Greater Wellington Regional Council

Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), 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]
Type
Type	Regional council of Greater Wellington
History
Founded	1980/1989
Leadership
Chair	Daran Ponter[2], Labour
Deputy Chair	Adrienne Staples[2]
Chief Executive Officer	Nigel Corry[3]
Structure
Seats	13
Political groups	Labour (1)   Green (3)   Independent (9)
Elections
Voting system	STV
Last election	8 October 2022
Next election	11 October 2025
Meeting place
100 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington 1056 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt 34 Chapel Street, Masterton[4]
Website
gw.govt.nz

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