‘Humbled’: Meet the new faces around Marlborough’s council table

Maia Hart

Matt Flight, who is also chairperson of the Sawmill Studios, said he was stoked to be elected to council, despite losing the mayoralty election. Photo: Supplied/STUFF.

Satisfied, humbled and stoked were some of the words used by Marlborough’s newest councillors as official election results were announced.

The official declaration of election results, released on Friday, confirmed the eight new councillors that will join the council this term.

These included two new councillors in the Marlborough Sounds ward, two in the Wairau-Awatere ward, three in the Blenheim ward, and a Māori ward councillor. Meanwhile, every councillor who sought re-election was re-elected.

Blenheim ward councillor Matt Flight, 47, said he was stoked with the result, even though he did not win the mayoralty.

“Nadine brings some pretty awesome experience, and that’s something I’ll be able to feed off,” he said.

Blenheim ward councillor Deborah Dalliessi hopes to be part of a more transparent council. Photo: Supplied/STUFF.

“Running for mayor, a couple of friends said you should just give it a go ... I knew it was highly unlikely to win that, but I wanted people to know that I’m there, and that I want to give it my all no matter what position that may be in.”

Flight, a “limited electrician”, ran for the council in 2019, and for the Labour Party in the 2020 general election.

“I certainly had the name recognition and the [election] experience, but I was not 100% sure that I would make it into council, but I was reassured that it wasn’t looking too bad,” he said.

He said he told the mayor on Friday he had a “great passion” for housing and attracting people to the region to work in the trades.

Blenheim ward councillor Deborah Dalliessi, 63, said it was “very satisfying” to hear she had been elected.

Dalliessi just missed out on being elected in the 2019 election, and said she had been working towards this election since.

“I put in a lot of work, and I’m just very grateful there were so many people that gave me their time when I stopped and talked to them when I was campaigning,” she said.

Wairau-Awatere councillor Scott Adams said it was an honour to be elected. Photo: Supplied/STUFF.

She said she had already had positive talks with Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor.

“I’m very optimistic [for] the challenges that will come, and the roles that I’ll play in wellbeing and development and enhancement of our town,” she said.

She hoped to be part of a “much more transparent” council that was engaged with its community.

“I’m just excited to see the books opened, and seeing the team and how Nadine’s going to shape the committees,” she said. “I’m ready to work, I’ve been waiting four years for this.”

Wairau-Awatere ward councillor Scott Adams, 36, said it was humbling to be voted in.

“You can take it as a bit of an honour,” Adams said.

“The realisation is wow you’ve gone through the election, the work starts now.”

Adams ran for council in 2019, losing the seat to Francis Maher by 13 votes.

Waikawa Marae manager Allanah Burgess is Marlborough’s new Māori ward councillor. Photo: Supplied/STUFF.

He said being so close last time was a vote of confidence, and he had to try again.

He thought it needed to be discussed how to increase voter engagement, and that turnout needed to at least be in the 50% range.

“If you don’t vote you can’t complain,” he said.

Marlborough Sounds ward Ben Minehan, 48, said he always wanted to run for council, but it had happened sooner than he thought.

“I’m really happy,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to getting in there, and getting things happening for the district ... I’m ready to go to work.”

He thought fellow Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Barbara Faulls had been doing a good job, so he saw an opportunity to work alongside her.

“It seemed like the perfect time to run, I wanted to get in there and support her,” he said.

“I think it’s good if you have someone experienced in there, if you’re coming in as a new councillor.”

Minehan, who owned a weed controlling business, was a former biosecurity officer at the Marlborough District Council.

“I’m very interested in the roading network ... I know how important the roading network is for farmers,” he said.

“And I’ve got a real interest in the environment too, doing weed control for so long now, all over Marlborough, I know where the issues lie.”

Sally Arbuckle, pictured at a senior housing meet-the-candidates meeting, can’t wait to get stuck in. Photo: Supplied/STUFF.

Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Raylene Innes, 59, said she was “pretty shocked” to learn she had been elected.

She had been a permanent Kaiuma Bay resident for about three years, so thought she was one of the lesser known candidates. She wanted to thank those that had taken the time to vote for her.

“In terms of wanting to stand and what the catalyst was, it really came about with looking at where Marlborough could go in the future, and how Marlborough could be,” she said.

“But the thing that tipped me over the edge was when my grandson looked out at some trees being cut down and wanted to know who had cut them all down because it was going to cause an earthslip.

“It just takes you back, and you realise that there are things in communities that you can have an impact on, and you can try and hopefully leave the place better than you found it.”

Day-to-day Innes worked as a contractor for i-Site New Zealand.

Jonathan Rosene won the final Blenheim ward seat by 13 votes. Photo: Supplied/STUFF.

Also new to the council table was Māori ward councillor Allanah Burgess.

Burgess said last week she was humbled by the result and proud of Marlborough for accepting the new ward.

“It’s new to all of us … it’s going to take a lot of effort and hard work for not only me ... but for other councillors to accept having that new voice,” Burgess said.

​Sally Arbuckle, who won the final Wairau-Awatere ward seat by six votes, said she was “excited” and “stoked” to have been elected.

“It's an exciting time for me, there’s definitely challenging times that we're going to be facing,” she said.

Arbuckle was a hairdresser by trade, but at the moment worked as a bar tender.

“But I’m looking forward to getting stuck in out there,” she said.

Jonathan Rosene, who won the final Blenheim ward seat by 13 votes, said he was humbled and honoured to be elected.

“I'm honoured and humbled mostly, but I'm excited of course, too,” Rosene said.

The first full council meeting was set down for October 27.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.

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