Greater Wellington Chair Daran Ponter says the regional council’s next Long Term Plan will balance maintaining and
improving services while keeping rates affordable despite rising borrowing costs, insurance and inflation.
Greater Wellington’s Long Term Plan Committee, led by Councillors and Mana Whenua representatives, faced managing a 10
percent rise in borrowing costs, insurance and inflation while still delivering services to the standard the community
expects to see across public transport, environmental management and the operation of regional parks.
“We’re currently sitting around 20 percent in the first year and lower in the years after that. Rising costs are an
issue across New Zealand but no one else is queuing up to deliver the value, benefits and outcomes the regional council
provides.
“Our communities want to keep our region resilient and Te Taiao thriving. We’ve witnessed first-hand the havoc Cyclone
Gabrielle caused and we’re likely to have more events like this, as the ever-increasing risks from climate change take
hold.
“That’s why we’re continuing to prioritise flood management programmes in next year’s Long Term Plan. Every dollar we
spend here helps protect billions of dollars of Crown infrastructure assets, from highways and railways to schools and
hospitals. More importantly, this work ensures the safety of hundreds of thousands of people by keeping their homes and
businesses above water. Going backwards here is not an option,” says Cr Ponter.
“We’re also going to keep up our efforts on removing pest plants and animals from our region. People want to keep our
green spaces, forests, and special places healthy and productive.
"If we leave them unchecked, we will see significant degradation of environments and habitats that provide for a wide
range of regionally and nationally significant native plants, birds and animals.
By protecting our environment and biodiversity from pests we are also supporting a climate resilient region. The trees
and plants we protect now are the same ones that will capture significant carbon in the future," adds Cr Ponter.
Adrienne Staples, Regional Councillor for the Wairarapa and Deputy Chair of Greater Wellington, says investment in
public transport was another key area of focus for the Long Term Plan Committee.
“Hundreds of thousands of people rely on public transport across the region each day. Many of our community members
don’t have the luxury of alternative transport options, it’s either public transport or nothing. We also know that every
passenger on board a bus, train or ferry effectively represents one less car on our roads, which keeps congestion and
pollution down. Reducing public transport services to maintain rates affordability was ruled out quickly because of
these factors.
“Instead, the Committee looked hard at areas where it could reduce expenditure, rephase or slow down programmes of work
to find an affordable pathway for public transport without raising rates or public transport fares significantly.
“We’ll be making suggestions in the draft Long Term Plan to slow down the growth in our bus fleet and the
electrification of the fleet while still meeting Central Government climate targets. We’ll also be asking people their
opinion on Greater Wellington ownership or control of strategic public transport assets, with the aim of keeping future
contract costs and fares down,” adds Cr Staples.
A comprehensive approach to looking for other savings has been taken, including areas such as: delaying capital
programmes; keeping personnel positions vacant; reducing operational expenditure; as well as increasing the length of
borrowing terms.
Formal consultation on Greater Wellington’s draft Long Term Plan opens in late-March 2024 and will be focused on the
themes of a resilient future, a thriving environment and connected communities.
Community members will get to hear more about the Long Term Plan ahead of the formal consultation period as Councillors
and Mana Whenua take information out to their iwi, community groups and residents' associations over the next few
months.