Veteran Marlborough Candidate Cautions Against 'Unrealistic' Rates Promises

Friday, 22 August 2025, 5:37 pm
Article: Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter

Two veteran Marlborough District Council candidates say it’s crucial to get some experienced councillors at the table for the next term with some big issues on the horizon. 

And one of those candidates already has a seat. 

Gerald Hope will be elected in the uncontested Wairau-Awatere ward on October 11. 

Hope was first elected to the council in 1995 and served as mayor from 1998 to 2001. 

He has completed seven terms, on and off, in the past 30 years. 

Hope said he was initially unsure if he would run again, but when he looked ahead at the major decisions on the horizon, he felt he had to be there. 

“There’s three big things coming down the line, it’s the RMA [reform], local government [Act] reform, and basically infrastructure,” Hope said. 

“I would be neglectful if I sat on the outside and saw inaction or decisions being made that were not in the best long-term interests of Marlborough.” 

Of the 14 people currently at the table, 11 were standing again. Four of them were already in, having run unopposed Hope, Sally Arbuckle and Scott Adams in the Wairau-Awatere ward, and Allanah Burgess in the Māori ward. 

At least four people without any council experience would be elected in October, or it could be as many as 11. 

In the Blenheim ward, sitting councillors David Croad, Deborah Dalliessi, Brian Dawson and Thelma Sowman were among the 16 candidates vying for seven seats. 

In the Marlborough Sounds ward, sitting councillors Barbara Faulls and Raylene Innes were among six candidates for the ward’s three seats. 

Sitting mayor Nadine Taylor was up against two candidates without any council experience. 

Hope said having experienced councillors at the table helped to guide new councillors as they wrapped their heads around the “onerous” job. 

“It’s not a walk-in job, no, it’s complicated ... You need mentors,” he said. 

“Experience counts in unravelling the mysteries of council.” 

Hope said first-time candidates promising to immediately lower rates rises were being unrealistic.

“They really need to read the council's pre-election financial statement ... we run very conservative budgets,” he said. 

“80% of what we do is basic core services. 

“It's unrealistic to say we’re going to cap rates at 2% or 3% because something is going to suffer.

“Every year that goes by, you end up going backwards.” 

Hope’s advice to new councillors was to “get stuck in”, but be realistic about what could be achieved.

“You’ve got young, vibrant people coming through, full of aspiration and expectation. 

“My advice to them is ... just read and understand what they’re doing. 

“If you [want to] go in there and make changes for whatever reason, you're going to be very disappointed because it’s not that simple. There are structures, there are laws, and there’s a plan.”

Brian Dawson was another veteran, angling for his fifth term in the hotly contested Blenheim ward.

“I think it’s a combination of interesting, complex enjoyment, and also I feel like I’m making a difference,” Dawson said. 

“We need to continue to think about encouraging people to live, work, study, and do business in Marlborough. 

“There’s some longer term issues, things like a changing climate. We know that we’re getting drier in the in the summer, we're getting wetter in the winter, and we're facing sea level rise. 

“So it’s about helping the community understand that, become resilient, and then think about council’s infrastructure.”

Dawson said councillors also needed to focus on how they could reduce rates rises. 

“We need to continually look at efficiency as an organisation ... It needs to be a key priority for this council coming in, affordability of rates.” 

The council needed a good mixture of new ideas and experience, he said. 

“We definitely need people with fresh ideas and fresh thinking, but that has to be complemented by the fact that you need some people in there that know what they're doing,” he said. 

“It's a very big organisation, it's very complex, there are a lot of moving parts. 

“You need people that can hit the ground running.” 

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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