We have officially hit 2026….

Many complain about the council or are asking for information about council matters on social media. These need to be directed to those we have voted and entrusted to be our voice.

As we have just had an election and many of those voted in have said they want to be the voice of community, we believe it is timely to give some info on council and our new councillors. They are our elected voices and there to serve our community.

There are many parts to council, and the councillors, deputy mayor and mayor are the communities voice in council.  and as so, should be representing the wider communities’ views, concerns and questions. They are the best ones to establish how to get the best results or find out. 

For example:  Fly tipping along our river usually falls under the GWRC.  Ph: 0800 496 734
E: info@gw.govt.nz, but Upper Hutt’s parks fall under the UH Council Ph: 04 527 2169
E: askus@uhcc.govt.nz

Ideally, it is best to be in on the ground floor of any discussions. Meaning that you want to be engaging with council when the council is first considering a matter. Typically, when the news hits the media or if the council is voting on an outcome, it is too late to voice your opinion, for or against.

By doing one of the below you may just get the action you are wanting.

1. If you have trouble getting information or action by going through the Councils “Ask Us” or telephone facilities, then that is where those that are elected including our mayor come into play. Email them with your queries and cc in the other councillors/mayor(email addresses at the end of this article). Just ensure emails are respectful, clear and concise with questions. With questions, your elective members/council have 20 working days to respond to you with answers.
2. You may have heard our new Mayor mention several times during the elections that she and her team had an “OIA” in with the council. OIA stands for “Official Information Act”. This is where those questions elected members are unable to answer are passed to the “LGOIMA” team, which stands “Local Govt Official Information and Meetings Act”. Any correspondence with council or councillors/mayor can be subject to the conditions of an OIA. They have 20 working days to respond with answers also.  Remember to, once again, make sure you have clear concise questions. Direct OIA requests are typically sent via the CEO (Geoff Swainson) or the mayor.
3. Submissions to council at council meetings can be in person, via Zoom, for the computer savvy, or if needed, an elected member or other person can be nominated to read out (Deputations – Sect 16 of the Standing Orders) a preprepared submission you provide.
   As part of submitting you may wish to table your submission or supporting info to be put on public record (available on the council’s website). This can be a document, PowerPoint, drawings etc.
   
   Currently there is a 5 min limit to speaking at council and you may only submit on subjects which are included in the agenda. Found here: 
   http://upperhutt.govt.nz/Council/Council-meetings/Meeting-agendas-and-minutes?
   
   UHCC Guide to speaking at Council. : https://www.upperhutt.govt.nz/files/assets/public/v/1/meetings/attending-and-speaking-at-council-meetings.pdf?

If you would like to see how the council meetings are run do have a look at some of the live streams or older videos of meetings here https://www.youtube.com/@UHCCCommunityService/streams

Mayor, Councillors and CEO

The mayor and CEO are full time roles which they are well compensated for and have support capabilities. The councillors/mayor employ the CEO, and the CEO is responsible for the day to day running of the council and its employees. The councillor roles are part-time and in a lot of cases are being juggled alongside another job/role.

If you are struggling to get your voice heard, do contact one elected member and cc in the rest. They are there to be our voice on council and have signed up and been elected to be your voice. If it matters to you, it should matter to your elected members.

(Full-Time)         Mayor                  – peri.zee@uhcc.govt.nz
(Full-Time)         CEO                     – geoff.swainson@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Deputy Mayor   – corey.white@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – matt.carey@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – gurpreet.dhillon@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – bill.hammond@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – emma.holderness@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – angela.mcleod@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – hellen.swales@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – tracey.ultra@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – dave.wheeler@uhcc.govt.nz
(Part-Time)         Councillor          – daniel.welch@uhcc.govt.nz

A “thank you” to NZ Empowered for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.

12/01/26