Taakiri tuu Te Matatini, a celebration of excellence in kapa haka, a beacon of te reo Maaori and Maaori arts, a showcase like no other of the cultural identity of Maaori, is set to hit our district, February 2027.
The 2025 event, hosted in Taranaki, resulted in a $25 million direct economic contribution. At a recent Waikato-Tainui and All of Councils JMA Partnerships Hui, held at Hopuhopu, Waikato-Tainui
CEO Donna Flavell, made the announcement and invited all partnership Councils to contribute, through infrastructure, and therefore make the event as seamless and unforgettable as possible.
The economic impact for our communities, and region, will be incredible and immediate. With Waikato District Council being the host council, we can expect up to 50,000 visitors per day, for a total of six days. Mrs Flavell is already in discussions with Kiwirail, regarding bespoke train services, to and from the event. Local and regional marae look set to host the competitors, while our local motels, hotels, camping grounds, and air b-n-b’s can expect to see an increase in accommodation hireage. Our districts freedom camping locations can also expect to see an increase in usage.
As a ward, we have a unique opportunity to showcase our community. Waerenga-Whitikahu plays an important role particularly in terms of providing both competitors and visitors with accommodation, food, petrol, diesel, indeed all manner of commodities, which will make their stay and experience in our ward, and district, memorable. National and international visitors will flood our district.
Elected members were recently asked to provide direction regarding expanding a planned wheelie bin consultation to include Pookeno. While approximately 2,100 Tuakau households currently receive a user-pays kerbside rubbish service, the costs are shared across the district, excluding Raglan, resulting in a district wide subsidisation of a bespoke wheelie bin service via a standardised targeted rate for rubbish and recycling. Following a rigorous debate, the motion, to consult with Pookeno, was lost 8 – 5, potentially saving the district an annual subsidised sum of over $200,000 per annum.
Following another difficult debate, WDC’s membership in LGNZ has been maintained. Opinions for and against covered Council’s incapacity to respond to the tsunami of submissions driven by central government, research impacts, networking value vs cost value in terms of information received and advocacy, the heavy lifting that LGNZ does for the local government sector, national and international opportunities, Te Maruata the vehicle for Maaori local government representation and participation, actual vs perceived benefits, and the young elected members forum. With the range of opinions tabled, the vote, however marginal, was in favour of retaining WDC’s membership.
Finally, along with the relevant Council units/teams, I continue to work on resolving the following ward wide matters, the accumulating rubbish at the Rangiriri Bridge, the unusable toilets in Rangiriri, overgrown berms in other parts of the ward, the Woodlands estate, and the establishment of a Whitikahu Community Committee. If you have a council related concern, please feel free to contact me either by email at [email protected] or by phone on 020 – 40012548.
Regards
Marlene Raumati
Councillor Waerenga-Whitikahu
