Rural Community Board to host regional conference

Published on 06 May 2014

6 May 2014

The Wanganui Rural Community Board will host a regional conference for community board representatives from around the lower North Island on May 9-10.

The conference will be held in the Wanganui District Council Chamber and attended by around 40 delegates from community boards in the Zone 3 area, which encompasses Horowhenua, Taranaki, Rangitikei, Wanganui, Manawatu, Tararua and Hawke’s Bay.

The conference will cover a number of issues, including roading, civil defence, iwi relationships, effective central government lobbying and changes to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.

Wanganui Rural Community Board Chairperson Alan Taylor says the conference will give representatives the chance to network and discuss challenges and solutions.

“We will share information about what our roles are and how they best serve our communities. As the hosts, this will also be a chance for the Wanganui Rural Community Board to share its successes.

“One of our greatest accomplishments is receiving the supreme best practice award at the New Zealand Community Board national biennial conference in May last year for our work on rural broadband.

“We also have speaking and voting rights at Council meetings so we are in a good position to talk to other community board representatives about how they can make decision-making more effective for their communities by working closely with their councils.”

Conference speakers include Ian McKelvie, MP for Rangitikei, who will talk about how to effectively engage and lobby central government and Local Government New Zealand Principal Policy Advisor Mike Reid who will update delegates on amendments to the Local Government Act 2002.

This is the third time Wanganui has been chosen to host the conference. The first conference was in 2011.