Nigel Tutt Chief Executive of Priority One

The decision announced a couple of weeks ago to extend Tauranga City Council's Commission is one that will be welcomed by the business community. The decision was made to extend the Commission's term and return to Local Body Elections in July 2024.

At Priority One we think that this is a sensible decision. We support democracy and the path back to elections. We also need to recognise that this city has significant problems that need a strong and speedy hand to fix; and these problems are not solved yet. The problems that led the previous council to be relieved of their duties mainly relate to inability to provide the city with the future plan it needs. In short, that means increasing investment in infrastructure for housing and transport and investing in facilities for our community.

For democracy to be effective it must be trusted; more time will help progress plans to fix our problems and it will also help to attract quality candidates for the next election. TCC is a big organisation, with around $3 billion in assets and spending $4-600 million per year looking after a growing city. Strong governance skills and experience are required alongside a great understanding of the community.

Feedback from the business community towards the commission has been very supportive. They respect action and know that our city needs to work hard to reduce the gap in infrastructure and facilities. Businesses have seen substantial rates rises under the Commission but are supportive because they recognise that investment is needed. Good infrastructure is needed to provide efficient transport systems and for better living standards via housing and facilities. The ability to attract staff is critical, with housing affordability – Tauranga is the least-affordable in NZ – the main detractor. In future we will need more nurses, teachers and healthcare workers to support our population as well as our economy; it is essential that we can house them.

One of the topics that frequently comes up around local council is the relationship and input from government. This is especially the case with the Commission, where the relationship with Wellington is clearly closer and expected to pay dividends. Local rates and investment have increased, we should rightly expect this to be understood and matched by government; we can't do it all on our own.

Attention therefore turns to an area where we do get to vote this year, in the by-election for Simon Bridges' now vacant position. This provides voters with an excellent opportunity to support those who understand our community and can support it the best. Lack of government investment in this area, particularly for infrastructure in a fast-growing city, has long been a bugbear for residents. Is this by-election the chance we need for our community to be listened to?