Economic Wellbeing Strategy
What does economic wellbeing look like for Ōtorohanga District… and what do we need to do to get there?
Our district has recently moved into an exciting period of growth and development, which means it's our time to invest for the future and increase our focus on community wellbeing and relationships to make Ōtorohanga an even better place to live, work and enjoy.
We’re continuing that journey through our plans and activities with an increased focus on People, Place and Partnership, interwoven with the threads of resilience, sustainability, and transformation. This means working alongside our partners and communities to weave the future and plan for development while keeping those things that make Ōtorohanga a special place. We identified an Economic Wellbeing Strategy as a key document to help guide our work and investment in achieving this.
We’ve taken what we heard and learnt in the co-design workshops with community, iwi, business and educators, along with our research and analysis, to develop the Ōtorohanga Economic Wellbeing Strategy which was adopted by Council on 25 June 2024. This strategy can be found to the right of this page under the heading 'documents'.
The strategy outlines what we need to do as a Council, and with partners, to help to create a more prosperous future for Ōtorohanga district, where our environment is valued, and collective wellbeing is enhanced.
The draft Economic Wellbeing Strategy has a vision and sets out seven mātāpono/principles which will guide Council’s decision making and the way we work with others, and four pou/pillars created with our communities to support the delivery of our vision.
It identifies the way we need to work and actions we need to take to respond to the challenges and opportunities before us now and in the future. Most of our actions will be done in partnership with others.
What is Economic Wellbeing?
Economic wellbeing considers the wellbeing of our people, culture, environment and ecology as key parts of a thriving economy. It’s a shift in thinking from economic development, which was primarily focused on growth.
Economic wellbeing relates to everything and everyone, and includes factors such as income, education, employment, housing, medical care, community safety, access and equity and social support. It also means making sure our economic activities add to our quality of life, that we don’t leave any one behind, and that whatever we do does not have a negative impact on our environment.
It means being economically well at a district, town, rural, iwi, hapū, family and individual level. Our focus is on how we grow a more sustainable, balanced and inclusive economy.
A strong and sustainable economy provides better job opportunities, higher wages, and a higher living standard for residents. It also builds business confidence, provides business opportunities and attracts more investment into the district.
