New Mayor of Wellington to hit the ground running

Newly elected Mayor of Wellington Justin Lester has pledged to hold a summit within six weeks to build a united plan for the city and reset the relationship with central Government.

“I am truly honoured and humbled that Wellingtonians have put their faith in me to lead this city and I am committed to getting the job done,” newly elected Mayor of Wellington, Justin Lester said.

“We need to unlock investment funding immediately, and to do that I know it is important to reset and strengthen the relationship between our city council and central government. My first official phone calls will be made to the Beehive to rebuild those relationships.

“Growth and progress don’t happen by chance. You need a united plan. That is why I intend to hold a post-election summit within the next six weeks to build consensus around a plan to grow Wellington.

“And everyone will get to have a say. The summit will be preceded by an online “Share an Idea” community crowdsourcing where all Wellingtonians can provide suggestions on making the city even better.

“Central Government, local businesses, Iwi, NGOs, local community groups and organisations, city and regional councillors all have an important role to play in our city’s future – and I look forward to bringing everyone together behind a united plan.

“I would like to congratulate those councillors that successfully won their wards this evening.

“I will be meeting with each councillor in the coming week so we can start as I intend to continue – as a united team, working in the best interests of the city that we represent, together.

“My priorities for my first term as Mayor include supporting Wellington businesses to grow, give rebates to first home builders, free swimming for under 5s, to make Wellington pest free and to freeze the rising cost of public transport and introduce student discounts and to look after our most vulnerable by establishing the country’s first wet house.

“I love Wellington. And as its newly elected Mayor I know we are going to make it even better. I look forward to starting the new job, bringing fresh innovative thinking to the table and getting the job done.”

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