Greater Wellington balances funding constraints with value for money services

Greater Wellington has delivered its wide range of services that protect the environment, connect communities and build a resilient future within the financial realities of what the region and rate payers can reasonably afford, as shown in this year’s Annual Report.

The financial burden on communities and a fast-changing legislative landscape have been front of mind over the last year says Greater Wellington Chief Executive Nigel Corry.

“This year, we’ve continued to work hard to deliver value for money for our communities – many of whom are doing it tough,” says Corry.

“We’ve navigated significant uncertainty, including changes to the Resource Management Act and I’m proud of how we’ve stayed the course and committed to making considered, transparent decisions that reflect both the financial challenges of today and keep one eye on our responsibilities to future generations.

“A huge part of that future rests on a healthy and vibrant environment. Over the course of the year, we planted 320,000 native stems through Recloaking Papatūānuku, completed the Te Horo wetland re-creation, and secured the purchase of Gollan’s Valley Station – uniting East Harbour Regional Park, potentially providing for a huge expansion in recreation and tourism opportunities in the future and protecting the Parangarahu Lakes catchment.”

Considerable progress has been made with the public transport network with bus patronage reaching a record high says Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter.

“A snapshot of our bus data shows that we had one million journeys on the Airport Express this year and on the wider network there were 2.5 million bus boardings in March alone,” says Cr Ponter.

Strengthening partnerships has also underpinned the last year says Cr Ponter.

“We signed of a Memorandum of Understanding with Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira to explore the development of an electric bus depot at Kenepuru, launched the Accessibility Action Plan 2024, which was designed in consultation with diverse communities, and agreed to partner with four other councils to form a new regional water services entity.
“When we harness the shared values, aspirations, and strengths of our region, we build something greater than the sum of its parts.”

Read the Greater Wellington Annual Summary Report here. (PDF 2 MB)