1. Valuing Our Communities
My slogan ‘People & Progress over Politics’ is not just a slogan – it is about putting people and our community at the heart of everything I do, including in the engagement, collaboration, in council processes and strategic planning.
We are a city made up of different people and communities, each unique in the challenges and opportunities they face. I commit to working with you to understand and determine priorities for our communities, to find solutions together, so that Tauranga can again be a city we are proud of for us and for the generations that will follow.
I will work with you to find better ways to engage our communities to ensure the decisions made are the best ones for us. Building a strong and resilient community is not only about developing infrastructure, it is also about building relationships, embracing diversity, and empowering a sense of belonging amongst all residents.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? The people, the people, the people.
2. A Call for Action: Addressing our housing crisis
The housing crisis in Tauranga has reached a critical point caused by a massive shortfall in housing, lack of infrastructure, bureaucratic delays and skyrocketing prices. We must work together to ensure that Tauranga remains a place where everyone has the opportunity to live, work, learn, play and thrive. As Mayor, I will unite stakeholders — city officials, tangata whenua, government bodies, businesses, developers, and the community — to prioritise the development of affordable housing and the necessary infrastructure to find solutions to address this crisis. Let’s not allow the progress of our city to stall through indecision and inaction. We must keep moving forward. I’ll deliver multi-faceted cost-cutting approaches to this complex problem:
- Public-Private Partnerships: engage private sector investment and expertise through PPPs to share costs and risks.
- Optimise land use: encourage mixed-use developments that combine residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
- Utilise under-utilised public land: identify and develop under-utilised public land for housing and/or infrastructure projects; thereby reducing land purchasing costs.
- Infrastructure financing tools: Special Purpose Vehicles (can be repaid over 50 years, ensuring future beneficiaries of growth pay their share) and explore affordable alternative financing options.
- Streamlined regulatory processes: simplify processes to reduce bureaucratic delays and costs.
The recent developments at Tauriko West epitomise this crisis, where half of the promised 4000 new homes will be delayed due to State Highway 29 infrastructure delays; and, Te Temu could take 10 years before any houses can be built. The housing shortage, estimated at around 5000 homes, is more than just a number; it’s a measure of the growing disparity between the needs of our communities and the capacity of our city to deliver them. If we don’t find a way to unlock housing development quickly, median house prices could soar to $1.6m, and average weekly rent could reach over $900 within ten years, making housing unaffordable and making Tauranga unattractive for investment. These delays are not just setbacks; it’s a reflection of a systemic issue that requires immediate attention and action.
As a city, we do not have the luxury of these timeframes or delays, and we certainly don’t have the time to wait for a Mayor with no Local Government experience to come to terms with this complex and critical crisis that is impacting our people and our economic wellbeing. I am ready to get to work on this come July 21 as your Mayor; and, I have solutions and strategies ready to action as part of my 100-day-plan.
3. Intelligent Transport and Infrastructure
Our transport and infrastructure is at a pivotal crossroads, strained and struggling under the weight of increasing demand, leading to gridlock, safety issues, and delays that affect the quality of life and economic productivity. To address sources of congestion and prioritise infrastructure development, I will leverage my strong relationships with the government, local authorities, businesses, tangata whenua and our communities, to not only meet today’s needs but also the needs of future generations. The current system is broken and has too many layers of bureaucracy.
Take public transport for example: TCC builds and maintains the infrastructure for it in the city boundary; Western Bay of Plenty District Council does the same for their area; Bay of Plenty Regional Council manages the bus contracts and determines the routes; and, NZTA helps fund it all. There are so many duplications, inefficiencies, red tape and tensions, and ultimately, it is our community that loses out.
The challenges we face are not just about moving people and goods but is also about shaping the future and function of our city. We can’t keep adding more roads – we simply don’t have the land or geography in our favour. I commit to developing an intelligent transport system strategy that ensures Tauranga remains a vibrant, resilient, accessible, and safe city for all – regardless of the mode of travel.
4. Empowering Innovation
Local government owns and operates over one-quarter (26%, or $76 billion) of New Zealand’s infrastructure assets. It provides local roads, water supplies, stormwater and wastewater, public transport networks, and social infrastructure like parks, pools and libraries. Costs of maintaining, renewing, or building these have continued to increase and there now needs to be a serious look at how we fund and finance infrastructure investment. The current funding and financing model for local government is broken. Tauranga’s unprecedented growth presents both opportunities and challenges that require strategic investment,visionary and collaborative leadership.
As part of my 100-day-plan, I will create a Mayoral Think Tank to harness the voices from our community, stakeholders and partners, to work on solutions to the city’s complex and challenging problems. We don’t have the luxury of time or budget to reinvent the wheel, we must also look further afield to how other cities and countries have solved similar issues or challenges. Let’s be innovative, open to change and forward thinking.
I am passionate about innovation and finding new solutions to old problems. New Zealand is a country of innovators and I want to see Tauranga be the centre of excellence for innovation in cutting-edge research, science and high tech startups, sustainable technologies, and creative industries. These will attract entrepreneurs, investors, create jobs, and unlock economic growth for the city.