Gisborne Mayor and Local Government New Zealand president Rehette Stoltz speaks to Local Democracy Reporting, reflecting on the year 2025 and what to anticipate for the year ahead. Photo: LDR/SUPPLIED
Rehette Stoltz, Mayor of Gisborne, speaks to Local Democracy Reporting about her summer break and reflects on the year that's been and the year ahead.
Discussions included the council's focus on ensuring staff numbers were "fit-for-purpose", the proposed changes to the RMA, and balancing her mayoral title with her new role as president of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).
Reflecting on her summer as she started back to work this past week, Rehette Stoltz said she watched fireworks from her parents' residence in her home country of South Africa as she rang in the new year.
Her parents' beachside home reminded her of Gisborne, and it was a "privilege" to call the two places home.
Her parents' house is located about an hour south of the famous surf spot Jeffreys Bay on South Africa's Garden Route, and Stoltz said she felt as though she could have been on Wainui Beach when she looked out from it.
On New Year's Eve she was in bed by 10pm, after a "beautiful family barbecue" at her brother's farm.
"I took Mum and Dad home. We had a cup of tea, and I was actually in bed early, but listened and watched some fireworks on the beach at midnight."
The RMA changes were 'a massive opportunity'
2025 was "a tough year" for local government, Stoltz said.
"We got through an election, [and] got a new team inducted - in the midst of a tsunami of local government changes."
2025 will "forever" be the year where the Government not only talked about disestablishing regional councils, but also about rate capping and changes to the Resource Management Act, Stoltz said.
" I see these changes as a massive opportunity."
She was often "frustrated" by what was written in the Resource Management Act.
"Often, the stuff that comes to my office is the clumsiness from legislation that is old and out of date."
It was a "fantastic opportunity" for the country to have "modern, fit-for-purpose rules".
"We can build ourselves into the first-world country that we are, and at the same time protect our beautiful, clean, and green image."
Staff numbers needed to be 'fine-tuned'
During the last six months of 2025, Stoltz said staff numbers had been a core focus and needed to be "fine-tuned".
"We came out of Cyclone Gabrielle with a massive recovery programme and a recovery team."
The council had "worked hard" to incorporate recovery work into business as usual.
This meant some fixed-term recovery positions didn't get refilled as the council needed to be the "right size".
With the "uncertainty" of the RMA changes, staff numbers would continue to be a huge focus to make sure the council was prepared for the changes, Stoltz said.
The council also did not want to lose the expertise of staff who might leave due to the uncertainty the sector is facing.
"We do not want to lose staff who might think, 'oh, I don't know what's happening in this space'."
Biggest challenges for 2026
Stoltz said the biggest challenge for the council this year would be accurately assessing what Government proposals affecting local government might mean for the community, and putting that feedback to the Government.
She would be making verbal submissions, while the council would be submitting written ones.
"We find ourselves in a very unique situation," she said.
With the council being a unitary authority, Stoltz suspected this was a similar model to what the Government was leaning towards for local government.
Gisborne District Council, with the other five unitary authorities, would play "an important role" in sharing with the Government what works and what does not.
"There are real advantages of the unitary model, but that does not say it's a fit-for-purpose for every council or every region in New Zealand."
She said that as politicians would be visiting the region for election purposes, she would also be "grabbing that opportunity" to reiterate the challenges the region faced.
This included challenges in the health and social sectors, the economy, the region's infrastructure, and climate change.
Another challenge for 2026, Stoltz said, would be developing the 10-year plan with the proposed RMA changes in mind.
Some of the changes were years away, with "very little detail available" as they were still open for submissions, but the council would still need to plan for them.
"It takes us a whole year to work on our 10-year plan, which will come into effect next July."
Balancing her two roles
Just before Christmas last year, Stoltz was appointed president of Local Government New Zealand.
She had been holding the role of vice-president since being elected in September.
When asked how she would balance the two roles with time in Wellington and Gisborne, Stoltz said she was "very organised" and had support at both organisations.
"My first priority is being the Mayor of Gisborne, and Local Government New Zealand also appreciates that.
"There are lots of opportunities to zoom into opportunities and meetings. If I need to be there face-to-face, it's a quick flight."
She said her new role at LGNZ had advantages for her council, bringing Gisborne's voice to central government, and for LGNZ, bringing unitary and regional input.
"So I feel really positive and enthusiastic."
The LGNZ membership will elect a president and vice-president for the 2026-29 period at its annual general meeting in July this year.
Stoltz said if her time as president goes well, she would seek re-election.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
