News release
Wednesday 31 October 2007

Fran Wilde new chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council

At its inaugural meeting yesterday, the newly-elected Greater Wellington Regional Council elected Cr Fran Wilde as its chairperson for the new triennium. The Council also elected Cr Peter Glensor as deputy chairperson. Both elections were unopposed.

Both Cr Wilde and Cr Glensor have been Regional Councillors since 2004.

Fran Wilde said she saw some significant challenges ahead for the region that needed clear focus and strong leadership to address.

"Our region comprises fewer than half a million people in international terms a quite small city. In many respects there are strong inter-relationships, in fact dependencies, between different areas of the region environmental impacts, people movement and infrastructure needs, are just a few examples," she said.

"The future for our world is less and less certain less scripted than it has ever been, as we are increasingly battered by massive global trends, social, economic and environmental.

"There is strong consensus on the reality of climate change regardless of the debate around its speed and specific impacts. For our organisation, with its mandate as guardian of the region's natural resources, this issue is of the utmost significance.

"Whatever actually transpires, it's clear that in respect of Regional Council delivery, business as usual is no longer an option. Now more than ever we all need to be futurists, anticipating trends.

"We need to embrace change, building on this Council's previous work to deliver proactively and optimistically for the people of the Wellington region," Fran Wilde said.

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