Message from the Chair and Chief Executive

Thank you to those who have given us feedback on our 2024-34 Long Term Plan. We received over 700 submissions from residents across the region, including school students, farmers, environmentalists and business people on topics as diverse as grazing and coastal retreat. We read and considered them all.  

We heard that the community is very concerned about the cost-of-living crisis. At the same time, you support the continuation of the important services and infrastructure that Greater Wellington provides for the region.   

Like all councils in Aotearoa New Zealand, we’re working under some difficult circumstances. We have experienced increased costs, rising inflation, higher insurance and borrowing costs. Unfortunately, extreme weather events are becoming more common. All of this creates a challenging situation, and to ensure we get things done we must manage carefully.  

In our Long Term Plan, we continue our important work addressing the impact of climate change and controlling the pests that damage our rohe. We are developing a frequent and reliable public transport system and protecting the region’s communities from the impact of flooding.

We heard that the community supports increasing the Council’s control of key public transport infrastructure, which will help us future proof our transport network, make our services more efficient and cost effective and reduce our carbon emissions.

During consultation, we heard your concerns about leaky pipes and drinking water supply. We have planned for continued ownership and investment in bulk water supply as part of the Government’s move from Three Waters to ‘Water done well’. Our role is to collect, store and supply safe drinking water which we provide to the city councils to distribute to homes and businesses. Wellington Water Limited does this work on our behalf. 

The big issues of flood prevention, drinking water supply, public transport and managing urban development demand a region-wide approach. We’ll continue to collaborate with and support our mana whenua partners, communities, Wellington, Porirua, Wairarapa, Kāpiti Coast and Hutt Valley councils to find solutions to these pressing issues. 

Our partnership continues to recognise and support mana whenua as kaitiaki (guardians) of their broad whenua, freshwater and moana interests in their ancestral lands. We work with our mana whenua partners collaborating at all levels of our organisation including governance, management, and operations. 

We also appreciate that the community is keen to work with us to achieve our vision of an extraordinary region, thriving environment, connected community. Greater Wellington has many ways for groups to get involved with what we do and we encourage them to do so as an essential part of how we deliver on the ground.  

Over the next few years, we will be ready to respond to government proposals for reform, while ensuring we deliver on our vision and our existing commitments. For local government, this evolving direction carries significant levels of uncertainty which we must prepare to navigate and respond to in ways that will have the best results for our Region.

Tēnā koutou te hunga tuku urupare mai mō tā mātou Mahere Pae-Tawhiti 2024-2034. Neke atu i te 700 ngā tāpaetanga i riro i a mātou mai i ngā tāngata puta noa i te rohe, pēnei i ngā tauira, ngā kaipāmu, ngā tāngata taiao me ngā  kaipakihi mō ngā tini kaupapa pērā ki te kaikai me te ngahoro takutai. I pānuitia, i whai whakaaro hoki ki te katoa. 

I rongo mātou mō te āwangawanga o te hapori ki te raru nui o te utu noho. Hāunga rā ia, e tautoko ana koutou kia haere tonu ngā ratonga nui me ngā tūāhanga e whakaratohia ana e Te Pane Matua Taiao ki te rohe.

Pērā me ngā kaunihera katoa o Aotearoa, kei raro mātou i ngā āhuatanga taumaha e mahi ana. Kua rongo i te pānga o te pikinga o ngā utu, o te pikiutu tukipū, o ngā inihua me ngā utu taurewa hoki. Ko te mea whakarapa kē, kua māori noa te āhua o ngā huarere taikaha. Nā konā puta ai ngā wero hei āta whakahaere mā mātou kia tutuki ai ngā mahi.    

Mā tō mātou Mahere Pae-Tawhiti, haere tonu ai ngā mahi hei urupare ki te pānga o te āhuarangi hurihuri me te whakahaeretia o ngā riha e whakararu nei i tō tātou rohe. E whakawhanake ana i tētahi pūnaha waka tūmatanui pūputu, horopū hoki, ā, e tiakina ana ngā hapori o te rohe i ngā pānga ki te waipuketanga. 

I rongo mātou mō te kaha tautoko a te hapori kia whakapūmautia te tūāhanga waka tūmatanui mā te tukuna o tana mana ki Te Pane Matua Taiao, mā tēnei e pai ake te rere me te utu o ā tātou ratonga tūnuku, ā, kia iti ai te tukuwaro.  

I te wā o te uiui, ka kaha rangona ā koutou māharahara mō ngā paipa e papī ana, mō te kohinga wai hoki. Kua rite mātou kia mau tonu ki te haepapa me te haumitanga o te kohinga wai whai rawa i ngā nekehanga o te Kāwanatanga mai i te Three Waters ki te ‘Water done well’. Ko te haepapa ki a mātou kia kohia, kia puritia, kia tukua hoki he wai e pai ai mō te inu, ka whakarato atu ki ngā kaunihera o ngā tāone nui kia tuku atu ai ki ngā kāinga, ki ngā pakihi hoki. Mā Wellington Water Limited tēnei mahi e tutuki. 

Me rohe whānui te ahunga ki ngā take nui pēnei i te kaupare waipuke, te kohinga wai, te waka tūmatanui me te whakahaeretia o ngā whanaketanga tāone. Ka tūhono tonu ki ō mātou kōtuinga mana whenua, hapori, me ngā kaunihera o Te Whanganui a Tara, Porirua, Wairarapa, Kapiti me Te Awakairangi kia whai huarahi hei kaupare i ēnei take. Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Taranaki Whānui ki te Ūpoko o te Ika, Rangitāne ō Wairarapa and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa.

Ka ū tonu mātau kia tata tonu ai tā mātou mahi tahi ki ngā mana whenua - Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Taranaki Whānui ki te Ūpoko o te Ika, Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Ngāti  Kahungunu ki Wairarapa. Ko ā mātou mahitahi he whakanui, he tautoko hoki i ngā mana whenua hei kaitiaki o ō rātou whenua, o ō rātou wai, o ō rātou moana ki ō rātou tūranga waewae. Ka ngana mātou ki te mahitahi ki ō mātou kōtuinga mana whenua ki ngā taumata katoa o te tōpūtanga, pēnei me te taumata mana urungi, whakahaere, mahi hoki. 

Kei te koa hoki i runga i te hīkaka o te hapori kia mahi tahi ai ki a mātou e eke panuku ai tā tātou tirohanga whānui hei rohe autaia, hei wāhi taurikura, hei hapori tūhonohono. He tini ngā huarahi e mahi tahi ai ngā rōpū ki Te Pane Matua Taiao, ka mutu, koia nei te taumata e tutuki ai i a tātou ngā mahi kei mua i te aroaro. 

Hei ngā tau e tū mai nei, ka rite noa mātou ki te whakatutuki i ngā tono a te kāwanatanga mō ana huringa, ka mutu, ka ngana tonu kia tutuki ai tā mātou tirohanga whānui me ā mātou herenga ake. Mō te taha ki ngā kāwanatanga ā-rohe, ka kaha pupū ake te ngākaurua i ēnei panonitanga, ā, me rite tā mātou urupare kia pai mārika ngā hua ki tō tātou rohe.