Brett Waterhouse is Maketū’s newest community board member.

Waterhouse has been elected to the Maketū Community Board, following a byelection in Western Bay of Plenty that closed at noon on Friday, November 1.

Waterhouse received 180 votes to finish ahead of Susan (Huhana) Smith, who received 86 votes.

The voter return for this byelection was 28.37 per cent (267 votes).

On hearing the results, Waterhouse said he is looking towards the future of Maketū.

“Laura Rae has left a big hole in the Maketū Community Board and I will try my best to fill it, however, her support as a Maketū-Te Puke ward councillor is great,” he said.

“Maketū has been forgotten. I just want to keep putting our rural voice up the food chain to get the overdue basic infrastructure Maketū is owed.

“I’m a born and bred Maketūian, a second-generation fisherman who has a successful charter fishing business, Wai Whare Charters Ltd, based in the Kaituna River.”

Brett and Aleisha Waterhouse, with their children Cruz, 12, and twins Evalee and Atlas, both 6. Photo/Supplied.

Waterhouse said he wants to highlight the significance of Maketū in the Western Bay of Plenty.

“Maketū formed the Bay of Plenty; they harvested the flax from Maketū, we were the Tauranga ‘port’ and brought the initial funding to the area.

“That history has been forgotten, as Waihī and Ōmokoroa seem to get bottomless funding and we don’t even have a footpath to circuit around Maketū,” he said.

“Maketū is well overdue for some love. The stormwater, drainage, kerbing, footpaths playgrounds etcetera.”

To provide a safe place for the young, old and everyone in between to walk around Maketū is one of his many ambitions for the “magic Maketū”.

Waterhouse is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who once served as a board member.

“He was on the Maketū Community Board many years ago advocating for kerbing. He passed before he got to see it happen. I hope I see some progress before I die as we still seem to be trying to get the ball rolling in these areas.”

A byelection was called for the Maketū Community Board after the board’s previous chair, Rae, was elected to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council as a Maketū-Te Puke ward councillor.