We caught up with Director of Community Lifelines Tim Barry on his role, challenges and what he loves about Tairāwhiti
What’s your role and what does it involve?
I’m the Director of Community Lifelines. That includes our 3 waters – drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and flood management and our local roading network. These portfolios are Council's largest capital expenditure and critical to our region. Our infrastructure assets have all been majorly impacted by the cyclones and the severe weather since 2021. When recovery works are blended with business as usual, we have a program of work that is equivalent to a large city for the next few years.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face?
I have been here 5 months and the biggest challenge is the enormous amount of work we have to do with such an uncertain budget to meet recovery goals and ensure business as usual is also enhanced. The broad responsibilities make it difficult to focus attention on one single item, at any point in the day things can segway towards another task– it’s quite reactive, but good systems help. Other challenges include structural changes that water reform will ask of our region, which are unique.
What do you enjoy about the job?
I enjoy the variety of challenges and being able to accomplish things that benefit the community. I enjoy the problem-solving ability of the people I work with and having a team with diverse skills. I thrive on the vast and varied workload - it’s a privilege to work somewhere where you have all of those things.
Tell us about the priorities for your team in the next 3 years?
In roading, we need to look at building long-term resilience of key routes. During Gabrielle, some communities were cut off for weeks with 8 bridges destroyed and many more damaged. We prioritised resilience work over last year to clear drains, we’ll continue to clear large wood debris particularly in areas where it threatens our critical infrastructure. We’ll also plan and model flood protection measures to increase resilience in future storm events. With waters, we’re aiming to reduce the vulnerability of our drinking supply by preparing for fast response to future events and kicking off a suite of resilience repairs.
What do you do outside of work/ what do you love about living in Tairawhiti?
I really enjoy getting up the coast and camping. What a great summer it’s been – my kids loved the beaches; they fought over which was the best – Makorori for my daughter, Wainui for my son and Midway if you want something closer to town.