Introduction
Message from the Mayor and Chief Executive
When we developed our last 10-year plan we included several ambitious projects with a vision of being the most prosperous and liveable district in the North Island by 2022. However, following the global pandemic of COVID-19, we have had to rethink some of those plans and reprioritise some of our projects and activities in an attempt to balance what we can afford with ensuring the Taupō District remains a great place to live.
To help guide the development of this Long-term Plan, we set some new strategic goals that would not only service our community well today, but also for many years to come.
They are:
- Growing resilient economies
- Enhancing healthy and sustainable environments, and;
- Enabling connected and safe communities.
Our draft plan requires a major investment in our core infrastructure, particularly in the three waters area. The government’s starting intention is to reform local government’s three waters services into a small number of multi-regional entities with a bottom line of public ownership. The exact size, shape and design of these entities is still being worked through so we are required to keep planning for the future to ensure our communities receive safe, clean, drinking water and the environment is protected.
As a result, we have had to review our debt levels to cater for the increase in costs and also attempt to balance the ‘nice to haves’ with the ‘must dos’ to ensure the district is well set up for the future and keeping rates increases modest. We have had to make some hard decisions and remove some key projects that we had previously signalled, or push them out beyond the life of this plan to be reconsidered in the future. Others have been put on hold while we seek your feedback as part of this consultation document.
Te Tiritio O Waitangi
Kei te hāngai tika atu Te Kaunihera a Rohe o Taupō ki ngā ture o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te mau mōhio ko te honongatahi te pūtake o Te Tiriti. E ai ki tēnei kia mahi tahi tātou ki runga i te whakapono me te ngākaunui ki te whakamana i tēnei hononga. Kei te mōhio mātou he rerekē ngā takohanga kei waenganui i te Karauna hei kawenga ma te Kaunihera a Rohe o Taupō.
Ka hāngai tika atu Te Kaunihera a Rohe o Taupō ki ngā mātāpono mo te honotahi (ki te mahi tahi i tenei whakakotahitanga) kia uru tahi (te Māori ki ngā mahi a te Kaunihera), te tiaki (te whakatakoto i ngā tikanga me te tiaki i ngā tāonga o te iwi Māori) ki roto i a mātou whakaritenga mahi, ngā manahau me te whakatakoto kaupapa.
Ka mahitahi Te Kaunihera a Rohe o Taupō ki te iwi, me ngā hapū ki te whakamana i te ture mo ngā whakataunga o Te Tiriti me ētehi atu kaupapa ka puta mai i ēnei mahi.
Kei te mau uara Te Kaunihera a Rohe o Taupō mo to mātou hononga ki te iwi Māori kei roto i to tātou rohe. He roa ake te wā e piritahi pēnei, ka mau pono mātou ki te whakarei me te atawhaitia ki roto i ā mātou mahi me ngā wā ka hui tahi mātou ki ngā hapū, me te iwi Māori.
Ki te mau mārō o tātou honotahi, ka taea te Kaunihera ki te tukutuku ngā hua ki runga ake o ērā ka taea te tuku me ko te Kaunihera anahe.
E rua ngā rēanga e tika ana ki o mātou hononga ki te iwi: ko te rangatira ki te rangatira, me te āpiha ki te āpiha. Ka mau hoki tēnei tikanga ki roto i ngā mahi katoa, kia whakawarea te iwi me ngā hapū i mua i te tīmatatanga o te mahi mo te whakatakoto kaupapa, ehara kei waenganui, kei te mutunga rānei o aua mahi.
Taupō District Council is committed to meeting its statutory Tiriti O Waitangi obligations and acknowledges partnership as the basis of Te Tiriti. This requires both parties to treat and work with each other in good faith and show good will to reflect the partnership relationship. We acknowledge these responsibilities are distinct from the Crown’s Treaty obligations and lie within a Taupō District Council context.
Taupō District Council will give effect to the principles of partnership (the duty to act in good faith in the nature of a partnership), participation (of Māori in council processes), protection (the duty to actively protect the rights and interests of Māori) in our services, activities and planning work.
Taupō District Council will work in partnership with iwi and hapū to give effect to Treaty Settlement legislation and any provisions that result from these.
Taupō District Council values our relationships with Māori in our district. We have long standing relationships that we commit to enhance and foster in our day to day business; and when we engage hapū, iwi, Māori. Strong strategic partnerships can help the council to deliver outcomes that exceed what it can deliver alone.
Council relationships with our iwi partners operates at two levels: rangatira ki te rangatira (chief-to-chief) and officer-to-officer. This also includes our engagement processes, we will engage iwi partners in the early stages of projects and planning processes, rather than during or near the end of the mahi.
Why we want you to have your say!
Every three years we seek feedback on our draft Long-term Plan that outlines the services, key projects and initiatives we plan on delivering for our community.
Our Long-term Plan outlines some of the key issues we want your feedback on. It’s just as important to let us know the things you support as well as the things you don’t as what you tell us will guide our future decision making.
The consultation period for our draft Long-term Plan closed at 5pm on April 16, 2021. Thank you for all the submissions received.
What happens with my feedback
When you make a submission you will be given the option on whether you want to present your view to the Council in person. If you do, we will book a time for you to attend a public meeting which will be held from May 4 to May 6. You will be given up to five minutes to present your submission and answer any questions. Hearings in Turangi and Mangakino will be arranged if there are enough people wanting to present. Alternatively, you could choose to present your view to the Council electronically e.g. video call. Please let us know if you would prefer to present in this way.
All submissions will be considered by Council regardless of whether you want to be heard or not. Final decisions will be made in May and the Long-term Plan 2021-31 will be adopted at the end of June. Please note – all submissions will be made available to the public via the Council website, including your personal details.
Submissions and hearings for the Lake Taupō Protection Project will be slightly different. There will be joint hearings on this topic with Waikato Regional Council on Monday May 17. Any submissions we receive on this issue will also be shared with WRC.
How can I find out more?
Our Long-term Plan has been prepared using a number of documents as supporting information. These documents can be found on our supporting information page.
Community drop-in sessions
DATE AND TIME | LOCATION |
Thursday, March 18 | Wairakei |
Saturday, March 20 | Reporoa / Broadlands |
Monday, March 22 | Mangakino |
Tuesday, March 23 | Taupō |
Thursday, March 25 | Taupō |
| Thursday, March 25 4.30pm – 5.30pm | Kinloch Kinloch Community Hall (After Kinloch Representative Group meeting) |
Monday, March 29 | Tirohanga |
Wednesday, April 7 | Turangi |
Tuesday, April 13 | Mangakino |
