Upper Hutt City Council

Commit to community led development being the focus for new initiatives.

Develop new ways of working and collaboration across the council.

Establish an advisory group that represent a wider range of citizens to be available for consultation on new initiatives and programs.

Publish council meeting agendas and decisions in common language and make them accessible to all residents.

Engage iwi Māori to be an equal partner in all decision making for the council.

Invite public engagement in council matters in such a way as to have valuable contribution from residents.

Establish a youth council to ensure the voice of youth is heard.

Promote and professionally live-stream council meetings to encourage more residents to get involved.

Run regular community meetings on topical issues to hear our residents' views.

Establish focus groups of community leaders, businesses, developers, youth/schools, and ethnic groups to provide input to policy development.

In 2023 we will consult with the community on the future electoral system (FPP/STV) and specific Māori representation.

Introduce the living wage as a minimum for all council staff and contractors.

Start holding regular town hall meetings where the citizens of Upper Hutt have the opportunity to engage with Councillors and the Mayor.

Inform citizens about Three Waters, water fluoridation, resource management reform, the Future of Local Government Review, and High Density Housing.

Identify the redundant commercial buildings throughout the city, and work with owners how they can be best utilised to serve the community.

Review how we get diverse community voices into council for decision making and how effective this is.

Ensure youth, new migrants, the unique ethnic communities of Upper Hutt feel well represented in decision making processes.

Ensure transparent council processes to ensure accountability to the people we serve.

Ensure that consultation on Māori representation is well designed and that local issues are fully explored with community.

Encourage diversity and wide community representation of views.

Explicitly develop programs to build equity for Māori, Pacifica and ethnic communities in representation and engagement in Upper Hutt.

Support Upper Hutt as a distinct and unique city and oppose a merger with Hutt City.

Actively implement the use of technology to promote and improve public engagement with the activities and decisions of council.

Improve public and Māori engagement by including them in the early planning stages before options are reduced.

Increase our involvement and support of community groups as they provide support and entertainment to the community.

Improve communication and transparency in operational matters.

Full engagement and consultation is the cornerstone of democracy. I will always be available to listen and advocate for all constituents.

Special wards are unnecessary and will create yet another level of bureaucracy I hope to be representative of all peoples in my electorate.

Independence is the cornerstone of our success. A supercity or a takeover from Hutt city would be disastrous for us. We must own our destiny.

There is plenty of apathy with council. Stronger democracy means having to engage. We have diverse cultures in Upper Hutt, let's be proud of the fact.

Commit Upper Hutt City Council to paying the living wage.

Commit to quarterly or annual feedback via emailed questionnaire on how well the council is providing its services to residents.

Have meetings with community groups before starting the annual plan and long term plan processes.

Work with local iwi to develop a partnership agreement and consult with them at the beginning of council conversations and planning.

Develop a diverse community strategy, like Christchurch City Council's strategy.

Stop supercity amalgamation if the majority of residents have that view.

Promote diversity. Diversity enhances innovative growth of our city.

Strengthen community voice: promote for better success of the city with strategy and policy development and implementation.

Enhancing Te Tiriti: participation together with Māori, protecting culture and rights, and partnership of council with iwi and hapū.