About Louise
Candidate Statement
Ko Louise Hutt tōku ingoa. He tangata Tiriti ahau.
As a first-termcouncillor, it's been my privilege to be the Chair of the Regulatory and Hearings Committee, lead the Climate Advisory Panel, hold the portfolios for disability and older people, and sit on the Creative Communities art funding panel.
We've reduced Council's emissions by 20%, put in more mobility carparks in the CBD, increased shade in playgrounds, added more bus shelters so people aren't waiting in the rain, ensured key facilities got upgrades and weren't left to deteriorate, and worked on reducing school congestion by teaching more kids to walk, cycle, scooter, and bus safely.
Whether you're 8 or 80, everyone deserves to thrive in our city. I show up, do the mahi, keep the community informed, and challenge the status quo. We need thoughtful, compassionate leadership, and I'd love to continue to serve our city.
Candidate Profile Questions
1. What would be your top three priorities for Council the next three years?
1. Ensure we take robust, strategic climate action. Hamilton is one of the most at-risk cities for extreme heat, and we must make strategic investments, help communities vulnerable to climate-related harm, and ease our transition to a low-carbon city.
2. Look after what we have - we cannot afford an austerity budget that guts maintenance, infrastructure and services that are valued by the community. Whether it’s footpath maintenance, funding animal control, or keeping our libraries and pools open, we can’t make short-term decisions for long-term failure.
3. Ensure there’s plenty of well-built houses, which are well-connected to buses, walking and cycling routes, amenities, schools, and workplaces - we need a city that works for everyone, and responds to our growing population.
2. What is your aspiration for Hamilton Kirikiriroa?
That we live in a city where our future generations see the outcomes of the courageous decisions we made today, and that we learn from past mistakes.
I want Hamilton to be a place where everyone can thrive, whether you’re 8 years old or 80. Sometimes that's small things, like more mobility parks or bus shelters, and sometimes that's big things like not being afraid to invest in the infrastructure we need.
3. How do you think Council could best use opportunities to meet the key challenges we are facing?
We need to build a stronger relationship between the community and Council.
Less than 30% of people voted in the last election and we regularly have submissions of only a few hundred on key projects. We need to help the community understand what Council does and we need to spend more time in the community talking to them about what problems we could solve instead of asking people to come to us. We’ve gotta make it easy for people to contact Council and ensure we respond in a meaningful way that demonstrates we are listening.
4. If there was one thing you could change about Hamilton Kirikiriroa immediately, what would it be?
We have to fundamentally change how councils generate income - as this affects housing, infrastructure, public services, and the courage of councillors. It requires advocating to central government with a clear, unified voice - because the status quo is broken, and we don’t hold the levers to solve it ourselves.
We lose 15% of all rates revenue to the government through GST. We can't accept the government not paying rates on any of their properties in the city. And really, we need a sustainable alternative to rates altogether. We can't change this without a clear voice to central government, and working together as a sector and a whole community.
5. What qualities would you bring to Council that will help our city thrive?
I bring thoughtful, honest leadership and a commitment to repairing Council's relationship with the community.
I have a track record of delivering on campaign promises - we’ve reduced Council’s emissions, put in more mobility carparks in the CBD, increased shade in playgrounds, added more bus shelters so people aren’t waiting in the rain, ensured key facilities got upgrades and weren’t left to deteriorate, and worked on reducing school congestion by teaching more kids to walk, cycle, scooter, and bus safely.
I show up, do the mahi, keep the community informed, and challenge the status quo that has been kicking the can down the road for decades.
6. Where can voters go to learn more about you?
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