Home > Archives > June 9th 2014 > Northland deserves representation from a strong leader with industry know-how and experience.
MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Northland deserves representation from a strong leader with industry know-how and experience.The Focus NZ candidate for Northland, Ken Rintoul, says it is essential that Northland has a representative in Parliament that understands their role is to represent ‘The People to Parliament’ not ‘Parliament to the People’.
Far North born, bred and schooled, Ken has a distinct passion for promoting and supporting the local economy having spent all his 52 years there, endeavouring to support communities through sponsorship, employment opportunities and by buying locally. Ken has travelled to every nook and cranny of Northland and has a good feel for Northland’s strengths and weakness. Leadership through action is important to Rintoul. A farmer, businessman, problem solver, and a firm believer in communities-based solutions he feels it is time to get involved in more complex community based operations and in lending his skill and experience to building a brighter future for Northland. Married to Phyllis for 31 years, they have two children and two grandchildren. Son of Murray and the late Pixie Rintoul, Ken has benefitted from being raised in a family that has always been very involved in the community. He already works with a number of community organisations and groups to mentor, promote and enhance Northland. Ken’s philosophy is that Central Government makes the laws and Local Government makes the rules that are supported by the community. Every community is unique he says, and our government needs to have better awareness of the value in locally sourced solutions. Ken’s analytic ability has been captured by a number of groups, including local council’s to create viability for projects and he has the ability to capture opportunities missed by delving deeper into issues. “Northland has untapped potential,” he says. “With minor changes unemployment could be significantly reduced. Local Government needs a higher portion of the taxes collected. The average for the rest of the world is around 25%. “Major inherited shortfalls in infrastructure show that the government does not direct enough funding to our local councils who are expected to resolve these issues. In the FNDC alone ratepayers pay in excess of $3 million per annum to fund infrastructure necessary to cope with peak loads created by summer tourism. Central Government should reimburse FNDC $5 million to cover these costs and allow the pay-down of loans attributed to these costs. This could reduce rates by up to 10%. Our roading scenario is very similar and needs addressing urgently as council continues to look to rural ratepayers to fund the shortfall.” Ken says there is no doubt that we need more research and development in Northland and that it should be 100% tax deductable. Ken would like Northland to support him and the Focus NZ Party into the General Election to promote and solve Northland issues. Ken Rintoul – The Focus NZ Candidate for Northland. |