Porirua City Council (abbr. PCC; Māori: Te Kaunihera o Porirua) is the territorial authority for the city of Porirua, New Zealand. It serves as the city's local government alongside the Greater Wellington Regional Council as the regional council.

A borough council for the area was initially formed in 1962. In 1965, the borough was granted city status. Following the 1989 reforms to local government, that city council was dissolved and the current authority was established under the same name.

The governing body of council has 11 councillors and is chaired by the mayor of Porirua (currently Anita Baker since October 2019).

History

Predecessors Local government in the Porirua basin began on 1 June 1854 with the Porirua Road Board being declared in the Wellington Provincial Council Gazette. Road boards were set up by the provincial governments to develop and maintain local and district roads.

The first election for the Porirua Road District, held under the District Highways Act 1856, took place on 20 September 1856. On 7 November 1864, the Takapu Road District was declared and wardens for the district were elected annually. The Wellington Highway District Board (Hutt County) was given control of the district in 1872.

In 1876, Makara and Porirua ridings were made part of the Karori-Makara Highway Board and elections were conducted. Later that year, Porirua was established as one of six ridings making up Hutt County, which in turn was established by the Counties Act 1876 as one of 12 counties which would replace the Wellington Province. It elected 2 councillors to the Hutt County Council.

In 1908, Makara County, an amalgamation of the Porirua riding with the Makara riding and Tawa, was separated from Hutt County. The first elections for Makara County were held on 28 January 1908.

Following the construction of a new business district on the site of the village of Porirua beginning in the 1950s, the autonomous Borough of Porirua was established on 1 September 1962, the day after Makara County was abolished. The rest of what had been the Makara County was re-incorporated into Hutt County as the Makara Riding. Tawa had already separated from the county to form its own Town Board in 1951.

Porirua was declared to be a city on 2 October 1965 by Governor-general Sir Bernard Fergusson, after reaching the population threshold of 20,000.

On 1 April 1973, the city of Porirua was expanded to include large areas to the north-east and some to the south, transferred from Hutt County, along with Mana Island. In 1988, it was further expanded to include the Horokiri riding, which contained most of Whitby and large rural areas, before Hutt County was abolished in the 1989 local government reforms, which transferred to Wellington City most of the southern fringe areas that had been added in 1973 – notably the Takapu Valley and Arohata.

Governing body The elected mayor and councillors provide governance for the city by setting the policy direction of the council, monitoring its performance, representing the city's interests, and employing the Chief Executive.

Mayor

One mayor is elected at-large; they chair meetings of the governing body and act as the head of local government in the city.

Current composition The current members of the governing body of council are:

Role Portrait Name AffiliationWardMayorAnita BakerIndependentElected at-largeDeputyKylie WihapiIndependent Parirua MāoriCouncillor Geoff HaywardLabourOnepoto generalCouncillor Hemi FermanisIndependent Onepoto generalCouncillor Kathleen FiloIndependentOnepoto generalCouncillor Izzy FordIndependentOnepoto generalCouncillor vacantOnepoto generalCouncillor Josh TrlinLabourPāuatahanui generalCouncillor Ross LeggettIndependentPāuatahanui generalCouncillor Nathan WaddleIndependentPāuatahanui generalCouncillor Moira LawlerIndependentPāuatahanui general

Committees + Current committees of the Porirua City Council Committee Chairperson Deputy Chairperson Members Council Mayor Baker Dpty WihapiAll councillors Taku Parai, Council Kaumātua () Cr Leggett Cr TrlinMayor Baker All Councillors Taku Parai Audit and Risk Committee Warren Allen Cr WaddleMayor Baker Cr Duncan Cr Filo Cr Johnson Cr Leggett Cr Trlin Felicity Caird Chief Executive’s Employment Committee Cr Duncan Mayor BakerCr Ford Dpty Wihapi Cr Leggett Cr Waddle Cr Johnson Taku Parai Dog Control Hearings Subcommittee Mayor BakerCr Duncan Dpty Wihapi Porirua District Licensing Committee Dpty Wihapi Cr DuncanRachel Palu Nicole Maloney Saar Conen Rohen Kevin Watson Sandy Gill

Chief executive The Chief Executive is in charge of the administration of the council and employs all other council staff to achieve its strategic priorities. The Chief Executive is currently Wendy Walker.

Elections By-elections

In June 2026, Onepoto councillor Mike Duncan died after having served on the council since 2016. His death will trigger a by-election, which will be held on 16 October 2026.

List Council

Mayoral

Wards The 10 councillors are elected from three wards: Onepoto General Ward, Pāuatahanui General Ward, and Parirua Māori Ward.

Candidates standing in the general wards are elected by voters registered on the general electoral roll, while those standing in the Māori ward are elected by voters registered on the Māori electoral roll.

Parirua Māori Ward The Parirua Māori Ward elects 1 councillor and covers the whole city of Porirua.

The Parirua Māori Ward was established following a council vote in May 2021, a representation review and an appeal to the Local Government Commission which upheld its establishment. The Parirua Māori ward was first contested in the 2022 elections.

In July 2024, the National-led coalition government passed the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 which reinstated the requirement that councils must hold a referendum before establishing Māori wards or constituencies. In August 2024, the council voted unanimously to affirm their decision to establish the Māori constituency, thereby triggering a referendum on the constituency to be held alongside the 2025 local elections. Porirua voters elected to retain the Māori ward.

Onepoto General Ward The Onepoto General Ward elects 5 councillors and covers:

Pāuatahanui General Ward The Pāuatahanui General Ward elects 4 councillors and covers:

Civic symbols Coat of arms Porirua City was granted a Coat of Arms by the Earl Marshal of England on 1 December 1965. The city officially adopted the coat of arms via a bylaw on 27 November 1969.

Flag

The city of Porirua first adopted a flag in 1978 following a competition for designs among local schools, with the winning design being submitted by John Mansfield of Papakowhai School. This flag consisted of a yellow cross on a green background with the coat of arms superimposed over it. After the 1989 local government reforms, the new Porirua City Council did not seek to continue use of this flag.

The present flag of Porirua was adopted on 30 September 1998. It has several blue stripes, and a green shape to symbolise the city's harbour and land. The canton optionally features the coat of arms.

Notable council members Whitford Brown, the first Mayor of Porirua Ken Douglas, trade union leader Ken Gray, All Black Gary McCormick, poet, radio and television personality Helen Smith, first member of the Values Party to be elected to local government Rex Willing

See also Territorial authorities bordering Porirua City Council: Wellington City Council Hutt City Council Upper Hutt City Council Kāpiti Coast District Council Greater Wellington Regional Council – the regional council covering Porirua

Notes

References