Professional Background. 

I’m proud to have served the community in council for 15 years, 6 of these as your Deputy Mayor. Throughout this journey, I’ve been a passionate advocate for our city’s stunning natural environment and rich recreational opportunities. Upper Hutt is a place where families can genuinely live, work, and play.  I will continue to help make Upper Hutt affordable into the future in shaping this vision.

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During my time on the council, I've had the opportunity to represent Upper Hutt in Strategy and Planning meetings for the Wellington Region, Waste Minimisation Planning and Upper Hutt's strong voice against Wellington Water's actions. I also recently had the honour of chairing the Wellington Region Growth Hearings across our dynamic region. 

I've led numerous Committee Meetings that have driven positive change in our community.

In my time on council some of our achievements have been: 

• The award-winning refurbishment of Maidstone Max Park. 

• Completing construction for the Maidstone Community Sports Hub and installing its first Board of Trustees. 

• Completing Whirinaki Whare Taonga's (Expressions) extension. 

• Upgrading Fergusson Drive Road resurfacing and investing more into pothole maintenance. 

• Investing in seismic strengthening for our wastewater networks. 

• Supporting residential growth through intensification policies. 

• Boosting local businesses with Economic Stimulus Grants e.g. Blue Mountains Campus, Lane Street Studios, and several retailers 

• Establishing a million-dollar COVID Recovery Fund to enhance social, cultural, and environmental well-being. 

• Contributed by me to our Councils submissions on the new Resource Management, Infrastructure Fast tracking, and amendments to the Smoking and Vaping legislation 

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I am committed to supporting and fostering meaningful Māori contributions within Council—while choosing to do so through inclusive collaboration rather than establishing a separate Māori Ward with distinct voting rights.

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Listening to our community, we’ve extended services at the Lane Street recycling station—an initiative voted for by residents. This approach delivers genuine value for money, especially when compared to the cost of kerbside recycling.

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While I’m proud of many initiatives we’ve achieved together, there were key decisions I couldn’t support and therefore voted against:

• Rates Management: Keeping rates artificially low for nearly a decade led to persistent deficits. I consistently advocated for modest, gradual increases to ensure financial sustainability. Had my colleagues supported this approach, we wouldn’t be facing the current 15.78% rates rise. Unfortunately, many chose to prioritise long-standing “low rates” campaign promises instead.

• H2O Xtream Renovations: I pushed for a more staged and fiscally responsible approach to the costly upgrades at the H2O Complex. However, the majority opted for a “big bang” renovation, completing all works at once—another significant driver of our current rates pressure.

• Maidstone Terraces Lease: I opposed leasing this prime public space to the Upper Hutt Bowling Club for a minimal rent over 33 years. In my view, this was not financially prudent—we must seek better returns for community assets to ensure fairness and sustainability.

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Beyond my Council responsibilities, I bring extensive governance experience through leadership roles in the non-profit sector. I’ve had the privilege of chairing the New Zealand Defence Force Gender Equality Network Steering Group and the Women’s Empowerment Principles, as well as serving as National President of Business & Professional Women New Zealand.

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Representing New Zealand on the global stage has been both an honour and a highlight—speaking on critical issues such as violence against women and sustainable cities and communities is deeply meaningful and rewarding.

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