Timo seeks Tasman mayoralty

Hope-based urban designer and agri-tourism lodge owner Timo Neubauer has become the first person to throw his hat into the ring for Tasman’s mayoralty in the upcoming election.

Timo is no stranger to the council chamber, having made numerous submissions on council plans and, recently, petitioning against the rural Hope community being zoned for industrial and mixed business.

“I’ve been harping on about different approaches and what we should be doing differently, and I think it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is.”

A long-time opponent of urban sprawl, Timo’s priorities were delivering more diverse housing options, affordable infrastructure, and protecting Tasman’s “second-to-none” rural countryside.

“It’d be really easy to run a campaign on road cones and operational inefficiencies… but the root cause of our issues is the core business model that the council is applying,” he says.

He describes the current approach to funding development as a “Ponzi scheme” where ratepayers bear the financial burden of poorly-planned and expensive greenfield expansion.

“We do need to break out of that and start to consolidate and build more compact towns and villages that are easier to service and provide us a more efficient model.”

Timo acknowledged that urban design might not be “front of mind”, but said it was important to examine for the long-term health of the district.

“It’s front and centre of everything that council does – it’s all about how we provide infrastructure. So, while most people might not be aware of it… it is a really important topic that concerns everything from three waters, road infrastructure, through to the way we shape our villages and towns.”

He was confident that, if elected, he’d be able to achieve his goals despite incoming Government requirements for the region to zone enough housing land for the next 30 years.

“Whether all of that has to be supplied via greenfield growth, I don’t think that is the case. I think we are very well able to decide ourselves how best to provide capacity in our district.”

Incumbent mayor Tim King is yet to confirm whether he will run for a third term, but won almost 12,000 votes last election, more than 9000 ahead of his nearest competitor.

Timo thinks running for mayor, potentially against Tim, was “worth a try”.

“If you don’t throw your hat in the ring, you never know,” he says.

“People are starting to see the impact of Tim’s leadership: rising rates, rising debt, and lately even a credit rating downgrade. Add into that the traffic chaos and our district’s lack of affordable homes. I think that many people are not happy – they are ready for change.”