Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, 19 October 2022
Paula Southgate, Mayor for Hamilton
Hamilton is growing as a city and with Paula Southgate as the Mayor of Hamilton for the second consecutive term, the residents of the city are hoping to continue the trajectory of that growth.
Special Thanks to the Indian Community
Talking about her reaction on the win and support shown by people of Hamilton, Ms Southgate said that she was humbled and thrilled by the support and trust shown in her. She was particularly delighted to have the support of many people from the Indian community across Hamilton who extended their support for her.
How the two terms vary
Discussing her Plans for the second term in Hamilton, Ms Southgate said that
“We have relentless change coming at us from central government and we will need to continue advocating very strongly to get the best solutions for our city. Our focus will continue to be on the difficult issues of growth and infrastructure and of course, affordable housing. I also want to complete many of the things we began last term – in particular regeneration of older parts of our city such as Fairfield-Enderley.”
When she became mayor last term, like many, she said she didn’t foresee the pandemic or the “huge Government reforms” such as three waters and housing intensification.
Talking about how things would be different from the previous term, she said that many of the issues will be the same but depending on what comes out of central government, the solutions may be different.
She said that this term would see a bigger council, which means there would be more skills to utilise around the Council chamber. While she is aware that last term covid and the Council’s response to it was a huge focus, there were still many issues that needed attention. She said that “Financially, many people are struggling and certainly many of our business are finding it difficult because of supply line issues and labour market shortages. So there is a lot of work ahead.
Plans for Hamilton
Indian Newslink asked what, in her opinion was more important for Hamilton right now- Building New Homes, Commercial spaces or better utilising the existing homes, to which Paula Southgate said “To me, these are different sides of the same coin. We need to prepare Hamilton for the huge growth that is coming: that means not just building homes, but building communities, and continuing to attract businesses to come here and to thrive , so we continue to create jobs.”
Changing Global Scenario
On the matter of how the Council plans to ensure support to rate payers in the changing Global financial climate, Ms Southgate said that it was a critical time for everyone and she recognised the challenges that many residents were facing.
She replied by saying that “I’m acutely aware how difficult many Hamiltonians are finding the current financial environment. I’m also aware that, for many, the services we offer our community are more important than ever – and that we simply have to prepare our city for the huge growth that is coming. We will continue to balance these pressures, while pushing Government for a more sustainable long-term funding solution. We simply cannot expect ratepayers to fund the huge infrastructure investment that we need.”
The way ahead
Nothing about the next three years will be “cruisy”, says newly re-elected Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate but She is ready to tackle some of the biggest Government reforms Hamilton will see amongst a new and heavily female dominated council.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Hamilton.
