Greater Wellington Regional Council

Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island.^[5] It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environmental and flood protection, and the region's water supply.^[6] As of 2023, it is the majority owner of CentrePort Wellington with a 77% shareholding.^[7]

Greater Wellington Regional Council
Te Pane Matua Taiao^[1]

Regional council
Formation	1980/1989
Region	Greater Wellington
Country	New Zealand
Website	gw.govt.nz
Leadership
Chair	Daran Ponter[2]
Deputy Chair	Adrienne Staples[2]
Chief Executive	Nigel Corry[3]
Headquarters	100 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington 1056 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt 34 Chapel Street, Masterton[4]

The Wellington Regional Council was first formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the functions of the Wellington Regional Planning Authority with those of the Wellington Regional Water Board,^[8] before taking its current form with the local government reforms of 1989.^[9]

A proposal made in 2013 that nine territorial authorities amalgamate to form a single supercity met substantial local opposition and was abandoned in June 2015.^[10]

Council members

The governing body of the regional council is made up of 13 councillors, representing six constituencies:^[11]

• Pōneke/Wellington – 5 councillors
• Kāpiti Coast – 1
• Porirua-Tawa – 2
• Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt – 3
• Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta/Upper Hutt – 1
• Wairarapa – 1

In October 2023, the council voted to also establish a Māori constituency for the 2025 local elections.^[12]

As of the 2022 local elections the regional councillors are:^[13]

Key

  Labour   Green   Independent   Connecting Wellington

Name		Portrait	Position	Constituency
	Daran Ponter		Chairperson	Pōneke/Wellington
	Adrienne Staples		Deputy Chairperson	Wairarapa
	Simon Woolf		Councillor	Pōneke/Wellington
	Yadana Saw		Councillor	Pōneke/Wellington
	Thomas Nash		Councillor	Pōneke/Wellington
	David Lee		Councillor	Pōneke/Wellington
	David Bassett		Councillor	Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt
	Ken Laban		Councillor	Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt
	Quentin Duthie		Councillor	Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt
	Ros Connelly		Councillor	Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta/Upper Hutt
	Chris Kirk-Burnnand		Councillor	Porirua-Tawa
	Hikitia Ropata		Councillor	Porirua-Tawa
	Penny Gaylor		Councillor	Kāpiti Coast

Chairs

No.	Name	Portrait	Term		Constituency
1	Mervyn Kemp[14]		1980	1986	Tawa
2	Stuart Macaskill[15]		1986	2001	Upper Hutt
3	Margaret Shields[16]		2001	2004	Porirua
4	Ian Buchanan[17][18]		2004	2007	Wairarapa
5	Fran Wilde[19]		2007	2015	Wellington City
6	Chris Laidlaw[20]		2015	2019	Wellington City
7	Daran Ponter[21]		2019	present	Wellington City

Regional parks

The council administers several regional parks.^[22]

• Akatarawa Forest
• Baring Head/Orua-pouanui
• Battle Hill Farm Forest Park
• Belmont Regional Park
• East Harbour Regional Park
• Hutt River Trail
• Hutt Water Collection Area
• Kaitoke Regional Park
• Pakuratahi Forest
• Queen Elizabeth Park
• Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour
• Wainuiomata Recreation Area
• Wainuiomata Water Collection Area
• Wairarapa Moana Wetlands
• Wellington Harbour
• Whitireia Park

See also

• Manawatū-Whanganui Regional council - neighbouring regional council
• Territorial authorities within the Greater Wellington region:
  • Wellington City Council
  • Porirua City Council
  • Hutt City Council
  • Upper Hutt City Council
  • Kāpiti Coast District Council
  • South Wairarapa District Council
  • Carterton District Council
  • Masterton District Council

References

1. "Your Council | Tō Kaunihera". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
2. "Meet the Councillors". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
3. "Executive Leadership Team". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
4. "Office locations". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
5. "Legal notices". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
6. "Long Term Plan" (PDF). Greater Wellington Regional Council. 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
7. "Centreport Limited (410682) Registered". New Zealand Companies Office. 1 June 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
8. "Parks Network Plan July 2011" (PDF). www.gw.govt.nz. Greater Wellington Regional Council. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
9. "Story: Wellington region | Government". Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
10. Michael Forbes and Caleb Harris (9 June 2015). "Wellington super-city scrapped due to lack of public support". The Dominion-Post.
11. "Council and Councillors". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
12. "Greater Wellington Regional Council approves Māori Constituency for 2025". RNZ. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
13. "2022 Triennial Elections | DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). elections.gw.govt.nz. Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
14. "Mervyn Kemp". www.wcl.govt.nz. Wellington City Libraries Te Matapihi Ki Te Ao Nui. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
15. "Macaskill, Stuart Alisdair". uhcl.recollect.co.nz. Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
16. SCHOUTEN, HANK (3 June 2013). "Women's champion Margaret Shields dies". Stuff. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
17. "Buchanan to chair regional council". NZ Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
18. "Buchanan upset at being dumped". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
19. "Fran Wilde". nzhistory.govt.nz. NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
20. Nicoll, Jared (25 October 2016). "Chris Laidlaw chosen as chairman of Greater Wellington Regional Council". Stuff. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
21. "Analysis: New Wellington regional council chair romps in". NZ Herald. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
22. "Wellington Regional Parks". gw.govt.nz. Greater Wellington Regional Council.