Season’s greetings from: (back, left to right) Deputy Mayor Kylie Wihapi, Cr Geoff Hayward, Cr Ross Leggett, Cr Mike Duncan, Cr Tracy Johnson, Ngāti Toa Kaumatua Dr Taku Parai, Cr Kathleen Filo, Cr Izzy Ford, Cr Moze Galo (and front) Cr Josh Trlin, Cr Nathan Waddle and Mayor Anita Baker.
As I reflect on the past 12 months, I feel privileged to work for our city and the people who live and work here.
It’s certainly been a big year for infrastructure!
Plimmerton Farm is a step closer to bringing more housing to the city with a fast-track consent approved by an independent panel just weeks ago. This development will bring a range of house types (apartments, terrace houses, single residential dwellings, and lifestyle blocks) along with a retirement village, recreation spaces and walkway and cycleways.
In eastern Porirua, work to improve the reliability of the electricity network, along with an improvement in drinking water storage, is being carried out. These upgrades along the new pipes being laid along the Waitangirua Link Rd, will increase resilience and supply for local residents and improve our ability to enable new homes to be built in the east.
Building more homes will make our housing more affordable and of course improve the conditions that Porirua people live in. I believe everyone is entitled to live in a warm and dry house.
However, with growth comes challenges. We need to make sure we take care of our harbour and natural environment. The almost-completed wastewater storage tank in the city centre will help stop wastewater overflowing into Porirua Stream and help protect Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour, and will take pressure off the wastewater treatment plant at Titahi Bay during heavy rain events.
Upgrade works at the treatment plant are ongoing with the installation of a new generator to provide standby power for the plant’s UV system and maintenance of the three clarifiers. Despite a lot of half-truths and misinformation, the treatment plant is the best performing in the region because our community has invested significant amounts over many years. It’s not perfect, but it has continued to improve and as long as I’m Mayor I will fight for greater investment and improvement so the plant can best comply with its consent conditions and not harm our people or environment.
We’ve planted 165,000 plants and native trees this year. The mahi of hundreds of committed Porirua volunteers and schools has made this happen and I’d like to thank them for their time. The best thing we can do for our harbour is to plant trees to improve the water and quality of our streams. I look forward to us doing even better in 2025.
On the business front, it’s been great to welcome and support new businesses to our city like Kai Tahi, on the harbour’s edge, Freeman Roofing, Wellington Kaimoana Hub, and The Works in Elsdon offering new freehold commercial units for owner/occupiers.
We’ve also welcomed more than 250 new citizens who have chosen to make Porirua their home. They’ve come from many countries around the world, and we are proud to awhi them into our city. Welcoming new residents and their skills and cultures is something Porirua is renowned for and we must keep doing so if we are to grow and progress.
There is also some good news about how we stack up nationally against other parts of the country. Porirua officially has the lowest number of break-ins to commercial businesses in the country. That’s a rate of 6.1 break-ins per 10,000 residents, which is 560% less than the city with the highest number of break-ins. A local resident also helpfully drew my attention to the fact Porirua had the lowest emitting metro area in New Zealand in 2023, with average emissions of 3 tonnes per capita.
I’d like to thank my Council colleagues for their dedication and work. Sharing our different perspectives in a collegial way has meant the best interests of the city are at the heart of our decisions. Being an elected member means you get all the brickbats alongside the bouquets. It’s not for everyone but we have a great group of councillors working together for the city.
Next year will bring its own challenges. We’ll be making a big decision around the future delivery of water services and in the first half of the year we’ll be trying to bring our rates increases down to a more manageable level.
But for the moment it’s time to take stock of 2024 and join with whānau and friends to take a break. I’m looking forward to welcoming my first grandchild to Porirua from his home in Australia.
I know that for some, Christmas can add financial pressures or be a time of loneliness. If you know of anyone in this boat, help out where you can, buy a present for one of the children in our city who might otherwise miss out, or contribute to one of the food banks. My gratitude goes to volunteers at organisations like Cannons Creek Community Pantry, St Vincent’s, and the Porirua Food Bank run by the Salvation Army. Thank you for all you do.
I wish you all a safe and peaceful Christmas break, and hope 2025 brings new opportunities and joyful moments.
17 Dec 2024
