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JUNE 19, 2025
Mayor regrets plan pause By Mary Anne Gill
Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan says pausing the council’s Long Term Plan (LTP) process last year in favour of a one-year one was wrong. She made the comments ahead of three days of LTP hearings, which began on Tuesday. The hearings included presentations from 42 of the 143 submitters. By later today (Thursday) the plan is expected to confirm average rate increases of 15.5, 10.7 and 6.9 per cent over the next three years. These follow a 14.8 per cent increase last year - significant hikes for a council that traditionally avoids going beyond inflation. In an exclusive column for The News today, O’Regan said she had instructed staff to “sharpen their pencils” even further.
“I wanted to be absolutely sure that every proposed dollar was necessary.” Reflecting on the decision to defer the LTP and adopt an enhanced annual plan instead, she acknowledged it was the wrong call. “But you know, hindsight’s a beautiful thing, right? "At the time, we had hoped we would get greater clarity on a handful of things - and the reality is, we didn’t. Looking back, we probably ought not to have made that decision. “It was a unanimous decision, so we have to collectively take that one on the chin and deal with it,” she told The News. The decision added pressure to an already strained council grappling with rapid growth and rising debt, all in the lead-up to a
local body election and following an unfavourable Audit Office decision. O’Regan admitted to feeling under pressure personally but said she was elected mayor three years ago on a mandate of change both around the council table and within the organisation. “I always wanted to be a mayor that included and drew on the expertise of the people around the table and that is borne out through the course of the process.” She said elected members were involved at every stage and unanimously supported the council’s direction. “It doesn’t mean to say that we all love where we’re at. “At the end of the day, we’re all human, we all want what’s right, Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan faces questions in a media conference after the first international Jetstar flight arrived at Hamilton Airport with, from left: Jetstar CEO the best things for our communities. Stephanie Tully and Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate. More page 9. Continued on page 7
Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Landmark tulip tree removed
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Photo: Mary Anne Gill
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Tree removal specialists remove the Tulip Tree in parts.
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Liriodendron tulipifera – the Victoria Street tulip tree outside Good Union bar in Cambridge - is no more. The tree was removed on Monday after arborists determined it had reached the end of its life and would become a safety risk. A tree will be planted in its place. The Tulip Tree is renowned for its towering stature – it can grow to more than 30 metres and its vibrant green leaves are shaped like a tulip with four lobes. The tree type was in the news internationally last year after scientist announced it had a “special type of wood” which could make them useful for carbon capture plantations. Dr Jan Lyczakowski of Jagiellonian University said some east Asian countries used Liriodendron plantations to efficiently lock in carbon, “and we now think this might be related to its novel wood structure”. The Tulip tree is one of two known survivors of the Liriodendron genus.
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