Mayor's column – Leading through resilience
Published on 16 June 2026
A fortnightly column by Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper.
Now that we are moving into the winter months, is it timely to reflect on the first seven months of this iteration of Council.
It has, of course, been dominated by events that have tested our resilience and, increasingly, building resilience has become one of the main principles behind the decisions we are making across this District – from the opportunities we are creating for our people, to the infrastructure we are strengthening, to the way we are preparing for an increasingly unpredictable climate and the way we are responding to local government reforms.
Nationally, there is a growing recognition that resilience must be embedded into the way we plan, invest and govern. We saw it in the response to the fuel-supply disruption earlier this year, where the Government acted to strengthen supply security through Northland's own infrastructure at Channel Infrastructure.
That is national resilience supported by regional assets, reinforcing what we already know, that the work we do locally has consequences well beyond our boundaries and that rising to these challenges is something we share with communities across the country.
We also know that resilience must be affordable. We have heard clearly from our community that the cost of living is putting real pressure on households and businesses across this District, and we have listened. That has directly shaped the decisions we are making for the year ahead.
We are taking a disciplined, back-to-basics approach, focused on looking after what we already have, maintaining core infrastructure and essential services, and being upfront about the trade-offs involved.
At the same time, the severe rain events we experienced in January are a reminder that we cannot afford to be caught without the ability to respond when weather hits. The damage ran into the millions, and the reality is that these events are becoming more frequent and more costly.
We need a more sustainable way to deal with them, not reactive, not scrambling after the fact, but planned and ready. That is the kind of financial resilience we are focused on building.
But resilience is not just about how we respond to weather or manage our finances. It is also about the people who live and work here.
The Knowledge Hub is one of the most important initiatives this Council is progressing, because it is about making sure our young people can see a future for themselves here in Northland. Too many leave because they cannot see clear pathways into education, training, and well-paid careers.
The Government's investment in NorthTec and the proposed move into the Knowledge Education and Arts Hub in our city centre gives us real momentum. When people have the right skills and opportunities, they stay, they contribute and they build. That is what resilience looks like when a community builds it for itself.
Our physical infrastructure needs to be just as strong. The roads, pipes and networks that hold this city together need to keep pace with the growth and major projects coming to this region. Strengthening the physical fabric of our city is not just maintenance, it is about making sure our foundations can carry the weight of the opportunities ahead.
We have already shown we can get this right. The Morningside Flood Relief project is the best example. For years, that community dealt with repeated flooding, the kind that damages homes, disrupts lives and wears people down. Today, they have real protection, delivered on time.
Last month, the project won Public Sector Project of the Year at the Project Management Institute New Zealand Awards, and that recognition belongs to the team and the community who saw it through. Morningside is proof that when we commit to solving these problems properly, we get results, and it is a model for the investment we need to keep making across the city.
Across every part of this District, whether it is our people, our infrastructure, or our preparedness for what lies ahead, we need to build resilience into the fabric of our community to protect and position it for the years to come.