co-governance.
“How many boards would see their dissolution in favour of another entity as a positive? I think that’s a reflection of the maturity we have around understanding what is best for Tūrangi. It’s not about us, it’s not about our agenda. If there is something we think will better serve our community, we’ll back it and that’s what we’ve done.”
Between 2001 and 2019, Tūrangi’s Maggie Stewart spent four terms on the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board and two on the council.
The community board was first formed in 1989. Prior to that there had been a liaison committee set up in 1967 and a development committee in 1975.
Ms Stewart says a change which enabled the community board to achieve more for its community was joining the Taupō District as one rating area during the 2016-19 term.
“Before that, the council’s financial team would come down to discuss the budget and by the time we had ticked off all the legislative things we had to look after, like infrastructure, there wasn’t much left over to do things and we found it really dificult because we didn’t have the borrowing power.
“Being part of the Taupō District ratings meant we had a bigger pool to draw funding from. The community board had to rethink what it stood for and I think it did a good job of that.”
She says youth development, including the establishment of a youth council and exchanges with sister city Kitashiobara in Japan, was a core focus of the community board.
In 2015, the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board won an award at the Community Board Best Practice Awards for its community plan that year.
John Mack, who served as a Tūrangi-Tongariro Ward councillor on the board from 2019-22, says the board was designed to be the voice of Tūrangi.
“The board made it easier for people to see the human face of Council, as board members are members of the local community,” he says.
“During this term, we’ve been quite strong on the board in knowing what the community wants and really voicing that to the council. At the back of my mind was always the fact that I was doing this for the community.”
During the board’s final term, several projects it pushed for have gotten under way including the new playground at Te Kapua Park, new sports hub at Tūrangitukua Park and a street revitilisation.
“That’s huge,” Mr Mack says.
“What you have is Tūrangi people who have always put up with second-hand stuff, but now they are seeing real investment being made in their town.”
He says the fact only five people stood for the community board and got in unchallenged for this most previous term, is evidence of the need for a change.
“As much as they put their hands up and I think did get in rightfully, is that really democracy? It made you suddenly think this model probably wasn’t working.
“We have taken this community on a journey and I’m hoping this new committee, as part of the Mana Whakahono partnership, will take the ball and run with it. If you don’t have a strong local voice, the model becomes ineffective.”
