Local business leader and caregiver Michelle Magnus has been confirmed as the ACT Local candidate for the Paeroa Ward in the upcoming Hauraki District Council election.
Magnus brings a unique blend of corporate and community experience to the race. She previously served as Finance & Operations Director at EMI Music and later co-founded Eventfinda, a major player in New Zealand’s event discovery and ticketing industry. In recent years, she has dedicated herself to in-home palliative and dementia care, supporting elderly New Zealanders with compassion and dignity.
Announcing her candidacy, Magnus said she is running to bring greater accountability, transparency, and common-sense decision-making to local government.
“With rates up 27% in just two years, our community deserves responsible financial management,” she said. “I bring real-world experience and a commitment to making sure ratepayers’ money is spent wisely — on what truly matters.”
Her selection follows ACT New Zealand’s announcement earlier this year that it would contest local elections for the first time under its “ACT Local” banner. The party says its candidates aim to refocus councils on delivering essential services, cutting unnecessary spending, and moving away from what it calls “ideological vanity projects.”
ACT Local spokesperson Cameron Luxton said Magnus represents the kind of leadership many ratepayers are looking for.
“ACT Local candidates are community-minded Kiwis who’ve had enough of wasteful councils treating ratepayers like ATMs,” Luxton said. “They’re here to serve, not lecture—focused on the basics like roads, clean streets, and value for money.”
The Hauraki District Council elections are set to take place later this year.
