HAMILTON

NEW COUNCIL BLOOD
BRINGS FRESH OPTIMISM
COUNCIL
By Philip Quay
Kelvyn Eglinton is in his early stages as Hamilton City Council’s General Manager of
City Growth and feels positive about the future of Hamilton.
Originally from the Manawatu, Kelvyn has been out of New Zealand for the past seven
years working in top-level commercial positions in Australia and Indonesia.
Formally head of external affairs for Newmont Gold Mines in Waihi, he was relocated
to Australia to be regional manager for Australasia/Asia pacific and for the last twelve
months was chief of staff for their Indonesia office in Jakarta.
“After seven-odd years away from New Zealand with the family,” says Kelvyn, “when
this role came up I saw it as a great opportunity to be part of a leadership team where
we can do good things for the community.”
The City Growth unit is responsible for city planning, resource planning, building
regulations, economic development, food hygiene, trading in public places, alcohol
licensing, animal control and customer services.
“I’ve always held a belief,” says Kelvyn, “that local government, with the right
community and the right leadership, can do good things for the community. I’ve seen
that around the world and I wanted to be part of that.”
Kelvyn says Hamilton’s potential has historically been underestimated and changing
that perception is among the aspirations he has for his City Growth team.
“I think we undersell Hamilton,” says Kelvyn. “When I talk to people, I find there are
actually a lot of people like me. It’s their first time living in Hamilton and they enjoy
the fact that it’s got a huge amount of amenity. It’s a city of scale but it’s still easy to
get around.
“All those things that are the best of regional living are actually on Waikato’s
doorstep. We’ve got world class gardens, New Zealand’s best river, some of the best
tramping and walking tracks around and easy access to the rest of New Zealand.”
Kelvyn says he expects the City Growth team to contribute to that changing
perception, with their focus on customer service and community.
“One of the things we want to do is get that story into people’s hearts and minds,
that being in the Waikato is actually a fantastic place to grow kids, it’s affordable for
families to live here, it’s got great education opportunities, access to some of the best
environments, be it coastal or riverine or mountains or ranges.
“I think people coming back from overseas who have lived internationally, which is
part of the huge inward migration back to NZ, whether it’s from Australia or Europe,
they’re used to travelling an hour and a half to see an event in Auckland or traveling
40 minutes to the beach. It’s part of what an international community is like.
However, Kelvyn says Council can’t do it alone.
“We need to be forming those relationships with our investment community and our
business community to start bridging this confidence gap,” he says. “We need to
have a common vision.
“I think the plans are actually there and what the people are struggling with perhaps
is just the mechanism to drive these things forward. We will put our hand up and take
the lead.”
“We need to be telling that story more loudly and be proud to come from Hamilton,”
says Kelvin. “It’s a great spot.”
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ISSUE 1 : BIZ HAMILTON : 3