Council is the toast of its peers after its three year recovery plan topped its category at the Taituarā 2024 Great Consultation Document competition.

The prestigious local government award for the best three year plan was presented at the Taituarā Community Plan Forum in Auckland.

Tairāwhiti was placed 4th overall out of 45 councils nationwide for the full 10-year plan document. The competition is held once every three years and celebrates excellent practice in the design of long-term plan consultation documents.

Council’s Director of Engagement and Māori Partnerships Anita Reedy Holthausen said the national accolade highlighted council’s commitment to meaningful, impactful information to its community.

“It is especially significant given the challenges our region has faced in recent years,” she said.

“Our winning document, reflects the priorities of our community and ensures our recovery journey aligns with the aspirations and concerns of the people of Tairāwhiti.” This achievement builds on Council’s success with the "What’s the Future Tairāwhiti" (WTF) document, which won the Great Consultation Document Competition in 2018. “This win feels especially meaningful and representative of a strong community partnership and our collective resilience,” said Ms Reedy Holthausen.

“We’re incredibly proud to have developed a document that reflects where our community is in terms of recovery. This affirms the value of our ongoing commitment to reflect our community’s voice in everything we do.”

It also reinforced Tairāwhiti’s dedication to “thoughtful planning and collaboration” as Council and community work together to shape a resilient future.

“This award is something all of Tairāwhiti can celebrate and we all thank the community for their ongoing engagement.”

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