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RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Hutt and Porirua councils put Wellington super city back on the table
The idea of combining the Wellington region's councils into one large entity has been thrown around for over a decade. Photo: 123rf Hutt City Council will consider whether to add a non-binding referendum at this year's election asking for residents' thoughts on amalgamating Wellington's councils. The idea of combining the Wellington region's councils into one large entity has been thrown around for over a decade. In 2015, the Local Government Commission binned such a plan . But Hutt City Council and Porirua City Council have put some consideration into a revival of the idea. Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said he would bring a decision on whether to add a non-binding referendum question to this year's local election ballot at a council meeting next month. It would read: "Should Hutt City Council work with councils in Wellington, Upper Hutt, Porirua and the Wellington Regional Council to explore the possibility of creating one single council, that combines relevant services and functions regionally, while keeping appropriate local services and decision making local?" It came after Porirua City Council agreed to ask the same question as part in its election ballot at a meeting yesterday. Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said they decided to do the referendum because they were already having to do a Māori ward referendum at this year's election anyway. A law introduced last year required councils with Māori wards that were established without a referendum to hold a binding poll at this year's election. Baker said it would cost $20,000 to do the amalgamation referendum alongside the Māori ward referendum compared to $150,000 for doing it by itself. "We keep on having the same old questions but no one ever asks the people that actually matter and our residents matter." She hoped it would also increase voter turnout in the city. Barry said that it was a "good thing" to ask residents their thoughts on the idea. "If our community comes back and says no we are not interested then I think that can help settle the matter." Barry told RNZ he received questions about the idea particularly from the business community and those that interact with the council regularly. He said that was often due to different rules that were in place in different parts of the region. Voting at this year's local body election will start 9 September and end 11 October.
Newsroom
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsroom
Beware of the zero rates rise promise
When you vote in this year's local body elections – and you should vote – be wary of the candidate who promises zero rates increases. 'Zero rates increases are of course possible,' says Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry, 'but they do have serious consequences on local services and infrastructure delivery. The low-rates approach – and our council suffered from it for a couple of decades – is the reason we're in the infrastructure deficit we have now. 'Across the country, I think it's about $52 billion in backlog of infrastructure deferrals that have happened, and those candidates who come out and say they're just going to slash the rates … they need to be upfront and tell people, 'Well, that also means our pipes aren't going to be renewed, we're going to look at closing libraries, we're going to obviously get rid of staff and the services they provide in local communities.' So they can't have their cake and eat it too; they need to be challenged and explain actually how they plan to do it.' Barry can speak frankly because he isn't standing again. Having become a councillor at 19, and New Zealand's then-youngest mayor at 28, serving two terms at the top, the 34-year-old is off to do something different. Today on The Detail he talks about local body revenue-raising options, the balance between rates rises and paying for infrastructure, and the level of central government interference in councils that is seeing the bills mount up on political whims … while politicians rage about how much councils charge households to pay for it all. But one of the biggest problems is voter turnout. While about 80 percent of eligible voters turn out in central elections, the figure for local elections is half that. 'It's such an important part of people's everyday lives, but there doesn't seem to be that level of interest,' Barry says. 'Voter turnout has been poor for some time. That's why we need to talk about it … people do need to take an interest and know who's representing them and making decisions of their behalf.' Barry points out that ultimately New Zealand is a very centralised country – most of the decision-making does come from central government and that's where the focus is. Councils would like some of that decision making, involving government mandates that councils end up funding, to be backed off. A classic example is traffic-calming safety measures introduced by Labour, only to have National promise in the lead-up to the election it would have speed bumps ripped up. 'Local government is asked to deliver on such a wide breadth of issues across their local area. The unfunded mandates that we get from government are significant, they are continuously asking us to do more, and to do more while also receiving less revenue.' In Lower Hutt it cost around $400,000 to implement speed-calming measures – a few short years later it cost another $400,000 to take them away. The National Policy Statement on Urban Development, which allows for more intensive housing development, cost the council $700,000. 'There are continuous policy changes from government which have that type of impact. And often councils look to try and just suck that cost up without putting additional burden on rates, but there is always a cost, because it means that your council officials are often having to re-prioritise and not do other things as well. 'So that is a constant battle.' Barry also talks on the podcast about the blunt tool that is rates, and the need to remove the restrictions on revenue raising that would spread the burden. 'All of the levers when it comes to revenue or tax relief or support, sit with government. But they refuse to have that conversation with us around how do we look to do things differently … how can local government have that tool box approach to different ways of raising revenue, more flexibility, more user-charge options. 'While we had some good conversations with the previous government, nothing really happened there, and not much is happening at the moment with the current Government. 'That's something that needs to change otherwise we are going to have this spiral which I think is already causing major problems with trying to fund these things purely through rates.' A possible change could be handing back councils the GST on rates – a tax on a tax. But 'there is a $1.5 billion-dollar reason the Government won't do it,' says Barry. 'Councils across the country collect around $10b in rates each year. If they were to take that tax-on-a-tax off, it would be around about a $450 to $650 decrease in the average residential ratepayer's bill, instantly. So it would make a really big difference for councils across the country and I think it's something the Government absolutely should consider.' The Government also doesn't pay rates on property it owns, such as schools and hospitals, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is one of the civic leaders who've asked for that to change – for Auckland Council alone, it would put an estimated $40 million back in the coffers. In Lower Hutt the number would be $20m-$30m a year. 'That would make a significant difference,' says Barry. Local election voting opens at the start of September and we will have new councils around the country by October 11. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
RNZ News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Local councils and the battle for money
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry speaking at the opening of Te Ngaengae Pool + Fitness. Barry became a councillor at 19, and New Zealand's then-youngest mayor at 28. Now, at 34, he's leaving politics for something different. Photo: Supplied / Hutt City Council / Elias Rodriguez When you vote in this year's local body elections - and you should vote - be wary of the candidate who promises zero rates increases. "Zero rates increases are of course possible," says Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry, "but they do have serious consequences on local services and infrastructure delivery. The low rates approach - and our council suffered from it for a couple of decades - is the reason we're in the infrastructure deficit we have now. "Across the country, I think it's about $52 billion in backlog of infrastructure deferrals that have happened, and those candidates who come out and say they're just going to slash the rates... they need to be upfront and tell people, 'well, that also means our pipes aren't going to be renewed, we're going to look at closing libraries, we're going to obviously get rid of staff and the services they provide in local communities.' So they can't have their cake and eat it too, they need to be challenged and explain actually how they plan to do it." Barry can speak frankly because he is not standing again. Having become a councillor at 19, and New Zealand's then-youngest mayor at 28, serving two terms at the top, the 34-year-old is off to do something different. Today on The Detail he talks about local body revenue-raising options, the balance between rates rises and paying for infrastructure, and the level of central government interference in councils that is seeing the bills mount up on political whims ... while politicians rage about how much councils charge households to pay for it all. But one of the biggest problems is voter turnout. While about 80 percent of eligible voters turn out in central elections, the figure for local elections is half that. "It's such an important part of people's everyday lives, but there doesn't seem to be that level of interest," Barry says. "Voter turnout has been poor for some time. That's why we need to talk about it... people do need to take an interest and know who's representing them and making decisions of their behalf." Barry points out that ultimately New Zealand is a very centralised country - most of the decision-making does come from central government and that's where the focus is. Councils would like some of that decision-making, involving government mandates that councils end up funding, to be backed off. A classic example is traffic calming safety measures introduced by Labour, only to have National promise in the lead up to the election it would have speed bumps ripped up. "Local government is asked to deliver on such a wide breadth of issues across their local area. The unfunded mandates that we get from government are significant, they are continuously asking us to do more, and to do more while also receiving less revenue." In Lower Hutt it cost about $400,000 to implement speed calming measures - a few short years later it cost another $400,000 to take them away. The National Policy Statement on Urban Development, allowing for more intensive housing development, cost the council $700,000. "There are continuous policy changes from government which have that type of impact. And often councils look to try and just suck that cost up without putting additional burden on rates, but there is always a cost, because it means that your council officials are often having to re-prioritise and not do other things as well. "So that is a constant battle." Barry also talks on the podcast about the blunt tool that is rates, and the need to remove the restrictions on revenue-raising that would spread the burden. "All of the levers when it comes to revenue or tax relief or support, sit with government. But they refuse to have that conversation with us around how do we look to do things differently... how can local government have that tool box approach to different ways of raising revenue, more flexibility, more user-charge options. "While we had some good conversations with the previous government, nothing really happened there, and not much is happening at the moment with the current government. "That's something that needs to change otherwise we are going to have this spiral which I think is already causing major problems with trying to fund these things purely through rates." A possible change could be handing back councils the GST on rates - a tax on a tax. But "there is a $1.5 billion dollar reason the government won't do it," says Barry. "Councils across the country collect around $10b in rates each year. If they were to take that tax-on-a-tax off, it would be around about a $450 to $650 decrease in the average residential ratepayer's bill, instantly. So it would make a really big difference for councils across the country and I think it's something the government absolutely should consider." The government also does not pay rates on property it owns, such as schools and hospitals, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is one of the civic leaders who've asked for that to change - for Auckland Council alone, it would put an estimated $40 million back in the coffers. In Lower Hutt the number would be $20-$30m a year. "That would make a significant difference," says Barry. Local election voting opens at the start of September and we will have new councils around the country by 11 October. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Government to help pay for popular Lower Hutt footbridge replacement
Photo: RNZ / Nick James The government has agreed to co-fund the replacement of a popular Lower Hutt footbridge across the Hutt River, after it faced closure. KiwiRail had planned to permanently remove the walkway across the Ava Rail Bridge, which crosses Te Awa Kairangi Hutt River between the Ava railway station and Richmond Grove, as part of work to replace ageing railway sleepers. KiwiRail owns the bridge and said it could not replace the sleepers without permanently removing the council-owned walkway. In February Hutt City Council announced that the closure of the walkway was being delayed to give them more time to come up with plans for an alternative walkway. Now the council has announced the government has agreed to $2.4 million of Crown funding to replace the footbridge, covering half of the total cost. The existing pedestrian walkway has to be removed as part of work KiwiRail is doing to replace ageing infrastructure on the rail bridge its attached to. It will remain open until just before the major rail shutdown scheduled for December 2025. Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said if the project was approved by councillors, the council would manage the delivery of the replacement bridge and KiwiRail will remain involved in an advisory capacity. "This project is now in our hands, and we're committed to ensuring that a modern, safe and accessible bridge is delivered for our community." Barry said it was a fantastic result for the community. "We made it clear that this bridge is an essential connection for people on both sides of the Hutt River, whether they're heading to school, work, or simply getting from A to B. "Thanks to the strong voices of our community, we've secured a commitment that ensures this vital link will not be lost."
Scoop
07-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Metal Art Shapes Lower Hutt For More Than Three Decades
Press Release – Hutt City Council The Seaview-based companys latest creations have helped transform a vacant Council site on Daly St into a people-friendly, temporary community space. For the past 35 years fabrication experts Metal Art have brought their signature craftsmanship to the heart of Lower Hutt with its range of custom-designed street furniture. The Seaview-based company's latest creations have helped transform a vacant Council site on Daly St into a people-friendly, temporary community space. It features an eye-catching collection of street furniture, a bright purple basketball hoop, a pump track, a painted labyrinth and space for food trucks. Some of the furniture was custom designed by the Council's Urban Design team and Metal Art brought their skills and experience to collaborate and bring these to life. Despite their name, Metal Art uses a range of materials in their products including recycled plastic, timber, as well as various metals. Metal Art National Sales Manager Steve Kyle says the company, which provides street furniture for many councils around the motu, was proud to be part of the project at Daly St. 'It not only adds colour and energy to the site but also reflects our commitment to sustainability and community. 'All of the furniture we've created for Daly St is designed to be fully reusable. These pieces can be relocated and repurposed throughout the city – continuing to serve the public for years to come.' The community space at Daly St has been very busy especially in the weekends, after school and over the school holidays. Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry praised the work undertaken by Metal Art. 'It's fantastic to see a local Lower Hutt business help bring the temporary Daly Street site to life. Their work adds functionality and character to the space. The fact that it's all reusable and relocatable shows smart thinking around sustainability and value for ratepayers. 'Their work over the years has played a huge part in shaping our city and the way we connect with it today.' Recently, Metal Art and Replas NZ created custom seating for Hillary Court in Naenae using recycled plastic and Corten steel. Designed to be durable, low-maintenance, and anti-graffiti, the seating features a flax-inspired colour palette chosen by Council's Urban Design Team who took inspiration from dyed flax weaving. Metal Art just celebrated its 35th birthday and Hutt City Council is one of its most enduring clients. They have also created scores of other items for Council, from durable seating, bollards and bike racks to art installations. It includes: Recycled-plastic benches in various neighbourhood parks Outdoor table and bench combinations, notably atop Wainuiomata Hill Dual-purpose bins accommodating general waste and recycling, prominently used in the CBD Retractable Bollards in Civic Square and near Walter Nash Centre The Leon van den Eijkel-designed Smiling Windmills art installations outside Avalon Park Custom bench seats for the War Memorial area in Riddiford Gardens
