Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale says neighbourhood support is a vital partner in community safety. 

He was speaking at the Western Bay of Plenty Neighbourhood Support’s AGM this week.

Drysdale said the definition of a community relied on shared views of what’s important, and to do that, the council needed to engage with the community. 

“Perceptions of community safety are important. That’s where Neighbourhood Support has a massive role to play,” he said. 

“Activities directly impact how we feel about ourselves and our sense of community and well-being. We have shared goals of a safer city, and I’m pleased to see you measure your activities on outcomes - that’s important to the council, too. 

“I applaud your work and your work with our community safety teams, too. This can only improve safety, violence prevention and reduction in addiction-related harm.” 

He said the council’s involvement in redeveloping the city centre was part of revitalising the city that had been allowed to languish. 

“This neglected area will become one where people want to live, work, play and enjoy.” 

He said the council wanted to get involved and support voluntary activity as much as possible, and he looked forward to “making great things” in the region. 

The council could not solve community safety issues alone and needed to work alongside the police and other organisations. Many incidents were health-related, and he urged people to report issues so they could be tackled.  

Neighbourhood Support, Western Bay of Plenty chair Kathy Webb said the organisation was in good heart. 

It had maintained membership at 14,500 households, increased its communication channels, had been instrumental in setting up the Pāpāmoa Food Hub and the Ōmanu community gardens, expanded membership in Pyes Pā, driven a closer relationship with its two councils and developed a working relationship with Fire and Emergency NZ.