Year In Review 2008
This document summarises Greater Wellington’s Annual Report 2008, which reports on the achievements of the 2007/08 Annual Plan and the 2006-16 Long-Term Council Community Plan.
Download the 2008 Year in Review (PDF, 173KB)
Our past year’s achievements
The year under review was busy for both Councillors and staff at Greater Wellington. Elections in October 2007 brought us five new Councillors, a new committee system and, as a result of early decisions by the new Council, some significant initiatives designed to future proof our region.
These include the development of a regional water strategy, a sustainable energy strategy and a regional approach to our response to climate change. Of course the issues are not new, but our new approach has two important features, driven by a need to build greater community resilience to changes beyond our control.
First, we aim to develop an integrated, long-term strategy to enable our community to make wise choices despite future uncertainties. As the physical and economic environments change, social pressures build. Strategies must be based on available knowledge and science, yet provide the flexibility to meet unforeseen external changes and community needs.
The second hallmark of these strategies is acknowledging the need for collaboration to find solutions to complex challenges. We are formally reaching out to other players (the community, central and local government, and business) to seek agreement on direction, then building working relationships to ensure the best possible delivery by the appropriate party.
I am grateful to the local government leaders in the region for their commitment to this collaborative approach. The big, cross-boundary issues require a unified approach and largely we have that in the Wellington region.
Our communities have also shown a willingness to engage in dialogue. Water, energy and response to climate change are among a number of policy areas requiring significant behaviour changes from all of us. Behaviour change will not occur unless the community understands and is engaged in our policymaking processes.
Apart from the initiatives mentioned above, good examples of this are transport and flood protection. These are high on our priority list and community input on both continues to be lively and informed.
Last year we trialled a new community outreach process, holding public meetings around the region to discuss transport challenges and trade-offs. Though attendance was not massive, interest and engagement among those who did come was high and we felt it was a worthwhile exercise.
Flood management also requires community input and support, so we will continue to consult with locals on this important infrastructure work.
In line with the more strategic approach towards water, energy and climate change, we also took first steps during the year towards using a total catchment management approach to all issues involving land, water and biodiversity. This aligns with our deepening relationship with regional iwi, who have urged a comprehensive approach to resource management, respecting the “mauri” of all things in our environment.
Local government has a mandatory responsibility to work with iwi. Our Council decided after the election that, rather than a minimalist approach, it would be mutually beneficial to invite regional iwi to nominate a representative for each of our standing committees. This arrangement is now in place and working well.
Our Council has a wide mandate, ranging from economic development (delivered by our regional economic development agency, Grow Wellington), through care of the region’s physical resources to delivery of a number of services. We have made considerable progress, though it should be noted that changes in demand, together with infrastructure deficits in some areas, are combining to put pressure on our financial resources. We are keen to demonstrate value for money, but the reality is that costs continue to increase, particularly as we are hostage to oil prices.
Even if we hold overheads to the rate of inflation, there will be continued rates increases in future years as we deliver enhanced public transport, as well as infrastructure to defend urban and rural areas from destruction by extreme weather events.
In this environment, decision making has to be prudent and considered – and in particular we need to understand when long-term leadership is required. Specific decisions will not always be popular at the time so it is important that the dialogue remains open.
I welcome ideas from any residents on how to improve our delivery. Finally, my warmest thanks to all who have worked within and alongside our Council in the past year – our staff, volunteers, business and community people, and others elected to look after parts of this region where we are so fortunate to live.
Fran WildeChair
Greater Wellington