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Bay of Plenty

Regional Council

Common

Sense

Policies

 

 

  • Making decisions based on science and evidence rather than an ideological wishlist.
  • Encouraging community participation with open and transparent decision making.
  • Ensuring civil defence readiness for earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and other natural disasters.
  • Encourage and reward landowners who improve their environmental management including waste management.
  • Protecting our waterways to ensure water is available and free from pollutants.
  • Planning transport for how people need to move around rather than forcing behaviour changes.
  • Improved air quality especially in our industrial areas such as at the Mount.

Meet

Ron Scott

JP

 

I have lived in Tauranga for over two decades. During that time, I have taken many opportunities to contribute to this amazing community. For 12 years I served as a trustee of TECT and for 11 years I was on the Bay of Plenty DHB rising to Deputy Chair. In 2020 I chaired the Establishment Board of Suzanne Aubert School and in 12 months, including Covid lockdowns, we went from green fields to a completed school with full enrolment. I know how to get things done. Today I am a director of the Royal Foundation of the Blind and I chair the SILC Charitable Trust.

I am a Justice of the Peace and a member of the AA Bay of Plenty Council.

I have two great children, now in their early twenties, and it is the job of this generation to ensure that we leave this place well looked after for the next generation.

I have degrees in Economics, Geography and History and am a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.

 I am CEO of Stellaris Ltd which helps organisations to create practical strategic plans – ones that don’t sit in a bottom drawer but rather help achieve the vision of the organisation. 

The skill I will bring to the Council table is that of joined-up thinking: Thinking which achieves things and makes things happen rather than endless reports and working groups. Too often elected members have all the fluffy words and high-minded ideology but what gets done?

Above all I stand for common sense and teamwork.

 

SUNLIVE INTERVIEW

 BuzzWorthy

I was interviewed by Ross at Sunlive about running for the BOP Regional Council. He asked me about my background as an economist (and the only candidate with a finance related degree). We discussed the challenges and also the opportunities I see for Tauranga.
Have a listen and tell me whether you agree that we need some Common Sense on Council.

 

My Values

I have spent more than a decade promoting a healthy Tauranga through the DHB. I passionately believe that promoting healthy lifestyles is one big action we can take and where better to be active than in a healthy environment.

For me a healthy environment is not only one which is clean and unpolluted but importantly an environment which welcomes people in: to live, work and play.

A healthy environment helps us stay healthy by having great spaces to walk, swim, fish, ride, and generally enjoy the great outdoors. And that must include people who have less mobility such as older folk and people with disabilities.

A healthy environment means the air is free of pollutants, so we really need to get on top of that problem especially around the Port.

A healthy built environment is safe. Public transport should be safe to use and go to where people want to go. 

A healthy economic environment isn’t weighed down by burdensome regulations that don’t even achieve their stated objectives. We need to think about unintended consequences before lurching into band-aid rules that fix one problem and create another.

Our environment is a complex ecosystem. It includes the natural treasures of this region such as the parks, the rivers and the harbour and also the built environment including our roads, businesses and urban areas.

I have the skills to look across the system. Rather than single-mindedly focussing on just one niche, whether it be the natural environment, or city design or compliance, my strengths include understanding how they inter-relate. You don’t want unintended consequences because your council can’t see connections and side effects. We need to do it right!

I believe in seeking common sense solutions and looking for the unintended consequences.

 

Community Engagement

Being elected to the Regional Council is an important and complex role. It requires experience, governance skills such as teamwork and also hard skills such as understanding the financial reports of an organisation worth over half a billion dollars.

There are numerous technical reports to read and understand so as to ask the tough questions of the report writers. Finance, science, economy, community designs and more.

At the same time, it needs a dose of common sense and realism.  We are using your money to achieve the regional goals. 

So do I have those skills and experience?

Well, I wrote the book on Governance. Literally. Called The New Director, it has been published internationally. But writing and doing are different things. What have I actually done!

Below you will see my experience. I have been on boards that have built hospitals and schools. 

I get things done. At Suzanne Aubert I chaired the establishment Board. We started with a green paddock and within 12 months we had built a school and had a full roll. This was in 2020 with Covid at full blast. 

I understand the communities of Tauranga. 

I am a JP which gives me great access to people at milestones in their lives: weddings, divorces, funerals, graduation, etc. In terms of working on Boards I am very connected with a range of networks. SILC provides services to almost 200 people with various disabilities. Age Concern works to support the older community in Tauranga. The AA is concerned with motorists and mobility around the city. Blind Low Vision NZ serves those with vision impairment. Elsewhere the Institute of Directors has linked me to the business community and of course TECT gave me huge insights into the hundreds of community organisations, sports clubs and charities in this city.

I have Financial Know-how. For five years I chaired the Finance and Risk Committee at the DHB. Despite some horrendously difficult times we came in on budget.  I now serve on the Finance Committee of the Royal Foundation of the Blind. It is tough for lots of people so I feel a responsibility to make sure that every dollar is spent the way you would, if it was your own money.

Experience

Current

  • AA Bay of Plenty Council Councillor
  • Royal Foundation of the Blind Director
  • SILC Charitable Trust Chair
  • Stellaris Ltd Director

 

Past

  • Bay of Plenty DHB Member / Deputy Chair

Additional Key Responsibilities at the DHB: Chair: Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee, Chair: Community and Public Health Advisory Committee

  • Age Concern (Bay of Plenty) Treasurer
  • Institute of Directors (Bay of Plenty) Committee Member
  • Suzanne Aubert School Establishment Board Chair
  • TECT Trustee
  • University of Waikato Council Member

Contact Me

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