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