After a whirlwind five months in office, it’s now my privilege to wish all SunLive's readers a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

This is the time of year for relaxing and catching up with family and friends, and rejoicing in our wonderful summer weather – fingers crossed! – and beautiful seaside environment, so I trust you will enjoy those blessings to the full.

I know 2024 has been a tough year for many, and if that applies to you, I hope you have been able to work through your challenges.

According to the experts, 2025 should be a year of modest economic recovery, and if that is the case, we can take some comfort from having got through the worst effects of Covid and the recession induced to deal with inflation and look forward to brighter times ahead.

As a latter-day politician, I’m often asked how I’m finding my role and what my impressions are of leadership in local government.

I think I can speak for my elected member colleagues when I say our jobs are incredibly busy, but we are working well as a team and enjoying the challenge.

Since we were elected in July, your “team of 10″ has made some important decisions and set about ensuring there is transparency and accountability in council governance, as well as creating opportunities for engaging with our community.

That’s a work in progress, but we’re committed to making good decisions on the community’s behalf, delivering financial prudence and value for money in everything the council does, and making Tauranga the best city in New Zealand.

Our aim is to make substantial progress in achieving those goals over the remainder of our four-year term. Nga mihi nui.