A Word from the Mayor
Congratulations to Mary Holloway who has been elected to the West Ward for the Hurunui District Council. Mary will bring a considerable array of skills to the governance table and we welcome her voice and opinion to decision making. The Hanmer Springs Community Board will now be required to progress through a by-election.
Mayor’s Task Force for Jobs (MTFJ) is a nationwide network of New Zealand Mayors working towards a shared vision that all young people are engaged in appropriate education training, work or other positive activities in the community. The Hurunui District has been successful in receiving a grant of $500k to partner with local employers to promote the economic and social well-being of young people. Soft skills of leadership, resilience and understanding of self are vital for our young people to thrive in the world of work. Covid-19 has caused unprecedented challenges to our economy and unfortunately, young people may bear the brunt of many job losses to come. In collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development we want to work closely with our community and match employers with people seeking job opportunities. Chris King, Business Recovery Advisor at the Hurunui District Council is keen to hear from members of our community who may benefit from this initiative and you can contact Chris on 0278087006.
The restriction imposed by Covid-19 has given the council a good opportunity to proactively implement livestreaming of council meetings and recently we have approved $25k of budgeted funds to support the upgrade of technology. We considered an improvement of sound quality was critical for community members whom may like to log into the public meeting, this is considered another important step for councilors to demonstrate their commitment for open and transparent decision making for our district. All council agenda and minutes are available on the website and I urge you to have search for the Operations meeting dated 20 August, as it provides an excellent overview of this critical part of our council’s service delivery.