Mayors support Porirua’s bid to win Gigatown

Wellington’s mayors showed their support for Porirua’s Gigatown bid last Friday, though there was a division amid the smiles.

Wellington’s Celia WadeBrown, Ray Wallace from Hutt City, Wayne Guppy from Upper Hutt and Kapiti’s Ross Church, together with Wellington Regional Council chairwoman Fran Wilde, joined Porirua mayor Nick Leggett to support Porirua’s bid.

However, Wairarapa mayors Lyn Patterson (Masterton), Ron Mark (Carterton) and Adrienne Staples ( South Wairarapa) donned shirts supporting Masterton’s bid for a Gigatown victory and did not take part in the photo op.

Gigatown, a competition run by Chorus, offers the winning town – the one that gets the most mentions on social media – access to 1 gigabit ultrafast broadband for three years.

Leggett was unfazed by the black-clad Wairarapa mayors.

‘‘There are differences between Wairarapa and the metro area. They didn’t want to be part of the rest of the region,’’ he said.

Leggett said his council has spent about $ 70,000 on the Gigatown bid, which has been largely supported by volunteers.

Photo: FAIRFAX All friends: Mayors, clockwise from far left, Wayne Guppy (Upper Hutt), Ross Church (Kapiti), Nick Leggett (Porirua), Ray Wallace (Lower Hutt), Fran Wilde (regional council), Celia Wade-Brown (Wellington).