Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Good afternoon everyone. I would like to thank your president, Tom Slinn, for the invitation and opportunity to speak to you today.
Meeting with Grey Power is an important, ongoing commitment that I look forward to every year.
Grey Power is a proud organisation, a strong and effective advocate for the interests of older residents in our community. I appreciate the work that it does.
This is my fourth “State of the City” address to Grey Power and the first since being re-elected for a second term as mayor.
Last year I reflected on the state of our great City after three years in charge.
Today I want to talk about the directions and areas I will be focusing on for 2008 and the rest of the new triennium.
After that, I will answer questions supplied to my office earlier; and, if there is time, I am also happy to take questions from the floor and I will try my best to answer them.
Before I start, I am happy to report the new council has bedded in well – despite the election of five new councillors last October.
While not always in agreement, councillors are working collaboratively and in a spirit of goodwill to further the best interests of the city.
My hope is for that to continue this year and for the rest of the triennium.
As I look forward, I see a 2008 in which promises continue to be delivered on and the city builds on its success and becomes even stronger and more confident.
Throughout my mayoralty I have placed a high value on keeping rates down and sound financial management.
These things are even more important today than when I was first elected.
I say this because any rates rise hurts families and people on fixed incomes already facing rising energy prices, interest rates and cost of basic household food items.
Under my watch, rate rises have been the lowest of any city council in New Zealand.
The Long Term Council Community Plan or LTCCP shows this will continue not just for the next three years, but the next 10.
As residents have to live within their means, so must Council.
It has adopted a prudent and long-term view towards managing its finances.
Other councils have since followed our lead, with spending on non-essential items out, and core business – in other words, the things that make a city run well – in.
They say imitation is the best form of flattery. We welcome other councils adopting our approach; it shows we are on the right track.
It’s a strategy that has delivered record investment in flood protection and other infrastructure such as stormwater and roads.
Flood protection continues to be a top priority for the Council.
In partnership with the Regional Council, millions of dollars are being invested to mitigate the significant flood risk to our city.
It includes the construction of new stopbanks, floodwalls and pump stations, plus improvements to drainage and the widening and excavation of water channels.
These measures protect lives, livelihoods, property, our economy and environment, while avoiding massive destruction and saving the devastating costs of rebuilding.
Living on the most densely populated flood plain in the country and the catastrophic floods of 1976 and 2004 underline the urgency of this investment.
I’m especially pleased that work on the Waiwhetu Stream has begun after years of talk and frustrating delays.
As I speak, a trial clean-up is underway to remove high levels of lead, zinc and DDT which has made it New Zealand’s most polluted waterway.
This involves damming a section of stream near Bell Road Bridge, draining it, and removing the contaminated sediment by bulldozer.
If successful, as expected, a full clean-up of the stream will start in 2009 and finish in 2010. Once cleared, flood mitigation work can begin – and not before time, I say.
Another project that has been a long-time coming is the Dowse to Petone upgrade.
Construction started last year, will carry on throughout 2008 and is expected to be completed in 2010.
When finished, benefits will include better access to the city from SH2 and the western hills and to popular destinations like TheNewDowse and Queensgate.
It will also offer some relief from traffic congestion and improve general safety on SH2 which is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the country.
For the first time in the city’s history, Council last year budgeted funding for another important road project: the Cross Valley Link.
The CVL would make the Seaview/Gracefield industrial more attractive to businesses and remove heavy traffic from the Petone Esplanade.
The timeframe for funding of the CVL might be revisited this year and brought forward if it means construction can start sooner.
The Council continues to support Transmission Gully and is pleased that investigations and preliminary design work has started.
Roads are important, so is public transport. As such, we continue to work with the regional council and operators to improve services in our city and the region.
Law and order remains an important issue.
My campaign for more police continues. I do not believe we have nearly enough police; in fact, I’ll go so far as to say we are being short-changed.
The police we do have perform an excellent job and are ably led by area commander Richard Chambers whom I meet on a regular basis.
As a Council, we try to support them as best we can.
This includes new security cameras being recently installed in parts of the city, with a live link to the Lower Hutt police station.
I remain determined to tackle the boy racer problem in our city.
Just one of many options I am currently exploring is the possibility of banning boy racers from certain roads and parking spots during particular hours.
Something similar is being tried in Christchurch and I watch with interest whether it is successful.
A zero tolerance approach to graffiti remains, and by working with the community we try to remove it as soon as it appears to discourage the taggers from returning.
These measures make out city a safer, more pleasant place to live.
The Council is committed to maintaining the economic vitality in which the city has enjoyed good economic growth over recent years.
Last year it was the highest in the Wellington region and above New Zealand’s.
To this end, we are currently updating the City’s Economic Development Strategy and bringing it into line with the Wellington Regional Strategy. Other initiatives include:
The revitalisation of the CBD continues with the upgrade of High Street starting next month.
The rollout of a fibre network to provide better, faster and cheaper internet broadband for businesses, as well as schools and community groups, is planned.
I also continue my regular visits to local businesses to learn about their operations and discuss how Council can assist in making their business grow.
As well, we are proactive in attracting new businesses to locate in Hutt City. Just recently we have held encouraging discussions with developers regarding a new hotel.
My aim is to have healthy and diverse business community, with the city not dependent on one or two industries for its economic wellbeing.
Reviewing the District Plan will be a major focus of attention in the coming months.
A numbers of key issues will be discussed, such as encouraging and accommodating population growth, a better balance between commercial and residential zones, heritage protection and improved urban design.
I welcome your views on these issues and any others you think need to be included in the District Plan review.
As members of Grey Power and long-standing residents, you will know that our city is made up of many communities.
You will also know that for the city to be strong then so must they be.
I plan to call together a congress of the city’s religious leaders to challenge our relationships and build our invisible strengths of caring and support for each other.
I also want to work with school principals to ensure that our children are growing in strength, stature, knowledge, resilience and health.
I want our elder residents to feel valued, and for there to be opportunities for our young people. The under-privileged must also be looked after.
There is of course much, much more happening in 2008.
Perhaps mundanely, but nevertheless important, is continuing to provide the wide range of services ratepayers rightfully expect from us, such as maintaining and improving community facilities such as parks, playgrounds, libraries and public toilets.
Doing so is fundamental to fulfilling my ambition for Hutt City to be the best run city in New Zealand: a city that works socially, environmentally and economically.
I believe we are well on our way to achieving that goal. In saying that, there is and always will be things we can do better. To do that, we need your help.
One of the ways is by making a submission on the Long-Term Council Community Plan, which I mentioned at the beginning of my speech.
It lays out the Council’s work programme and budgets for the next 10 years.
The Council is currently in the early stages of putting together the LTCCP for the period 2008-2018. In early April, submissions will be called for.
It’s important for residents to have their say on the future direction of Hutt City. I strongly encourage you to do so.
In finishing, we do have a lot going on which causes me to feel very positive about our city’s future. You all have had an important role in that, and I am grateful for it.
It is an honour to be your mayor, and I thank you for listening and being here today.