Porirua mayor announces campaign for third term

Tuesday, 28 January 2025

Porirua mayor Anita Baker has announced a campaign for a third term

Porirua’s mayor Anita Baker is seeking a third term in the city’s mayoral chains in this year’s local elections, with a pledge to push back a new rubbish collection service to slim down rates increases.

A three-term councillor before first elected mayor in 2019, Baker is the first candidate to declare their candidacy for October’s election, focusing on the health of Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour, water assets and economic growth.

Although the city’s residents could not afford another average 17.5% rates increase like this year, she said no candidate could claim they could reduce rates by a certain amount because it “just doesn’t work”.

“We quite simply need to stop things – we can’t cut any more than we have physically cut within the organisation,” she said. “We all know we have to reduce them, but at what cost?”

Part of its long-term plan last year, the Porirua City Council is set to bring on new rates-funded kerbside rubbish collection in 2028, with separate wheelie bins for rubbish, recycling and a glass collection crate. It would be equivalent to a 4% average rates increase.

Baker says the city could not “get rid of everything” like its Waitangi Day events despite Prime Minister Christopher Luxon telling local councils to “rein in the fantasies”.

“Personally I think that we should stop something like this because we just have to look at how our residents can pay and they can’t afford to keep paying these high rates,” Baker said.

While the Government axed the wellbeing provisions from local governments and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told councils to “rein in the fantasies” last year, Baker argued the city could not “get rid of everything” like Waitangi Day events or summer concerts.

“You still want to make your city visible for people who want to be there.”

Baker also believed the Wellington region needed to “work together” better, including bringing in uniform policies on issues like rubbish, recycling or dogs in hopes of driving down costs.

Although she is the first candidate to throw the hat in the ring, she had no idea about her chances but said she would leave that up to residents.

“I believe we’re doing a good job at the council,” she said. “I like what I do and I’ve got a really good council and I think we were making the right decisions at the table, and there’s lots more work to do.”

Baker won the 2022 mayoral election in a landslide, finishing almost 9000 votes ahead of second-placed candidate Tapu Elia. She is the first of the region’s incumbent mayors to announce a re-election bid.