VICTORIA HENSTOCK
Independent Councillor for PAPANUI
A Professional and Experienced leader
I am active in the local community having chaired the PTA and Board of Trustees at Waimairi School. Currently I am on the Board of St Francis of Assisi School, and Chair of a newly established Charitable Trust providing information and support to pregnant women in need.
Previous roles include being a trustee of the YMCA and working extensively with Women’s Refuge, and Community Law Centres.
I was a practicing lawyer for 20+ years, before embarking on a career in executive management, including:
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Executive Director of the post-earthquake Independent Hearings Panel for Otautahi, to deliver the City's long-term District Plan,
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Executive Director of the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Trust working with the Crown and the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch to reinstate the iconic Christ Church Cathedral.
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Most recently I was General Manager, Strategy and Influence for Ngai Tahu.
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I am currently a consultant working on executive management and governance issues.
Nothing will change if nothing changes!
Our community needs a strong local voice at the council table, one that isn’t tied to a political party.
I have been a resident for the last 20 years, and love living in Papanui. As Councillor for Papanui I would bring a mix of vision, practical decision-making, professionalism, and experience to the table.
The recent Council satisfaction survey showed that public confidence in this Council has plummeted to its lowest level ever.
It’s time to introduce new faces and strong local voices to the Council table. Fresh energy and fresh ideas are needed to drive our City into the future!
Papanui residents are telling me they want Council to listen, and stop excessive spending on non-priority projects. They are concerned about traffic congestion and pedestrian safety. They also want the focus to be on getting the basics right like fixing roads and footpaths, maintaining and improving our parks and playgrounds. With the likelihood of increased density of housing in the area, these are real issues for Papanui residents, and the City.
Let’s focus on building community infrastructure that benefits everyone, not a select few.
We need to make sure our community assets are maintained properly and are fit for purpose, both for now, and for future generations. This means fixing what we have, and being aspirational about what we want the Papanui Ward, and the City, to look like in the next decade, and beyond. I would love to see improvements to our public spaces, making them greener and more attractive for people to enjoy.
I am frustrated at some of the spending priorities and decisions being made by our current Council.
The current rate-and-spend mentality is not sustainable. I believe we should spend smarter and refocus our priorities. I want the people of Christchurch to have confidence in their elected officials to spend their money wisely, and focus on getting the basics right.
I am uneasy about the Government’s 3-Waters Scheme, the looming Resource Management Act reforms and Future for Local Government Review. These will have significant implications for our City, and the future of local democracy. I agree that we need to look closely at these matters, but I don’t agree that Wellington bureaucrats are the best people to make decisions about our local neighbourhoods.
These things really matter to our community and we need to ensure we have the right people at the council table to work our way through these tough issues, and fight for our right to make our own choices at a community level.
With a legal background and experience working with central and local government and Iwi, I am well placed to help navigate these reforms and fight for the right of Christchurch residents to have a say in their own future.
A Strong
Local Voice
Family focused and community minded
Practical
not Political
"Christchurch needs to be more aspirational because it seems our ambition as a City has stagnated lately. We need to be clever and excited about our future and create the right environment to attract businesses and talent to aim higher and get our city moving forward. That’s a future Christchurch I would love to be part of creating.”