One of the country’s best-known young mayors is going up against an uber-conservative councillor who she’s publicly accused of disrespectful conduct.
Why is Rotorua the best place in the world?
Don’t get me started. It’s great for families. The Rotorua Skyline luge puts Queenstown’s lacklustre effort to shame, but if you don’t feel like careering down a hill, there are trout farms, a lakefront playground, and hot pools to visit as well. Māori culture is infused into the city, most visibly in the Whakarewarewa and Te Puia geothermal parks. The lake is beautiful. Houses are still relatively affordable, with a median price of $670,000. The hospitality sector is strong. Head northeast from the city to the shores of Lake Rotoiti and take a walk to Ōkere Falls, then stop at Ōkere Falls beer garden to quench your thirst on the way back. Better yet, get takeaways at what might be the country’s best fish and chippy, River’s Catch.
What is the contest?
Rotorua Lakes Council is responsible for handling housing and transport, along with water infrastructure and other public assets like libraries for the roughly 75,000 people in Rotorua and surrounding areas including Ngongotahā Valley, Lake Tarawera, Waiotapu, Waikite Valley, Ngakuru, and Ātiamuri. That’s the core stuff, but of course other issues, including exploitation and social problems arising from the conversion of Fenton Street motels into emergency housing, have come to the fore in recent years. One thing it doesn’t do: public transport provision. That’s handled by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, which covers an area including Rotorua, Tauranga, Whakatāne, and a handful of other centres.
Forty candidates total are in the running for Rotorua’s mayoralty and council seats, down from 45 in 2022. Rotorua established three Māori ward seats in 2021, and is required by the government to hold a binding referendum on whether they should be retained at this year’s election. Karen Barker has been elected unopposed to the region’s rural ward seat.
Who is in the race?
Despite receiving repeated violent threats and having her car vandalised, incumbent mayor Tania Tapsell is running for re-election, and she has four challengers. Two current councillors, conservative-leaning Robert Lee and former nightclub and radio DJ Don Paterson, are trying to keep her to one term. Former Lifewise Foundation chief executive Haehaetu Barrett is back in the race, after initially saying she wouldn’t be able to campaign due to ill health. The self-described “dark horse” candidate Takeina (aka Shakaina) Fraser is running an outsider campaign. She likes the “dark horse” label because it reminds her of the apocalyptic dark horse of famine from the book of Revelation, and families are currently struggling to put food on the table.
Twenty-two people are running for the six general ward council seats. Incumbent councillor Conan O’Brien was in the news earlier this year after meeting his slightly more famous US namesake at Portofino in Mission Bay. He wants to unite the city’s “divided community”. Ryan Gray has a progressive housing agenda and is committed to reminding people about daylight saving. Sandra Kai Fong is the current deputy mayor and wants to stay. Reynold MacPherson got voted out in 2022 after being accused of racism and wants to return.
Six people are going for the city’s three Māori ward seats. Among them is Trevor Maxwell, who has been a councillor for a record-equalling 48 years, and will hold the longest tenure title outright if he’s returned. He’s competing against a diverse field, including the former actor Te Whatanui Skipwith and Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, who was a councillor from 2011 to 2022.
What’s at stake?
Tapsell is a National Party member, but is facing a challenge from her social and fiscal right. Lee says he voted for the mayor in 2022 but grew disillusioned over the course of the term. The feeling is mutual. At a recent forum hosted by the Rotorua Chamber of Pride, Tapsell said she’d be “very concerned” if Lee got back onto council. “Sorry Robert, but I’ve got to be honest,” she said, as the councillor smiled thinly a few metres away. “I am deeply concerned about your perspective and your refusal to accept that other people think differently.”
Awkward. Tapsell’s comments came after Lee reiterated his opposition to Rainbow Storytime events. “And I would have the same objection if it were a prostitute who was dressed up…” he said, shortly before being drowned out by a chorus of boos. Tapsell is younger and more liberal. Though she talks about council cost-cutting, she also takes a softer line on rates than Lee, saying people are prepared to pay a “reasonable” council bill if they see the benefits they receive.
Tapsell is the favourite to win re-election. If she, or a centrist challenger like Paterson, get in, expect to see investment in upgrading and reopening Rotorua Museum, which has been shut since 2016, and revitalising the city centre. Tapsell even has a dream of getting Rotorua a hydroslide. Lee, with his commitment to rates caps, would likely run a more pared back budget.
The race in a sentence?
The past vs the present.
The nitty gritty
Rotorua’s election will be carried out under the first past the post system, meaning all you need to do is put a tick next to the names of your preferred candidates. Highest number of ticks wins. Voting papers should already have arrived in your letterbox, but if they haven’t, you can cast a special vote in one of the locations listed here, or request your papers by calling 07 348 4199.
Read more race briefings and other Spinoff coverage of the local elections here.
