Wellington City Council And Predator Free Wellington Win Supreme Award At Local Government Excellence Awards
Wellington City Council and Predator Free Wellington have won the Supreme Award at the LGFA Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards held at Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening.
The LGFA Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards celebrates programmes, projects, and approaches that demonstrate professional excellence in local government management, and are open to any council, or council-controlled organisation (CCO) in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Three Wellington City Council projects were nominated in different categories, with Predator Free Wellington taking the top award for Excellence in Environmental Leadership, then going on to win the overall Supreme Award out of all the category winners.
'What a night for Wellington! This is a well-deserved national recognition that highlights the groundbreaking conservation work happening in our city, underscores Wellington's commitment to kaitiakitanga or environmental stewardship, and the role our community plays in achieving these ambitious goals,' says Mayor Tory Whanau.
Predator Free Wellington - Excellence in Environmental Leadership (Winner/Supreme Winner)
Wellington City Council is a proud partner of the Predator Free Wellington project (PFW), which is working hard to eliminate rats, stoats and weasels from Pōneke – and has already been successful on the Miramar Peninsula.
'This award recognises the dedication of the PFW team and also reflects the power of collaboration between local government, volunteers, and engaged communities. PFW's work is making a huge difference to our local biodiversity, and we are proud of their achievements and eager to continue supporting their bold vision for a predator-free capital,' says Mayor Whanau.
Predator Free Wellington Project Director, Kaiwhakahaere Matua, James Willcocks says the award is great recognition of years of collaboration and the amazing mahi of all its volunteers.
"This award reflects the strong partnership between Wellington City Council and Predator Free Wellington, built on our shared commitment and investment in creating a predator free Wellington.
'Together, we've created a blueprint for transforming urban environments worldwide, demonstrating that cities can be places where both people and biodiversity can thrive."
The other two nominations for Wellington City Council were:
Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park - Excellence in Community Engagement (Nomination)
Mākara Peak exemplifies excellence in community engagement through conservation efforts, volunteer contributions, and a successful partnership. This transformation highlights the power of collaboration and dedication to environmental stewardship.
Nestled in Wellington's western hills, Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park (MP) has transformed from gorse-covered terrain to an award-winning recreation area. Mākara Peak Supporters (MPS) and Wellington City Council (WCC) have driven this change, fuelled by thousands of volunteers.
Volunteers have built trails, planted over 60,000 native trees, controlled pest plants, and maintained nearly 700 traps. Their efforts have rejuvenated native bush, providing habitat for kiwi, kākāriki, tītipounamu, kārearea, and kākā.
TrackDem - Excellence in Digital Local Government (Nomination)
Wellington City Council is taking a world-leading approach to transparency by making it easier for everyone to access and understand Council decisions by using technology to locate and track voting records and meeting data.
The Mātai Manapori TrackDem system, delivered via enhanced website functionality, shows clearly how the Council and its committees have come to their final decisions, laying out initial recommendations, any changes or amendments to those recommendations, and how each individual Elected Member voted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
'We can grow anything here' A family's growing experiment
rural farming about 1 hour ago The McClutchie whanau explores growing different crops, with aspirations to grow Maori medicinal plants, on their family whenua in North Taranaki.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
Inglewood Place Toilets Bring Colour, Accessibility And Convenience To The Area
A new public toilet block opened this morning on the corner of Taranaki and Dixon Street which includes colourful lighting and Wellington's first Changing Places facility for people with disabilities. The site includes two standard and three accessible toilets with baby-changing facilities, automated timed doors and hands-free controls. Two will be open 24/7, the other three from 7am-11pm. The sixth is the Changing Places facility, a place where people with multiple or complex disabilities can use the toilet, change, and shower. The Changing Places facility is available for access only by those registered with the organisation. Wellington City Council's Chief Operating Officer James Roberts says the toilets have been placed where they are to make them more visible, accessible and attractive. 'Putting the block in a more visible place, installing new CCTV cameras in the area and adding beautiful lighting will help reduce anti-social behaviour – while also providing a much-needed toilet stop for the public in this busy spot. 'The building, with its ribbed timber facade, looks great during the day – and is transformed into a special light show at night.' Advertisement - scroll to continue reading The exterior lighting by Angus Muir Design is managed by the Council and will be changed to reflect awareness campaigns like Breast Cancer Awareness month, and major events like Anzac Day, Christmas, Wellington Anniversary, WOW, and the Jazz Festival. Changing Places was founded in New Zealand in 2017 by Jenn Hooper, whose daughter Charley (19) has profound and complex disabilities that require full-time care and support. Jenn feels immense pride in honouring her daughter and celebrating the opening of the 10th Changing Places room in Aotearoa, and the first for the capital. 'If I brought Charley down to Wellington with my family, as I have, she doesn't get a shower until we go home. Now she can go to this toilet block and have a shower during a week-long visit to Wellington, and I as her carer have the right equipment to safely provide that care. It's game changing. Wellington City Council has done an amazing thing here by catering to this specific part of society. 'Restricting access prevents vandalism and ensures the room is clean and available for those who so desperately need it. It's not about excluding those who don't need them. These rooms are about including those who do.' The new $2.3 million facility replaces the toilets removed from nearby Te Aro Park. They are designed by Council's architectural team to support crime prevention through environmental design as well as being aesthetically pleasing. The Te Aro Park toilets were removed in November 2022 largely due to their position making the space susceptible to crime and anti-social behaviour. Find out more about Te Āwe Mapara - Our Community Facilties Action Plan - Te Awe Māpara - Community Facilities Plan - Plans, policies and bylaws - Wellington City Council.
Otago Daily Times
16-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Food waste a headache for councils
There are no easy solutions to managing food waste, Kaikōura district councillors were told at a workshop on June 11. The viability of the kerbside collection of food waste is one of the questions being considered as part of the Kaikōura District Council's Waste Management and Minimisation Plan review. Kaikōura District Council senior advisor Dave Clibbery compared the waste management plans of 17 councils to help begin the review. Managing food waste is a challenge for councils around the country, he said. ''A lot of food waste is still going to landfill. It used to be that not many councils had ways to capture food waste, but now a number do have food waste schemes. ''Processing food waste is harder than processing green waste because of the smell, which can deter people from using the service and the relatively high cost.'' The Kaikōura district produced around 30kg of food waste per person each year, similar to large urban areas such as Auckland. Around 60 tonnes a year of food waste is processed through Innovative Waste Kaikōura, Clibbery said. But the use of the fortnightly kerbside collection service is low, as 95 percent of food waste is brought directly to the resource recovery centre. Several councils, including Wellington City Council, are encouraging home composting in preference to kerbside collection. Overall Kaikōura compared favourably with other parts of the country, sending 400kg of rubbish to landfill compared to the national average of 600kg. ''But we need to recognise we don't have the volume of building waste compared to large urban areas,'' Clibbery said. ''Auckland Council seems to be most innovative, with a target of zero waste to landfill by 2040, but even they realise there is only so much councils can do. ''Councils are really the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Serious waste minimisation requires action by central Government.'' Some options for Kaikōura to consider include establishing a repair cafe and promoting waste minimisation and recycling efforts. There are now 75 repair cafes around the country, including the Amberley Repair Cafe, which help to reduce waste and provide a social activity, Clibbery said. Repair cafes can be offered in collaboration with community groups, such as men's sheds. Initiatives such as the Enviroschools programme, in pre-schools and primary schools, have been successful in changing behaviours. But it needs a receptive audience, Clibbery said. ''It's not easy to promote waste minimisation. In the early days when zero waste was a fresh and exciting thing it was much easier to get people engaged.'' By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
