Garrick Workman, QSM, looks back

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 15, Issue 690, 10 June 1997, Page 5

Garrick Workman, QSM, looks back

Turmoil may have been a major part the 21 years of public service for Garrick Workman but the list of local government achievements through^ that time is long. Mr W orkman started i n local government as a councillor

on the Raetihi Borough Council in 1974, serving as deputy mayor from 1980-83, then mayor from 1983-88 when the Waimarino District Council (WDC) was formed. He served as mayor for the 18months that the WDC existed, then being elected mayor of the Ruapehu District in November 1989. He served as mayor of the RDC for two terms, until he stood down in 1995. Since then he has concentrated on runnirig the Hobbit Motel in Ohakune with his wife, Maureen. He says one of the reasons he started in local government was that he saw the decline in rural services coming and wanted to try to stop it. "Farming had declined and this was naturally going to impact markedly on Raetihi, and it has, and we were not going to lay down and die without a fight." That coupled with the rapid changes in the commercial sector, in banking and retailing, put Raetihi in a bad situation. "Once the ski field opened (in 1978)

naturally people would invest in the community closest to the mountain. That combined with the new pulp mill inevitably led to the complete reversal of fortunes between Raetihi and Ohakune." "There was only going to be room for one main retail centre in the area, much to my dismay."

Raetihi works He believes the Raetihi Borough Council achieved /•success. The streets were all sealed, kerb and channel and footpaths put in and a sewerage reticulation system installed.

Later, he negotiated the setting up of the postal and banking agencies at the RDC service centre. As well as retaining those services for the town, it also helped with the viability of the council's own agency. 'Titi sure it would have beenclosedotherwise. We argued persuasively to ratepayers to support the idea. We didn't worrytoomuch

about the (Local Government Commission) rules — we just did it." The commission at the time made no allowances for the establishment of such agencies. Ohakune water Next success was the Ohakune water treatment plant, which had already been chosen by Ohakune people prior to amalgamation. "Ohakune made it very clear that they wanted UV, not chlorine, and they didn't want anyone from Raetihi voting to overturn that decision" "I am very pleased personally that it did not happen. I can pour water straight from the tap into the carafes for the (Hobbit) restaurant and don't everi need to add ice." He said as it was one of the first of its size and type there were inevitable teething problems with the plant — more than they would have liked — but it was now running well. "Too expensive? Probably, but who cares? It's what people wanted — crystal clear water uncontaminated by chemicals." Pipiriki Road Cost over-runs on the Pipiriki Road upgrading are causing concern, he said, but the project was still very important for the whole district. "There was no option." "I was thankful that I could be involved in those nego-

tiations. I was brought up on that road and remember only too well the clouds of dust and corrugations." "I'd still like to see Transit New Zealand upgrade the remainder of the road under the special purpose tourist route status." Only option Mr Workman believes the Waimarino amalgamation was the only option for the Raetihi and Ohakune boroughs, both being in difficult financial situations. At one stage neither had been able to fund their own administration let alone any upgrading. The county had been debt-free but the roading network was of a low stanflard. The WDC worked well and they did not see the need at the time for further amalgamation, and certainly not with T aumarunui. Taupo would have been a much better option, particularly now that the Waimarino is part of the Taupo electorate. "I have a gut feeling that the WDC could have survived, but I doubt if we could have funded projects like Pipiriki Road." "When the Ruapehu District was formed it could have been insolvent. T aumarunui County was in debt and Taumarunui Borough had cleverly protected its reserves (funds) so that they could only be spent on projects they had set out. But the roading network in the north was much better than our rural roads." Difficult district He still feels Ruapehu is a difficult district to administer, with its large area, large number of rural roads

and the number of separate small communities. "It' s difficult to say about the benefits "of amalgamation but there' s no way back now. It would be hard for small local authorities to survive now." Tourism future The district now has a bright future, says Mr Workman, especially if it can maximise its tourism potential. Which is one reason why he was a strong supporter of setting up the marketing unit.

"That gets back to our Raetihi Business Association days, I saw those efforts pay dividends and knew that if it could work on that scale why can't it work at a higher level?" He saw the need for a proper marketing department with resources and the right person. "You'll never convince everyone that there is benefit for them, but the eruption was a wake-up call for those who went against the marketing unit (decision)." Tum to Page 6

Garrick Workman, QSM

From Page5 "With more people here it is more easily justifiable for services such as health, education and commercial services to stay , because the demand is there." Sewage plant Funding had already been set aside for Taumarunui' s sewage treatment system, but the right decision still had to be made, said Mr Workman. "That was an important issue not just for Taumarunui but the whole district, to clean up the Whanganui River." "It was imperative that we chose the right type of plant to meet the standards of effluent required by the regional council." Health battles Fighting to retain health services took a lot of his mayoral time. "I felt it was better to work with the area health boards than fighting them. I could clearly see the direction the government was moving with regard to health, regardless of who wasinpower." "I believe we had a certain measure of success (in retaining services) — not 100 per cent, there' s still a long way to go." The next step, Mr Workman believes, is to convince the Regional Health Authority of the need to extend health care to cover longterm care in the W aimarino . "But many people in Taumarunui thought I let them down on the hospital issue. There was so much emotion attached to their hospital and no-one wanted to see services reduced." He now feels what they proposed was going too far, too fast for Taumarunui. "What is happening there now is exactly what Paul Malpass and our committee proposed, but not downtown." Nominator unknown Garrick said he wanted to thank the unknown person who nominated him for the QSM, saying he was very grateful for that, let alone the award itself. He said he has received numerous good wishes, by letter and phone, which he greatly appreciated.