Waikato Regional Council Candidate Phillip Legg Has Been Endorsed By Sustainable Waikato

Sustainable Waikato has endorsed 12 candidates for the Hamilton City Council, and 11 for the Waikato Regional Council in the 2013 elections, including Phillip Legg who is standing for Waikato Regional Council in the Waihou Constituency.

“It’s great to have been endorsed by Sustainable Waikato as being a candidate who is committed to the environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability of the city and region,” says Mr Legg.

Of the 51 candidates in the 2013 Hamilton City Council election, 30 responded to an emailed questionnaire and 12 have been endorsed. Only one of 5 “New Council New Direction” candidates participated in our questionnaire and this candidate was not endorsed.

Sustainable Waikato is a Hamilton-based interest group with an agenda of enhancing the availability of objective, researched information on election candidates and to endorse those who align strongly with key principles critical to the future of the Waikato region. Their vision encompasses eight core ideas for sustainable governance, with a focus on environmental, economic, cultural and social needs.

“The Hauraki plains are a major farming area and we need to insure we balance both the economic and environmental pressures. The Coromandel is undoubtedly the jewel in the Regions crown and we need to balance the growth of the towns with the economic development and the protection of the environment,” says Mr Legg

In particular, Waikato Regional Council endorsed candidates expressed general concerns regarding the proposed changes to the Resource Management Act.

“I support both the Regional spatial plan and the Hauraki Gulf spatial plan. This will give us a good understanding of exactly what we have got and where, so we can then determine the areas that can be developed for both housing and business and those we need to protect for their environmental and recreational values,” says Mr Legg.

“Our endorsed candidates have shown evidence of a commitment to lead our city and region towards a more sustainable future.” says spokesperson, Dr Chris Eames from Sustainable Waikato. “It was heartening to see, since our last candidate assessment in 2010, that candidates have shown an overall increase in awareness and understanding of sustainability” he said.

Candidates were endorsed on the basis of their responses to a questionnaire and other publicly available information related to our key principles. This information has been rigorously scrutinised against a set of published criteria by Sustainable Waikato members who have backgrounds in sustainability. The assessment process involved a team of a dozen people, who put in a combined 170 hours of work to reach decisions on endorsements.

“I support the council working on a new collaborative process which allows the community up front input to any plan changes or reviews of plans. The council is trialling this process with the plan change Healthy Rivers Plan of change,” says Mr Legg.

Connect with Sustainable Waikato on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/sustainablewaikato) or website, where the candidates’ responses to the questionnaire can be viewed at www.sustainablewaikato.org.nz.

ENDS

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