Over the next few days, Wellington Mornings is talking to local Mayors around our region for their thoughts on the year that was 2024.
Today, Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry joined Nick Mills shortly before his last council meeting of the year, where councillors will discuss next year's budget and potential rates rises.
He told Nick Mills it's been a tough year across the Wellington region, but believes Lower Hutt is doing well.
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Over the next few days, we're going to talk to the mayors of the local cities around Wellington and just get their view on the year that's been. What they've got to look forward to, what the people that are actually paying rates and the areas have got to look forward to. This morning we start with Campbell Berry. Good morning, Campbell morning. How are you.
I'm very good. I'm very good.
Final week before things start to wrap up as a still a bit today. We've got a council meeting later today, but then all things will start to calm down a bit.
What are you going to do prior? Personally over Christmas break? What's Campbell Barry got on his plate?
Personally?
I say, Wing is actually a great place to be over that sort of Christmas New Year period. Lots of people obviously take off to different parts of the country, so I really enjoyed this sort of spending a bit more time around the house, sends catching up with friends and family, some who you don't get to see as much as you would like. What's the type of job I've got so looking forward to that?
Let's talk about the people of your area, Wrtington. We were informed this morning that rates could possibly be go up to fifteen The increase might go up to fifteen point nine percent. How are the people of Low Heart looking at? What sort of rates increases are you going to bestow on them next year?
Yeah, so we set out our long term plan, which does have a rate increase of around that fourteen percent mark.
We're looking at what we can do to find savings.
To pull that back or at the very least stay at the same rates. That's a conversation for our council meeting today. A priority for me in the new year is standing up this new water entity because we know that will make a big difference on being able to spread the water investment long term costs over a longer period. And if we can do that, while we might not be able to give a result for the coming financial year, we can at least.
Show rate payers that there is.
A far greater easing of the burden when it comes to rates and causses in the future.
Realistically, do you guess I think you'll be able to get it down. That's a very high, right raise, isn't it? Fourteen points on percent.
Well, most of that's driven by water, so it's eva we're sort of caught on an undrum right now. We've got a system which only allows us to borrow so much. The government is loosening those rules a bit. That will make a bit of a difference, but we don't have that new structure stood up yet, and I suppose we're still coming off the that of high rates of inflation and a number of contracts which have come up for renewal which we're at a much lower rate. So we're going to do everything we can to pull that back. But one thing our council is really clear about is not pulling back on those baseline services and also not coming back on that water infrastructure investment that's absolutely vital.
How do you rate yourself for the year? What do you think? Do you think? What do you give yourself? An eight out of ten or a six out of ten? Where do you think Campbell Barry rates himself for the year that's gone as mayor of Hot City.
I'm not one to give myself a rating.
I think it's been a challenging year for everyone as we grappled with our long term plans and particularly those costs increases. I think that we've delivered Pennine I Pool and Fitness on time and under budget. You know, that's a pretty outstanding result insidering that build has been happening over the last five years. But I'm not going to say that we've got absolutely everything right there. We've had our fair share of challenges as well. We just do everything we can and may believe it for people like yourself to give me and the other mayors are rating.
You're chairman of the local government body situation, So how's in new government treated local councils? What would you rate them on being in charge for the first twelve months.
Well, I think we've developed some really good relationships with key ministers Simmy and Brown, the Prime Minister, Bishop and others. I think there's a really good working relationship there on a number of issues. There were clearly some brick bats given at the Local government conference and sometimes there is a little bit of politics in that and a bit of rhetoric. But you know, from my experience actually working with those ministers, while we're not always going to agree on everything, we've got a good working relationship there and I hope that that can continue into the new year and we can just focus on those big issues around infrastructure investment and getting those basic services right. I mean, I agree with the Prome Minister. There absolutely has to be a priority for councils. I think that also there are other things that councils do which are just as important, but we do need to particularly get on top of that water issue, and that's it's a key priority press The.
Prime Minister actually came out and said everybody needs to pull their heads and then start spending less and getting things under control. Do you believe that you're working on there.
I think that some councils, you know, do you know, need to look at themselves. There's no question. I think there's there's no issue of being given that challenge. What I would say though, is that a number of councils do operate pretty well off the smell of an oily rag.
You know.
There isn't this pitfall of money that comes into the council coppers. So it may feel like that when you pay your right still, but for the amount of services and pressure that councils.
Are under that they're having to do a lot with.
Less, and often a lot of that comes from unfunded government mandates as well. They're always asking us to do more, but they're not opening up any revenue streams to help fund that.
If you walked down the street and somebody say, somebody, let's stereotype it somewhere between forty and fifty years old that have lived in Law Hut for a while, and you said to them, how are you feeling right now? What do you reckon? Their apply would be.
Well, I think in the hush, things are going really well. We've had the high levels of development over the last week world that does put a bit of pressure on your infrastructure growth challenges. With that, there's a lot more people coming into our city. They're seeing Lower Hut as a place to be.
We've got the.
Incredible opportunity with RiverLink investment. You know, that's over a billion dollars going to be invested in five years. The development opportunities, there's some short term pain there. So I think actually most people feel like we're doing quite well on the huff, but I think they had the same concerns like a lot of news Onanders would have around the cost of living and those pressures that are having.
On family budgets.
I mean, I think everybody's feeling that still, and that's something certainly we're not immune to it on in the hut as well.
A bit of a jewel in your crown as Patoni, right. I don't speak to anybody that doesn't go to Botoni. They love Batoni. How has it changed Patoni now charging for car parking there that made any difference at all?
You think We've only got anydotal feedback so far, and that's been mixed.
I mean, there are some who feel as if it has had an impact on some of the businesses that are there. There are others who now say they can actually find a car park and actually go there because they feel as if there's a better turnover.
We're going to do a review.
We're going to have the f pos or or transaction data which backs up that review as well, just to see what sort of evidence lays.
Behind that change.
It is something that had been debated for a very long time, and obviously it's a way to avoid a fervor increase for our rate pays as well by having those who actually use those parts to pay for with the transport infrastructure in the area.
So it's challenging decisions like that. No question, particularly in this environment for businesses.
But we're going to review that closely once it's had a bit more time to in bed now.
Something I know very well was that at Queen's Gate at seven point thirty on Saturday night and said it was dead as a doornail this late night shopping gone.
I was in Queen's Gate probably just before that time on the weekend and it was pretty busy. So I mean, I think it is starting to really pick up. The Christmas period is really underway now and from what I've seen, it's actually a lot of people from right across the region are coming to the Hut to be able to shop into their Christmas shopping.
So we can always look at the data.
Do you reckon that that's happened? And sorry for interrupting there. It's rude to me, do you reckon that's happening? Because people are leaving Wellington, peered up with no car parking, fed up with Wellington and when they think shopping like this person I'm talking about didn't even think about going shopping on Saturday and Wellington. They were going to go out later in the afternoon when it's not quite so busy. Around Kmart and go shopping in your area. Is that a good thing? Do you reckon that's happening.
I don't know the reason why. I think the Hut has always been an attractive place.
This time of year to come.
We only do have obviously the largest mall in the region, and we do need to remind ourselves that we live in a region.
And yeah, I don't know.
You know, you hear anecdotal why people maybe come out here rather than shopping and Wellington, But I think there's a number of factors to it, and we have always been a bit of a popular destination around this time of the year.
What's been your standout moment for the year? Have you actually you know that time when you got home you threw your keys down on the mantel piece and you looked in the kitchen and you said, God, that was a good day. What was that for you? What was that moment for you? Yeah?
I think it's actually in the last couple of weeks, and that was with the opening of to nine our Pool in Fitness, a sixty eight million dollar project delivered on time and under budget, and it's an incredible facility which has already been given a five star Green Standard, which is the first pool in New Zealand to get that. And it also really has accessibility at its heart as well. So we had Monarchy Ability Trust, which has a number of clients who with a range of different disabilities.
I utilized that.
Facility before it opened and they absolutely loved it. So I think that's a pretty proud moment. That's been a real you know, a restart of the beating half of nine I, I think, and also I think seeing the life come back to nine I generally has been pretty special and that's something that's been a priority to me as MIA since I was elected in twenty nineteen. So great to see that come off and me even when we opened it and listening to the children walk through Hillary Court singing Wier just about brought a tea tom I actually, because it was a pretty special moment for that local community.
Right, final question, ready, Yes, are you standing next election?
I knew that was going to be your question.
Why why did you go there?
I've got to My.
Wife's asked me that question as well, so I'm going to I'm going to tell her before I.
Tell you, oh no, no relationship. Now, Look, there's still heaps to do here. In the heart.
We've got RiverLink, which is incredibly exciting. I think the opportunity is in our CBD. That's the next big one that's going to take you know, five six years to really implement.
I'm excited about that opportunity. But my rule every single.
Election cycle is to sit down over Christmas and obviously how to think about what the plan is from there.
So I we have to have a chatting the new year.
Good on you. I would put my I wouldn't put my home on it, but I'd put my garden shed on it that you'll be running again. Thank you for everything, Thank you for always being accessible and appreciate you working damn hard for hat steady've good on you. Merry Christmas to you and your wife. Hopefully that decision becomes an easy one for you.
Thank you, Nick, and thank you for covering the issues out this way as well. And to all the listeners out there, it's so important that we actually have you know, a Wellington presence with news books.
There'd be so all the best to you guys as well.
All right, Campbell Barry.
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