Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa have welcomed mayors, chief executives, and council delegates from across Aotearoa to Rotorua for the SuperLocal 2026 conference. The gathering comes at a crucial moment as local councils navigate significant legislative changes, financial constraints, and mounting infrastructure pressures.

“This is hugely significant. It’s an honour to be hosting mayors and councils from across Aotearoa so mai i ngā hau e whā. We have representatives from not only the elected members’ perspectives but also chief executives and a lot of the organisations that work alongside us too,” says Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell.

“We will be talking about big topics for local government and that matters because at the moment we know that we’ve got a lot of government reforms coming our way, such as rates capping, wanting to remove the voting rights of non-elected members which affect a lot of our committees,” she says.

With central government politicians present at the event, Mayor Tapsell noted that local leaders are prepared to push back and demand accountability.

“But importantly some of those government politicians are here so they maybe coming here thinking they are going to give us a hard time but don’t get me wrong we will also be pushing accountability back on them to make sure we are all serving the people and the communities that we represent.”

Ko te reo o te hapori me te wero ki te Kāwanatanga i SuperLocal 2026

Kua huihui mai ngā māngai me ngā rangatira o ngā kaunihera o te motu ki Rotorua mō te huihuinga o SuperLocal 2026. Whai muri i ngā panonitanga ture me ngā pēhanga a te Kāwanatanga, e whai ana ngā kaikaunihera me ngā māngai Māori kia ū tonu te reo o te kāinga.

“Nā ērā taumahatanga, he mea nui ki a au kia areare mai ngā taringa o ngā kāhui o te motu ki ēnei ngā mātanga o ngā hapori, kei a rātou pea ētahi kupu akiaki ētahi rongoā hei mirimiri i te whakawhanaungatanga ki waenga i ngā kaunihera me ngā iwi, ngā whānau, ngā hapū, ngā marae,” hei tā te Heamana Takirua o Te Maruata, ki a Aubrey Gibson.

“Ka pēra hoki mo Te Maruata na te mea kua tino āmaimai me kī ā tātou whānau i raro i ngā ture hou, i raro i ētahi o ngā tohutohu o te Kāwanatanga o tēnei wā,” hei tā Aubrey anō.

Mō te taha ki ngā kaikaunihera ā-rohe, e whakatakoto ana a Elijah Pue o Te Kaunihera ā-rohe o Manawatū Whanganui i te wero ki te Kāwanatanga. 

“Kei te tautoko ahau ki tēnā momo whakaaro, engari kei te wero au ki te Kāwantanga ki tō rātou ara e whāia nei e rātou hei aha, hei painga mo te iwi, hei painga mo te hapori anō hoki,” hei tā Elijah.

“Nō reira ko te wero pea ki a tātou me pēhea e ū tonu ai te reo o te kāinga o te whenua i roto i ēnei momo tinihanga a te Kawangatanga koia pea te raru,” hei tāna anō.

Kua huihui mai ngā māngai me ngā rangatira o ngā kaunihera o te motu ki Rotorua mō te huihuinga o SuperLocal 2026. Whai