{"id":211099,"date":"2026-01-01T05:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T05:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/211099\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T05:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T05:12:12","slug":"local-leaders-share-their-hopes-for-tauranga-and-western-bay-of-plenty-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/211099\/","title":{"rendered":"Local leaders share their hopes for Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top of the to-do list next year would be an annual plan aimed at keeping rate increases as low as possible and, \u201cfingers crossed\u201d, sealing a long-anticipated regional deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga mayor Mah\u00e9 Drysdale. <\/p>\n

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer <\/p>\n

The year ahead was to bring \u201cboth opportunities and challenges\u201d for James Denyer as he expected \u201ca lot of change ahead in the local government sector\u201d. <\/p>\n

Denyer was looking forward to agreeing to the regional deal<\/a> with the Government and said the council approved the terms \u201cin principle\u201d just before Christmas and hoped it would include some \u201cgreat wins\u201d for the district. <\/p>\n

\" Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer has been re-elected to serve his second term. Photo \/ David Hall<\/p>\n

Labour MP and former principal Jan Tinetti<\/p>\n

Jan Tinetti<\/a> said her hope for Tauranga in 2026 was a city where everyone felt \u201cvalued, heard, and supported\u201d as part of a \u201cthriving\u201d community.<\/p>\n

She said the focus \u201cmust remain\u201d firmly on easing the cost of daily life, improving access to quality housing, education and healthcare, and strengthening the connections that brought people together.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy putting people at the heart of every decision, we can build a fairer, more compassionate Tauranga for all,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LabourLabour MP Jan Tinetti.<\/p>\n

Former National Party leader Todd Muller <\/p>\n

With 2026 being an election year, Todd Muller<\/a> said it was perhaps \u201ctoo much\u201d to ask for a year of \u201cless toxicity\u201d, \u201cmore tolerance\u201d, and \u201csome reflection of where we find ourselves as a community and nation\u201d. <\/p>\n

Muller said he had \u201creal excitement\u201d about what a regional deal could deliver for the city, establishing a \u201cgenuine partnership where we can plan together how to grow and build this region\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"ToddTodd Muller, former leader of the National Party. Photo \/ Alex Cairns<\/p>\n

Tauranga Hospital\u2019s Dr Kyla Matenga<\/p>\n

Training to be an orthopaedic surgeon<\/a> while competing as an athlete has shown Kyla Matenga the power \u201cbacking yourself\u201d and \u201cdoing hard things\u201d. <\/p>\n

Matenga hoped to see a community that valued health, ambition, and people \u2013 especially women \u2013 \u201cnot shrinking themselves\u201d. <\/p>\n

Her priority was to help create an environment where people felt supported to aim high, stay active, and \u201cbelieve they can belong in spaces that once felt out of reach\u201d. <\/p>\n

\" M\u0101ori doctor Kyla Matenga is training to be an orthopaedic surgeon and documenting her journey on social media. Photo \/ David Hall<\/p>\n

MP for Bay of Plenty Tom Rutherford<\/p>\n

Tom Rutherford\u2019s<\/a> focus for 2026 was on fixing the basics while building for the future.<\/p>\n

Rutherford said that meant easing cost-of-living pressures, backing local businesses, strengthening community safety, lifting education outcomes and delivering the infrastructure the Bay needed, including better roads and more housing.<\/p>\n

Improving access to healthcare was a \u201ckey priority\u201d, Rutherford said, pointing to the delivery of a new 24\/7 urgent care service and expanded after-hours care funded in this year\u2019s Budget, so families could access timely healthcare closer to home.<\/p>\n

\"BayBay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford.<\/p>\n

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley<\/p>\n

Matt Cowley<\/a> said he hoped Tauranga\u2019s communities \u2013 particularly businesses \u2013 would step up and embrace the \u201chuge waves of change\u201d ahead.<\/p>\n

Cowley said the city could not rely on government alone to shape its future and instead needed to take the lead itself.<\/p>\n

With the world throwing constant change at New Zealand, Cowley said the focus had to be on \u201ccontrolling our controllables\u201d and how communities responded to external pressures, calling for an empowered mindset to build a resilient and self-determined future.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes walking into the fire brings the greatest opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo \/ Mead Norton<\/p>\n

Social Link chief executive Liz Davies <\/p>\n

Liz Davies said her first hope was for everyone to have what they needed to \u201clive with dignity\u201d, including a secure home, food in the pantry and the ability to cover basic living costs.<\/p>\n

Her second hope was for community organisations to be better valued and recognised for their deep commitment<\/a> to helping the community thrive, standing alongside wh\u0101nau facing challenges and \u201chelping weave the social fabric that holds us all together\u201d.<\/p>\n

Davies said people, community and the environment needed to be prioritised in everything that was done.<\/p>\n

\"LizLiz Davies, Social Link chief executive, says that without funding organisations are having to reduce services, let staff go and even close doors.<\/p>\n

Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairwoman Matemoana McDonald<\/p>\n

Matemoana McDonald<\/a> said local government was heading into 2026 amid a period of \u201csignificant change\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said change could be positive when managed well, with the council\u2019s focus on ensuring strong community outcomes for the Bay of Plenty, regardless of what lay ahead.<\/p>\n

McDonald said the council would work closely with its people and partners, including iwi and hap\u016b, so their voices would help shape the future.<\/p>\n

Together, she said, those partnerships could create lasting benefits for both current communities and generations to come.<\/p>\n

\" Matemoana McDonald has been elected as Toi Moana \u2013 Bay of Plenty Regional Council\u2019s first wahine M\u0101ori chair. Photo \/ Supplied 31 October 2025<\/p>\n

Toi Tauranga Art Gallery Director Sonya Korohina<\/p>\n

Sonya Korohina<\/a> said while a year could be defined by big milestones \u2013 such as reopening Toi Tauranga Art Gallery<\/a> \u2013 it was often the small moments that mattered most.<\/p>\n

She shared a recent encounter with two young girls who regularly fundraised in the community and knocked on her door, this time simply to say thank you, bringing baked gingerbread people – one with a \u201cslightly burnt, but extra tasty\u201d arm.<\/p>\n

Korohina said her hope for 2026 was to see more acts of reciprocity across the city.<\/p>\n

Those \u201csmall moments\u201d of kindness and generosity played a powerful role in strengthening the city\u2019s humanity and overall wellbeing, she said. <\/p>\n

\" Toi Tauranga Art Gallery Director \/ Kaiwhakahaere Matua Sonya Korohina. 27\/03\/25 Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Annabel Reid<\/a> is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke\u2019s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Top of the to-do list next year would be an annual plan aimed at keeping rate increases as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2246,95,128318,1561,674,40750,24747,24749,11424,2082,71,305,97058,2959,3012,78,26477,10882,440,130,111,43,139,69,1118,1562,15141,381,11789,6448,15216,2122,1227,165,3457,6923,49493,379],"class_list":["post-211099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-2246","tag-and","tag-annabel","tag-bay","tag-building","tag-communities","tag-costofliving","tag-easing","tag-finds","tag-for","tag-from","tag-have","tag-healthier","tag-high","tag-hopes","tag-in","tag-leaders","tag-lists","tag-local","tag-more","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-plenty","tag-pressures","tag-region","tag-reid","tag-reporter","tag-resilient","tag-share","tag-tauranga","tag-their","tag-western","tag-what","tag-wish","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}