Tauranga City Council has welcomed the appointment of commissioners with a diverse range of professional and personal skills to govern the city through to the next local elections.
The Local Government Minister, Hon. Nanaia Mahuta, has announced a four-member commission to act in place of the council’s elected members. The Commission will be chaired by Hon. Anne Tolley, the former MP for the East Coast electorate and a senior cabinet minister in successive National governments between 2008 and 2017. She will be joined by Bill Wasley (independent chair of the western Bay of Plenty sub-region’s SmartGrowth committee and a prominent strategic planning consultant); Stephen Selwood (former Chief Executive of Infrastructure NZ); and Shadrach Rolleston (an environmental resource management expert with strong iwi links).
Council Acting Chief Executive, Christine Jones, said staff looked forward to working with the commissioners to address the city’s pressing, growth-related issues.
“The Executive team has prepared a comprehensive briefing paper to assist commissioners when they take up their new roles on 9 February,” she said. “Amongst the many critical matters they will be tasked with is the delivery of our 2021-31 Long-term Plan (LTP) and we anticipate a period of intense community engagement leading into the development and adoption of the draft plan for formal consultation.
“The senior management team looks forward to meeting and greeting the Commissioners when they take up their appointments. Staff are committed to working closely with the commissioners."