Bay of Plenty Regional Council Kōhi Māori ward councillor Toi Iti says he will not be standing for reelection at this year’s local government elections.

Mr Iti announced in early June that he intended to stand for the Eastern Bay constituency general ward seat being vacated by chairman Doug Leeder.

Mr Iti said two main factors influenced his decision, the first being his commitment to Ātea, the new creative hub being formed by Te Ahi Tahutahu Charitable Trust at the Whakatāne District Council-owned former Wally Sutherland Motors building on The Strand .

As a trustee of the charitable trust and director of his father’s company, Tāme Iti Limited, which has a Memorandum of Understanding with the trust to manage the operation, it was a large commitment.

Another reason is that central Government changes to local government have left him feeling “hamstrung” as a councillor.

“At this stage, local government is in such a stage of flux,” he said.

“Especially for regional councils, with the RMA (Resource Management Act) reforms, which is the main piece of legislation for regional councils.”

He said the writing was on the wall at the recent Local Government New Zealand conference in Christchurch, which he attended.

"We were told in no uncertain terms, ‘you will not be announcing any plans over the next while, until everything gets into place’.

“That’s what councils do, every triennium we come in, we do a long-term plan.”

He said the reforms had created a lot of frustration with massive amounts of work on the part of the councils going to waste. A recent Fresh Water Plan, which the regional council had been researching and engaging with the public on since 2020, was one example.

“The huge amount of consultation, the time and resources that was spent consulting on Fresh Water Plans and then (central government) coming in and wiping it. That is the reality of local government at the moment.

“We’ve heard minister [Shane] Jones saying, ‘what are regional council’s even there for’. There is, in the last year or so, the feeling that we might just become rubber stamps. We certainly are treading water because we are unable to pass plans.

“There’s still work that can be done while you’re there, but we are certainly a lot more hamstrung than when I first went into office.”

After consulting with his family, some of whom are also involved in the Ātea project, Mr Iti said he wanted to focus his time and energy on a project that he felt would have a real impact in the community.

“I would love to do everything, but I can’t. It came to a point where I had to make a choice.”

He said a lot of people thought the reason for not standing for regional council was that he planned to stand for Parliament.

“I have been approached by a couple of parties, but at this stage, the work I’m doing next to my father is a window I’ll never get to look through again. I think the project, Atea, will bring a huge amount of value to the community, not just in the creative sector, but across the board.”

“My energy is better spent doing that, at this stage. I’m certainly not saying never again, but it is my reading between the tea leaves that local government is not going to look like it currently does over the next couple of trienniums.”

Mr Iti said there were some great candidates standing for regional council in the Eastern Bay.

“Mawera Karetai will be a fantastic addition to the council. She will certainly bring the scientific and environmental acumen and advocacy to the table. Of course, with her son Jack having rode for Māori wards all the way down to Wellington, I think that is a whānau that is committed to local government representation for Māori."

For the general seat, he fully endorsed Malcolm Campbell.

“I’ve worked beside him for the last triennium and he’s a hard-working councillor.”

“Sarah van der Boom, in terms of environmental advocacy, has all the credentials on that front, too.”

Art hub vision for change

Eight weeks ago, when Toi Iti announced he would be stepping away from his Kōhi Māori seat on Bay of Plenty Regional Council and standing in the general seat, he spoke about “unity politics” and bringing our communities together.

"This hasn't changed for me,” Mr Iti said. “But sometimes the most transformative change happens when we build something new from the ground up.

His art hub project, Āte,a is aimed at creating jobs, nurturing talent, and positioning Whakatāne as “a beacon for creative innovation in Aotearoa”.

So I don't feel like I'm stepping away from community service. It's just taking another form"

Ātea took its name from the space of creation in Māori cosmology - “the realm that Tāne created when he separated his parents, Ranginui and Papatūānuku, allowing light and life to flourish”.

“This powerful metaphor guides the hub's vision as a space where creativity can breathe, grow, and transform communities,” he said.

"Just as Tāne created space for new life and possibilities, we're creating space for our creative community to thrive. Ātea will be where ideas take form, where creatives can find their voice, and where our rangatahi can see their creative futures unfold.

"I feel that as a community facing significant challenges, we need to lean into our creativeness to find innovative solutions to the real issues confronting us," he said.

"This goes well beyond the scope of local government. While Ātea will still be a political space in many ways, because creativity is inherently political, it's a space we can define ourselves, free from the institutional inertia that so often bogs down councils.

"Creativity isn't just about art for art's sake. It's about reimagining what's possible, challenging conventional thinking, and finding fresh approaches to entrenched problems. When you bring creative minds together in a dedicated space, solutions emerge that bureaucratic processes alone could never generate."

"To everyone who supported me politically, thank you. Your faith in me isn't misplaced. This is just a redirection of my energy towards building something with my whānau to create opportunities that will benefit our entire community."