Bay Harbour: April 04, 2018

PAGE 8 Wednesday <strong>April</strong> 4 <strong>2018</strong><br />

BAY HARBOUR<br />

Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />

News<br />

Local<br />

News<br />

Now<br />

Banks Peninsula by-election candidates<br />

Fire rages, homes at risk<br />

The five candidates vying for a seat on the Banks<br />

Peninsula Community Board come from a diverse<br />

range of backgrounds. Here they tell <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong><br />

News readers why they should represent Lyttelton<br />

•Yvette Couch-Lewis – I<br />

live at Rapaki and my family has<br />

been part of this community for<br />

five generations. Since returning<br />

home 20 years ago, I have<br />

worked across the environmental<br />

community in<br />

the field, as a<br />

representative<br />

on different<br />

community<br />

groups and<br />

now at a<br />

governance<br />

level.<br />

For my tribe<br />

Yvette<br />

Couch-Lewis<br />

it is about our<br />

taonga species<br />

and water<br />

quality. At home it is working<br />

with local government and the<br />

community for the betterment<br />

of our catchment. I believe that<br />

I can make a difference at the<br />

community board table.<br />

Over the past 20 years, I have<br />

developed my skills to enable me<br />

to contribute towards making<br />

good decisions that affect our<br />

environment and community.<br />

As a representative on the<br />

Banks Peninsula Community<br />

Board my goals are to work<br />

with people who can influence<br />

and bring about change for<br />

the betterment of the Lyttelton<br />

community. To demonstrate a<br />

leadership role at a governance<br />

level and enable the aspirations<br />

of the community outcomes<br />

to be achieved. And to<br />

place consideration on the<br />

community’s social, economic<br />

and environmental outcomes.<br />

When our environment is<br />

healthy so is the community.<br />

•Paul Dietsche – We are<br />

very fortunate to live where we<br />

do and I believe we need to do<br />

everything we can to preserve<br />

this place. I would like to see<br />

greater clarity and transparency<br />

in community board and city<br />

council activities and better<br />

communication between the<br />

community board and the<br />

people of our<br />

region.<br />

I believe<br />

we all have a<br />

vested interest<br />

in knowing<br />

what’s happening<br />

and<br />

how the decisions<br />

made<br />

Paul Dietsche<br />

through these<br />

entities will<br />

affect us all.<br />

If elected to the community<br />

board, I plan to make myself as<br />

available as possible throughout<br />

the region to listen to people in<br />

order to find out what they are<br />

most concerned and interested<br />

in, as well as encouraging people<br />

to attend community board and<br />

city council meetings and speaking<br />

up about these things. When<br />

people are not able to attend<br />

these meetings, then I hope to<br />

try to speak on their behalf.<br />

•Tyrone Fields – I’m an<br />

incredibly proud Lytteltonian.<br />

I grew up here on Winchester<br />

St and College Rd as part of a<br />

family that has lived in the Port<br />

for many generations. I went to<br />

school at St Joseph’s, I played<br />

rugby for<br />

Lyttelton and<br />

I captain a<br />

local football<br />

team.<br />

I love the<br />

town deeply.<br />

To work for<br />

Lyttelton<br />

would be a<br />

Tyrone Fields<br />

privilege. I<br />

believe I have<br />

the right<br />

values for Lyttelton, and the<br />

leadership skills to be a strong<br />

ELECTION: Five candidates have put their hands up to vie for a seat on the Banks Peninsula<br />

Community Board<br />

advocate for the town.<br />

I will be campaigning on the<br />

issues that matter to people in<br />

our community. An adviser in<br />

the public service, I am currently<br />

completing a Masters in Social<br />

Work. Before moving back to<br />

New Zealand with my wife to<br />

raise a family, I worked as an<br />

analyst in London financial<br />

institutions.<br />

•Ashley Stanbridge – I<br />

have been living and working in<br />

Lyttelton for eight years. Having<br />

been in Melbourne for the<br />

last few years, my partner and<br />

I returned to the port to start a<br />

family. We and our young son<br />

enjoy the<br />

support we<br />

feel around<br />

us here in<br />

Lyttelton.<br />

I returned<br />

with fresh<br />

insight about<br />

ways a community<br />

can<br />

organise<br />

and come<br />

together to<br />

Ashley<br />

Stanbridge<br />

enact change. I have a passion for<br />

small business and community<br />

engagement. This is engendered<br />

by my current position where I<br />

am lucky enough to interact with<br />

a large number of local residents<br />

on a daily basis. Through these<br />

interactions I have a clear picture<br />

of the range of public opinion<br />

regarding a number of ongoing<br />

issues.<br />

My professional background<br />

is in business management. I<br />

believe my experience will help<br />

me to work effectively with both<br />

groups and individuals throughout<br />

the community to find<br />

solutions to a number of issues<br />

that affect us all. As an involved<br />

local resident, I intend to bridge<br />

the gap that exists between a<br />

large number in our community<br />

in Lyttelton and the bays and<br />

the council that represents us<br />

by using mechanisms currently<br />

available as well as initiating new<br />

channels of communication.<br />

•Robyn Struthers – I am<br />

standing to represent Lyttelton<br />

on the community board because<br />

I am passionate about our<br />

community and the exceptional<br />

harbour environment we live<br />

and work in. I believe that to represent<br />

Lyttelton you have to live<br />

in this unique community. My<br />

husband Neil and I, along with<br />

our daughter and grandchild<br />

live in Lyttelton. As president of<br />

Rotary and through my involvement<br />

in the church and wider<br />

community,<br />

I’m aware<br />

of the challenges<br />

and<br />

opportunities<br />

here. Now<br />

semi-retired,<br />

I am able to<br />

give more<br />

Robyn<br />

time and energy<br />

into the<br />

community<br />

Struthers<br />

that I’m proud to be part of, and<br />

that offers us so much.<br />

This by-election presents me<br />

with the opportunity to be a<br />

strong and accessible advocate<br />

for local residents and businesses.<br />

I will bring to the table<br />

my business experience, my<br />

knowledge of the local community<br />

and a confidence to stand<br />

up for local interests. With Lyttelton’s<br />

significant growth comes<br />

great responsibility to manage<br />

the pressures on infrastructure<br />

and to protect local amenities<br />

for residents. I will work hard to<br />

ensure this progress continues<br />

in a responsible and sustainable<br />

way.<br />

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