Matt Lawrey Running For Nelson City

Journalist Matt Lawrey has announced he is standing for Nelson City Council at October’s elections.

Matt, who last month left The Leader community newspaper where he worked as a reporter for 12 years, will be campaigning on four key policies:

1. Bringing more people and life into Nelson’s CBD by removing the obstacles that limit inner-city living.

2. Protecting the natural environment.

3. Keeping Nelson’s creative heart beating by retaining the cultural events that give the city a buzz.

4. Developing Stoke’s commercial area into a nicer place to live, work, shop and play.

Matt, 44, is standing as an independent andisnominated by retiring, long-serving Nelson City Councillor Gail Collingwood, and founder of The Independent Nursing Practice, Annette Milligan.

In addition to his work at The Leader, Matt has enjoyed an award-winning career in radio, worked as a presenter on the TV ONE show Business is Booming and TV2's live Saturday night Lotto draw, and been a columnist for The Nelson Mail.

“Standing for Nelson City Council is a natural step from the kind of community-focused journalism that I’ve thrown myself into for the last 15 years. Both deal with the issues that communities have to tackle if they want to become better places to live,” he said.

Matt said over the years he had built up a massive network of contacts, including everyone from business leaders and the region’s leading artists to former refugees and others on 'Struggle Street’.

“I think the work I’ve done up until now has been great preparation for being a city councillor. I believe I understand what makes Nelson special and what people want. I also think that the more inquiring minds you have around the council table, the better,” he said.

Matt also devised and writes the internationally successful cartoon The Little Things. Launched in 2010, The Little Things is published in nine newspapers across New Zealand and Australia. It also appears on Stuff.co.nz and is the subject of two books published by Craig Potton Publishing.

He is also a professional MC, a film critic and a landlord.

An active member of the community, Matt is a volunteer at Victory Primary School’s Breakfast Club, making sure kids don’t miss out on the most important meal of the day.

Last year he organised the painting of a large mural on the corner of Emano and Toi Toi Sts depicting the Victory area’s natural heritage.

From 2001 to 2004 he worked as the coordinator of the Nelson Arts Festival’s Sculpture Symposium.

Matt lives in the Victory area with his wife Tania Norfolk and their young sons Darcy and Miro.

ends

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