I am committed to:

• Listening to our community...

• Understanding the issues...

• Careful and thoughtful consideration...

• Making evidence based and prudent decisions...

• Working in collaboration and partnership with our communities...

• Developing positive and effective working relationships with our neighbouring local Councils,...and

• Providing strong leadership and the courage to act together to build a more sustainable world.

I firmly believe that:

• Our environment is precious and needs protecting and enhancing.

• Our activities are impacting on our environment.

• Climate change is occurring and we must act urgently to change behaviour, to mitigate, and to adapt.

• We need to reduce our footprint on the earth. We need to reuse more and waste less.

• People are important. Together we can make a difference.

• Our positive future will require innovation and continual improvement in what we do.

My focus for the triennium ahead will be to ensure that the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is responding to the issues above, while providing:

• Value for money and wise investment; transparency and accountability;

• Efficient and effective service delivery;

• Strong customer service;

• A greater understanding of what the Regional Council does;

• Increased engagement of Council with the wider community, so that the valuable work that the Regional Council does is respected and valued.