Councillor Didn't Realise She Would Get Paid

Friday, 26 September 2025, 9:00 pm
Article: David Hill - Local Democracy Reporter

Lisa Bond admits she knew little about how the council worked when she was first elected. The Kaikōura councillor is stepping down next month after nine years around the council table and is confident she has helped to change perceptions. 

‘‘When I was first elected they asked me for my bank account number and I asked ‘why?’. ‘‘I didn’t realise councillors got paid. I thought it was voluntary. I was so naive.’’ She admits to having mixed feelings about stepping down. ‘‘We had a debrief around the table at the end of the last meeting. You come in with all these aspirations of changing the world, but I wanted to change the narrative. ‘‘A lot of people don’t know what the council does, and that was me when I first came in and I wanted to change that. ‘‘I like to think I’ve been able to flip the script. ‘‘I can turn the water on because of the council.’’ 

Ms Bond moved to Kaikōura as a teenager and fell in love with the town. After her mother took a job on the West Coast, Ms Bond boarded with a family so she could remain in Kaikōura and finish high school. She went to work for Whale Watch after finishing school and has now worked 30 years in the tourism sector. She became Destination Kaikōura manager four years ago. She is active on a number of community organisations, including as chairperson of the Kaikōura Community Op Shop. ‘‘I am really proud of what the op shop has achieved and we have just entered the North Canterbury Business Awards. ‘‘We have a couple who come up every year from Christchurch. They have a spring clean beforehand. They drop off their goods and have their sandwich at the same cafe. 

‘‘I really believe in this community, which is why my hand goes up as often as it does.’’ Ms Bond was elected on to the council just before the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in November 2016, which has made for an eventful nine years. ‘‘The town’s looking good. Things are done. ‘‘I somehow came across a video the other day which came out during the rebuild, and I thought ‘wow, that was our reality’. ‘‘It seems like a whole lifetime ago.’’ 

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

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