Andrew Tripe says rates rises need to keep in line with inflation. Photo / Mike Tweed
Andrew Tripe says the “bedrock laid over the last three years” will stand Whanganui in good stead for the future.
The Whanganui mayor is running for re-election and said he was proud to have kept average rates rises to just over 20% for the past three years.
“It’s about 15% below the New Zealand average, and that’s massive.”
He said the council’s six-point plan to keep rates low had been effective, and he was proud to have brought the kerbside food scraps service back to a council vote.
Elected members voted nine to four in favour of scrapping the service, due to start on July 1.
“That saved 1.5% on rates,” Tripe said.
“I think we’ve had a more open and visible council, which was also deliberate, with livestreaming, increased communications and a citizens’ assembly.
“That [citizens’ assembly] has been successful. It’s something we can build on.”
Initiatives he has planned for 2025-28 include launching a Whanganui investment fund and the Whanganui School of Design and Technology, and fast-tracking building consents.
Tripe said he had been in discussions with Google about investing in a technology and artificial intelligence pilot to speed up the consent process.
“I’m really excited about it.
“We’ve got good people, but they are constrained by process and technology.
“If we can enable more housing in our community, housing becomes more affordable, and it helps our growth.”
Any growth had to be managed – “increasing the population in a sustainable way”.
Tripe said building second-floor apartments along Victoria Ave was one way to do that, and he had been in contact with Housing Minister Chris Bishop about making that process easier, he said.
About 80% of second floors along the street were empty, he said.
“I’d like to see those filled with people, particularly young people, who don’t necessarily have a car but have a bicycle.
“It creates inner-city vibrancy.”
He said he wanted to partner with the Whanganui Community Foundation to increase its scope and raise funds through donations, bequests, businesses and high-wealth individuals for community-led projects and suburban events.
“It is a similar model to the New Plymouth (Taranaki) Foundation.”
In 2023, Tripe voted against Māori wards but voted in favour of them last September, saying the council had already made a decision and he wanted to “honour local democracy”.
He told the Chronicle this week that he was keen to have Māori and iwi around the table, “and I approached a number of people last election to run for council”.
“Māori wards will deliver Māori around the table, which is great, but I don’t like the system to get them there.
“If you’re on the Māori roll, you can only vote for two [candidates] plus the mayor. You can’t vote for the other 10, and vice versa.
“The referendum will tell us what the community think about whether it’s a good idea or not.”
Tripe said the council was operating in a complex environment, another reason he was running for re-election.
His background with companies such as IBM and Deloitte – “big corporates” – stood him in good stead.
“We’ve got Local Water Done Well, we’ve got the RMA [Resource Management Act] changes, but one of the other conversations we’re going to be forced to have is the future of local government.
“When we take water out of councils’ balance sheet, it does lead to the question, ‘what do councils actually do?’.
“It will certainly open up a discussion about amalgamation. That will come upon us no matter what.”
He said rates increases needed to keep in line with inflation, as long as the council delivered on infrastructure requirements and created value and livability for the community.
Whanganui’s average rates increase for 2025/26 was 2.2%.
“You can still do the same, if not more, with less.
“Being efficient and streamlined, and managing costs, is incredibly important.
“Our infrastructure spend should be a minimum of 80%. We do that first, then we do everything else.”
Tripe said his family had been in Whanganui for four generations.
“You have a sense of responsibility to uphold your past. It’s part of your identity.
“The bedrock we’ve laid over the last three years will stand us in really good stead into the years to come.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.