Now is the time to seriously consider being involved in local government decision making, Queenstown Lakes District Council chief executive Duncan Field said.

Nominations for candidates wishing to stand for council, regional council, district health board or community board opened this Friday.

"We have a good number of elected members willing to stand but there will also be some big shoes to fill. It's time for people to seriously consider whether they would be willing to make a commitment to the community for a three year term," he said.

The council was encouraging anyone who wanted to make a difference in the local community to stand for either the council in the wards of Wakatipu Arrowtown and Wanaka or as a board member for the Wanaka Community Board.

"We need a range of elected members of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds with a range of different skill sets," Mr Field said.

The council was entering into a major period of delivery in terms of several major projects, including the Queenstown Aquatic Centre, recycling in the Wakatipu, walking and cycle trails district-wide, completion of the extensive service delivery 'contract' reviews, delivery of transportation strategies for Wanaka and Queenstown and the implementation of waste water treatment projects, to name a few.

"This will be a really exciting period to be involved in a lot of key projects that are now coming to fruition in the fastest growing district in the country," Mr Field said.

Anyone over the age of 18 could stand for election as long as they were a New Zealand citizen and enrolled on the electoral roll.

A candidate information session would be held at the Wanaka council office from 5pm on Monday 13 August and the Queenstown council office from 5pm Wednesday 15 August.

Candidate information booklets were also available at council offices.

Nominations opened today (Friday 27 July) and closed on Friday 24 August (noon).

ENDS

For more information please contact Duncan Field 03 4410 499.

By: Tamah