Community needs to have their say

Long-term plan consultation document to be released this week

One of the questions we’ll be asking the community is whether we should transfer the council’s older housing portfolio to a community housing provider.

After months of workshops, meetings and analysis of the council’s operations, the long-term plan consultation document is to be released this week. Please consider having a look at it and providing your feedback on the important and difficult decisions we are making.

One of the questions we’ll be asking the community is whether we should transfer the council’s older housing portfolio to a community housing provider. One advantage of this move is that it would enable access to funding that isn’t available to the council.

Over the past couple of weeks, elected members and staff have visited residents to discuss the suggestion and assure them their arrangements won’t change. It was great to meet with some of them, not only to talk about the proposal, but hear some of their other comments and concerns.

The Mā oriland Film Festival was once again a huge success. At a pō whiri to welcome participants last Wednesday, Raukawa Marae was filled to capacity with filmmakers, film industry representatives and visitors from countries around the world, including many Pacific Islands, Kenya, Scandinavia, Hawaii, Taiwan and across Aotearoa.

Mā oriland has become an event that is significant for Ō taki, for Kā piti, and for the Wellington region. With filmmakers coming from throughout the world and taking their experiences back to their home countries, it’s also a globally significant event. The council supports Mā oriland through the

Major Events Fund. These events help to stimulate visitor spending and our local economy.

Mā oriland is also an opportunity to experience cultures and perspectives from across the world. The collection of short films I saw on Sunday was moving and inspiring, and was followed by a challenging and informative Q&A session with the filmmakers.

A highlight was the short film Tūī, written and directed by former Kā piti College student Awa Puna with music by another college alumni, Nikau Wineera, who’s also now a Wellington city councillor. Our young people go on to do great things.

At the same time as the pō whiri for Mā oriland, Waitangi Tribunal hearings were being held in Ō taki. The Waitangi claims will in the future lead to many opportunities for Ngā Hapū to provide for its people and the community. We look forward to strengthening our partnership and working together to maximise these opportunities.

In other news, we continue to have large numbers of people of many nationalities at our citizenship ceremonies. At the most recent ceremony, 67 residents last week officially became New Zealanders. It’s wonderful to see this reflection of the increasing diversity of people living in Kā piti.