Integrity in governance, putting our communities first.
My interest in politics and how we govern ourselves began with my career as a photojournalist covering political conferences both here and in the UK, and was shaped by observing the struggles for democracy in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Covering the civil war in Lebanon, the Gulf Wars and the Palestinian Intifada gave me a very real understanding of how politics can shape our lives, what works and what doesn’t. The fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the yearning for democracy, which led to that fall, was a clear demonstration that government, at any level, central or local, needs to take people with them in the management of their nation's or community’s affairs.
In 2013, my partner and I bought a piece of land just outside Raetihi at the foot of Ruapehu, bringing our son and his young family to join us, an experiment in permaculture which became our family's papakaianga. Without doubt, one of the best decisions we have made. There is perhaps no better place in the world for grandchildren to grow up than in the Central Plateau of the country that is now our home.
I have always felt the need to make a positive contribution in whichever community I have been a member of. Having moved from London to a village in Norfolk, I discovered that the village was being blighted by the fumes from a plastics factory situated on the edge of the village. I successfully campaigned for the factory’s site to be rezoned as residential, enabling the factory to sell the site for development and move to a more suitable location and install more efficient abatement technology. The campaign also led to more stringent rules around the emissions from the industry sector.
Here in Ruapehu, I have been a rural firefighter for ten years with the Waimarino Fire Brigade, past chair of the Raetihi Promotions Charitable Trust, health shuttle driver with Hato Hone St John and a community board member of both the National Park and Waimarino Community Boards.
I would welcome the opportunity to serve my community in council, as part of a team that ensures Ruapehu is the very special place it is to live, work and play for all our communities and the generations to come.
GET TO KNOW ME
With Bedouin children in the Negev Desert, Israel
