Kaipara District’s new Council has officially taken office, following a swearing-in ceremony at the Matakohe War Memorial Hall at 1.30pm on Wednesday 12 November.

The afternoon’s formalities began with an opening karakia led by Tawhiri Littlejohn (Te Uri-o-Hau), followed by an energetic kapa haka by Dargaville High School and Dargaville Intermediate School students.

Voters delivered five new councillors for this term: Luke Canton, Joesephine Nathan, Denise Rogers, Mike Schimanski, and Snow Tane. Craig Jepson, Gordon Lambeth, Jonathan Larsen and Rachael Williams return to council after having served previous terms.

Chief Executive Jason Marris officially opened the inaugural council meeting before inviting Mayor Jonathan Larsen to make his statutory declaration. Mayor Larsen then invited all eight councillors on stage to be sworn into office.

Mayor Larsen returns to council for his fifth term, including most recently as deputy mayor.

In his inaugural address, he reflected on his deep connections with Kaipara District.

Larsen grew up on a farm at Topuni, attending Kaiwaka Primary and Otamatea High School. His first two terms on Council were as an Otamatea ward councillor, until population growth resulted in the creation of a Kaiwaka-Mangawhai ward which he served in for a further two terms.

“Kaipara is a vast and unique district, and it’s an honour to be elected as its new mayor,” said Mayor Larsen.

Mayor Larsen thanked the community for electing such a talented group of councillors.

“The Council you see before you are without exception all passionate about the Kaipara and doing their best for the district. They are all committed to leading our district forward in a united way.”

Mayor Larsen also outlined some of his key priorities for the 2025-2028 triennium, including improving the resilience of Kaipara’s roading network, rates affordability, clear communication on Council expenditure, and navigating upcoming water reforms.

A key focus will be leveraging the advantages created by the proposed district plan and the recently announced Northern Corridor motorway, to capitalise on a unique economic competitive advantage for Kaipara.

“Making it cheaper and easier to start businesses in Kaipara will create more jobs, and more vibrant local towns. This will allow local services such as doctors and dentists, and hospitality offerings to be profitably established, and help weekend markets to thrive.”

“It’s safe to say that the stars are really starting to align for Kaipara.”

“Kaipara really is becoming the place to be!”

The newly elected members noted the appointment by Mayor Larsen of Councillor Gordon Lambeth as deputy mayor and confirmed the council meeting dates for the remainder of the year:

• 10am Wednesday 26 November 2025, Tangiteroria Community Complex, 23 Pukehia Road, Tangiteroria.
• 10am Wednesday 10 December 2025, Kaipara District Council Conference Room, 1C Molesworth Drive, Mangawhai.

Kaipara District mayor and councillors

Mayor

• Jonathan Larsen

Kaiwaka-Mangawhai General Ward

• Luke Canton
• Craig Jepson
• Rachael Williams

Otamatea General Ward

• Denise Rogers
• Mike Schimanski

Wairoa General Ward

• Gordon Lambeth (Deputy Mayor)
• Joesephine Nathan
• Snow Tane

You can review a recording of the ceremony on the KDC YouTube page

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