What a wonderful city we have in Tauranga – and yet it could still be so much more. I have lived here for 29 years, and watched what was a village turn into a modern city. In the Eighties computers had arrived, but the Commodore 64 was top of the range. Today this city boasts Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB), but most are yet to connect to it. Being an “early adopter” I took the first opportunity to go UFB, which is actually only 3 times faster than before, and definitely wouldn’t/couldn’t go back! Tauranga now has a completed UFB network, and 26% of capable households and businesses have now connected to it. This is the third highest connection rate across New Zealand. The Government has set an aspirational connectivity target that would see 99% of New Zealanders able to access peak broadband speeds of at least 50 Mbps (Megabytes per second) by 2025. Today my UFB is around 30 Mbps, and I look forward to even faster (affordable) speed.

Ultra Fast Broadband is a game-changer for our city. This city has long been known for its sunshine hours and its wonderful beaches, but it is UFB that will allow our young, upwardly mobile families to realise that they can live in blissful relaxation, and still be connected to a global economy. They are finally coming here in droves, and the challenge now it to ensure that our city doesn’t lose its competitive advantages. Past Mayors like Bob Owens and then Noel Pope ensured that our infrastructure preceded predicted growth, by pre-investing in the likes of our Harbour Bridge and Route K. This is a wonderful city – now let’s all ensure that we have the vision to retain and build on that magic.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.