The winner of the Supreme Award for 2022, (the second year that LGFA has sponsored top award, and the eighth year LGFA have supported the Excellence Awards), is selected from the seven individual category award winners. The Te Hiku o te Ika Revitalisation Project, a highly successful collaboration between Far North District Council, the Kaitaia Business Association, the five iwi of Far North’s Te Hiku region and the wider community was announced as the Supreme Award winner for 2022. The purpose of the porject is to create employment in, and enhance the vibrancy of, three of New Zealand’s most deprived areas. Some 81 urban development, restoration and revitalisation projects were identified and folded into the project. Te Hiku o te Ika Revitalisation Project is also the winner of the Minister of Local Government’s Award for Council/Community Relations. The Judges said "this is an exemplar of how modern local government acts as leader and broker of solutions that promote community wellbeing, and achieves tangible results. This pragmatic and focused wellbeing initiative is exactly the outcome that Parliament had in mind when it restored wellbeing to the statutory purpose of local government."
The other individual category award winners were:
The Datacom Award for Transforming Service Delivery went to Hastings District Council's construction of a digital twin for Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre is understood to be the first application of this technology in New Zealand. The technology enables managers to access data on the degree of comfort, asset condition and asset performance in real time.
The GHD Award for Environmental Leadership went to the 'Toi te whenua, Manaaki ki te whenua' project that resolved an environmental issue that, while far from unique, was a pressing community issue. Wairoa District Council coordinated the removal of some 800 abandoned car bodies from the district and the safe disposal of the same.
Hamilton City Council was also highly commended in the GHD Award for Environmental Leadership category for its Stormwater Master Plan Webviewer. Hamilton City Council's digital tool draws on a wide range of data to provide a clever spatial tool to help council and others understand which stormwater assets need to be managed, what sort of action is required and when.
The MartinJenkins Award for Collaborative Government Action went to Auckland Council and the Wynyard Edge Alliance. This winning entry covers the infrastructure necessary to prepare the Auckland waterfront to host America’s Cup 36 – a project brought in on time, under budget, and with a legacy that extends beyond a single event. The Wynyard Edge Alliance is a collaboration of Auckland Council, Eke Panuku Development Auckland and the New Zealand Government – primarily The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
The Capability Group Award for Excellence in Organisation and People Development went to Far North District Council for its 'Great Workplaces' initiative. Far North District Council's winning initiative emerged from a staff survey taken during the first 2020 COVID-19 lockdown where 83 per cent of staff reported their productivity was the same or better while working at home. 'Great Workplaces' was launched with the initial objective to retain remote working productivity and wellbeing gains. It quickly became an initiative about providing its people with workplace choice.
The Beca Award for Placemaking went to Hastings District Council for the 'It's Flaxmere’s Time' project. The project is both a revitalisation programme for Hastings District’s lowest socioeconomic community, and a means for building trust and engagement between the people of Flaxmere and Hastings District Council. The programme is an amalgam of housing development, parks development, expanded health, wellbeing, and sporting opportunities and social services expansion.
Ashburton District Council was also highly commended in the Beca Award for Placemaking category for its Ashburton CBD Streetscape Renewal Project. The project is a placemaking and infrastructure renewal project encompassing the four aspects of wellbeing.
The Te Tohu Waka Hourua - Buddle Findlay Award for Māori-Council Partnerships went to Ngāti Tūrangitukua and Taupō District Council for their Mana Whakahono ā Rohe Partnership Agreement. Taupō District Council and Ngāti Tūrangitukua have built on an existing Mana Whakahono to extend this into planning and decision-making under the Local Government, Reserves and the Ngāti Tūrangitukua Settlement Acts, and in the council’s co-governance structure.