Waipā chief executive Garry Dyet started working at the Council in 1980 as a health inspector and in that time has seen huge change.
“The 1989 reforms meant Waipā became an entity with enough scale to provide critical projects that smaller organisations simply couldn’t have delivered,” he said.
“And thank goodness for that because our biggest challenge now is managing growth and providing infrastructure for the people who are already here as well as for those forecast to arrive and settle here. Our scale means we can now focus on a wider range of things that are also important, like environmental and heritage projects and positive economic growth.”
Wayne Allan started his career at Waipa 30 years ago and is now Council’s group manager, district growth and regulatory services.
Both Garry and Wayne, who now each have Masters degrees in public policy, agree that the Council and the district, have benefited from strong and consistent political management and senior leadership over the last three decades.
“We haven’t seen the tumultuous ups and downs, and some of the disruption, that other Councils have had to deal with and Waipā has benefited from that,” Garry said.
Waipā has always had a very strong focus on long-term planning, ensuring the district’s natural heritage has been protected for future generations and that towns have become more people-centred. Both point to the success of the district’s Home of Champions brand launched in the 1990s which has positioned Waipā strongly on the national stage.
“It’s really just a completely different time from 30 years ago when, in Te Awamutu, there were stock yards in the middle of town’s commercial area,” Wayne said.
“There’s now far greater regional collaboration on smarter planning and on connecting regional infrastructure to support wider growth and investment. We have a whole-of-district approach and that’s what’s allowed Waipā to really thrive and offer huge opportunity.”
A commemorative photo was taken to mark the occasion with 10 of the 13 staff who have worked at Waipa for 30 years or more.
