The Whakatāne District Council’s website has been ranked as the best local government site in the country, for the fourth year in a row.

Whakatāne District Council invited the community to join in its celebration of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week. The Council’s Pou Tikanga (Māori Cultural Advisor), Pouroto Ngāropō, guided staff on a hīkoi around significant sites in the Whakatāne CBD.

Whakatāne will be treated to a collection of prizewinning New Zealand landscape paintings from the Kelliher Art Trust collection, when a three-stop gallery tour lands in Te Kōputu in September. 

The latest exhibition to grace the galleries of Te Kōputu sees a mixed-media display from artist Lauren Lysaght, which reflects on gender roles but is rooted in nostalgia. Kutarere Sunrise is a hearfelt tribute to Lauren’s father, Nelson Lysaght, a butcher who was born and raised in Kutarere.

A detailed seismic rating and engineering study carried out on the Whakatāne District Council Civic Centre has indicated that the strengthening work needed to raise the centre’s earthquake resistance to a suitable standard for a public or commercial building may be able to be carried out well within the $3 million budget set aside for the project.

The Remuneration Authority has determined that Whakatāne District Council elected members will receive an increase in remuneration for the 2018/2019 year.

The Whakatāne District Council has agreed to develop an investment framework to safeguard and grow the $52 million of harbour-related assets it holds on the community’s behalf. A report setting out an investment strategy was received by the Council last week, with Council elected members endorsing a three-phase approach to investigating and implementing future investment options.

Tūhoe - Te Uru Taumatua and the Whakatāne District Council have agreed to work together to define shared principles which will guide their growing relationship.

A Whakatāne District Council and Tāneatua community pilot project will see 21 new fruit trees planted in Tāneatua this week, in the road reserves on Howell, Amokura and Morrison Roads.