Tauranga election: Mayoral hopefuls want to rewrite city plan

Mayoral contenders, top row, from left: Andrew Caie, Doug Owens, Tim Maltby and Chudleigh Haggett. Middle row, from left: Donna Hannah, Mahé Drysdale, John Robson and Hori BOP. Bottom row, from left: Ria Hall, Jos Nagels, Greg Brownless and Tina Salisbury.

Most Tauranga mayoral candidates say they would change the city’s 10-year plan if they were elected.

Candidates raised concerns about the plan’s $4.9 billion proposed spend and its affordability at a mayoral candidate public meeting organised by the Pāpāmoa Residents and Ratepayers Association (PRRA) on Monday.

Nearly 250 people filled the Legacy Chapel in Pāpāmoa to hear what 12 of Tauranga’s 15 mayoral candidates had to offer.

Mayoral hopefuls Greg Brownless, Hori BOP, Andrew Caie, Mahé Drysdale, Chudleigh Haggett, Ria Hall, Donna Hannah, Tim Maltby, Jos Nagels, Doug Owens, John Robson and Tina Salisbury attended.

The long term plan was adopted by the council’s commission in April.

It sets out the council’s direction for the next decade and proposes $4.9b in capital investment. This includes more than $1b in transport infrastructure and a $574 million investment in community facilities including the new aquatic centre at Memorial Park and sports facilities.

An artist's impression of what Te Manawataki o Te Papa, Tauranga's future civic precinct, will look like. Image / Supplied

There is also the $306m civic precinct project, Te Manawataki o Te Papa, that aims to revive the city’s heart.

Ratepayers will help fund $151m of the project through a rates levy over the next 30 years, with the rest coming from grants, development contributions and asset sales.

Construction of the precinct started earlier this year and is expected to be completed in 2028.

Mayoral candidates were given six minutes each to speak, followed by 18 yes/no questions.

Among the questions, candidates were asked if they would revisit the long term plan with a view to make changes, if elected.

All of the candidates said yes except Andrew Caie, who said he supported most of the plan but wanted a chance to explain his stance to those attending.

When given the floor earlier, Brownless said the long term plan needed to change under a newly elected council, which would be accountable for it.

Haggett said the long term plan “doesn’t need to be reviewed - it needs to be tossed out”.

“Nothing in that plan actually drives the city as a whole forward,” he said.

Nearly 250 people attended the PRRA's mayoral candidates meeting.

Maltby said the plan needed to be amended because it was “unsustainable”.

“The ratepayers cannot afford the long term plan,” he claimed.

Caie claimed previous councils had not invested in infrastructure for 20 years.

Drysdale agreed previous councils “underfunded and not delivered critical infrastructure”.

“Make a choice, do you want to pay 2024 prices, or do you want to pay 2034 prices because you can’t hide from critical infrastructure, at some point you’ve got to pay for it.”

Hall said her viewpoint was inter-generational.

“There have been some things that could have been done a lot better, but I’m here to pivot from that.”

The final question of the night asked candidates if they would consider the financial wellbeing of ratepayers in any major decision, to which all responded yes.

All the candidates also agreed that community input was important for making key decisions.

Pāpāmoa Residents and Ratepayers Association chairman Philip Brown.

PRRA chairman Philip Brown prefaced the night with the group’s opposition to the Tauranga City Council’s 2024-34 long term plan.

“This election is about either agreeing with this long term plan 2024/2034 and the eye-watering spend on the CBD or revisiting and revising that plan as an amendment.”

Absent from the event were; Tanya Bamford-King (sick), Aureliu Braguta (overseas) and Anthony Goddard (no reason given).

Voting in the election closes at midday on July 20.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air