Porirua kids at heart of decision making

Unveiling the Children’s Priority as the centrepiece of the Council’s new Long Term Plan, Mayor Nick Leggett said that measuring policy and funding decisions against the interests of the city's children and young people is a "brand new bottom line for the Council”.

Mayor Leggett said placing the needs and aspirations of young people first is the best way to build a thriving city.

“Councils traditionally consider the economic and environmental implications of decisions we make – and this won’t change.

“But, with the Children’s Priority, we will give the same weight to the impact of every Council decision on kids and young people,” Mayor Leggett said.

“Whether it’s network infrastructure, access to Wi-Fi, or recreational and cultural amenities, we will ask the question – is this the best we can do for kids in the city? If not, it’s back to the drawing board.”

The Children’s Priority would see initial work across:

• Council decisions
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• Partnerships on community infrastructure
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• Monitoring and Advocacy
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• Strong relationships with schools as the heart of our communities
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• Kids as citizens and leaders
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“We will work with others to improve education and employment outcomes for children and young people for e.g. the SHINE Education Initiative, Kids Partners programme and Youth2Work programme,” Mayor Leggett said.

“Council will act as an advocate and a facilitator between businesses, education and the community to get buy-in on projects that deliver jobs. We will set a goal of having the most Police and Nursing graduates of any tertiary provider in NZ

“We will be the voice for kids – when we need Central Government and others to get involved, we will advocate. The plan will aim to achieve lower rates of skin infections, rheumatic fever, and avoidable hospitalisation through consistent lobbying and service monitoring.

“We will involve children and listen to what they have to say through surveys and consultation and we will give them opportunities to be involved in decision making. We intend to work far more with schools and support them to be the beating hearts of their communities.

“The best possible start for kids born and raised in Porirua is not too much to expect. We all win when our kids do well – and we all pay a price when they don’t,” Mayor Leggett said.

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