Wellington Regional Council Serving Wairarapa into the future THE Local Government reform of 1989 caused a stir in Wairarapa when the region was lumped under the responsibility of the Wellington Regional Council. However, time has proved the critics wrong. The arrangement has served Wairarapa well and the region is set to reap ongoing benefits as the council moves forward into the next millennium. To retain the local flavour of Wairarapa the council was required to run an office in Masterton for the Wairarapa division, and to have a Rural Services and Wairarapa Committee reporting to the full council.
People seem to be more comfortable with it now.
Delivering an agreed range of activities, with good customer service, and as cost-effectively as possible is the division's prime objective. The Wellington Regional Council was one of 14 regional councils set up across the country in 1989 to combine the functions of catchment boards, pest destruction boards, noxious plants authorities, harbour boards and united councils. The Wellington region includes the lower North Island south of Otaki in the west and Mataikona in the east. It covers a total area of about 813,000 hectares and represents a population of some 400,000 people. The Rural Services and Wairarapa Committee meets every six weeks in the Masterton office in Chapel Street, and includes Wairarapa ratepayer representatives who have been co-opted on.