Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

Greater Wellington Targets Climate Change

25 June 2019

Greater Wellington Targets Climate Change, Natural Resources And Public Transport in Annual Plan

Greater Wellington Regional Council will target climate change, natural resources and public transport challenges across the region as it adopted its annual plan for 2019/20 today.

Acting Council Chair Barbara Donaldson said it was important to tackle some of the region’s biggest issues in year two of its long term plan 2018-28.

“We will be boosting efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and consider a carbon neutral target. We will also look at what long-term changes we can make to our critical infrastructure investments to continue to reduce our impact across the region,” Cr Donaldson says.

Meeting the needs of the region’s public transport users was also high on the council’s agenda.

“We plan to address any remaining issues in the bus network, continue our investment in rail infrastructure and look to the future as we progress our commitment to Let’s Get Wellington Moving.”

While committing to these long-term actions, affordability remains a key focus for the council. There was an average rates increase this year of 5.9 per cent. In adopting the annual plan today, Greater Wellington agreed to apply a differential rate within Wellington City only.

“Based on community consultation, we recognised that this change needed to be made and we are now committed to a comprehensive review of the Revenue and Financing Policy, which will be undertaken within the next triennium to ensure that contributions remain fair to ratepayers across the region.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Greater Wellington also accepted a proposal to increase fees associated with resource consents. A large part of its role is the processing and monitoring of resource consents for people or organisations who want to undertake activities that affect the region’s natural resources. It also carries out environmental monitoring and responds to incidents.

“The costs to provide these services have changed since the Resource Management Charging Policy was last updated in 2015. Increasing the fees will help us keep up with these changes and help us look after our natural resources in line with public expectations,” said Cr Donaldson says.

The changes to fees associated with resource consents will come into effect from July 1 while a comprehensive review of the Revenue and Financing Policy will be undertaken before the next annual plan 2020/21.

ENDS


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.