Summer with the Mayors: Mahé Drysdale

Tauranga has been one of the fastest growing cities in the country over the last 20 years. 

Tauranga's population has doubled in the past two decades and it is expected to see another 50,000 over 30 years.  

Mayor Mahé Drysdale grew up in the area and tells Tim Beveridge how the natural beauty will also bring in an influx of visitors over the summer. 

From cricket at the Bay Oval, to the new waterfront playground, and a prime spot to do "bombs off the wharf," Drysdale says Tauranga has it all. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks be follow
this and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio.
What's happening in your neck of the woods Summer with the.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Mes, Yes, welcome back, heading to the plenty now for
an next installment of Summer with the Meers. Totinger is
experiencing a big period of growth with plenty of projects
revitalizing the town center and of course there's the Mount
matt Mong Andoui, the beaches and many events over the
summer period. And Marhi Drysdale is the mayor. He joins me,
good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Good morning, how are you going?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm pretty good? So hey, you've only just got your
feet under the table, really is the mayor? How's it
all going so far?

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yes, I'm pretty busy, but no, really enjoying it and
got a good team around me. So yes, it's been
been a fun few months.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Fun. Have there been a few challenges yet? Are you
sort of like this is great?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Oh? I know there's challenges every day, but look, it's
that's part part of a job. So you've just got
to just got to face anything that comes at you,
try to get the information you require, making decision and
move on.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
So you grew up in Todung, what do you what
do you remember about the taranger you grew up and
the tong Sorry that their pronunciation wrong, but you know
what I mean, the tonger that we have today.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, Look, Totong has been one of the fastest growing
cities in the country over the last twenty years. You know,
it was it was kind of quite a yeah, I guess,
a batchy sort of place Mount Monganui. Now it's very
much a place that everyone lives. So you know, that's
that's changed quite dramatically. The city's obviously expanded out two

(01:51):
areas that again you know, something like Papa Maya was
was a very much a beachside town and now again
it's it's very much a place that people live full time.
So yeah, there's there's been some huge changes. But you
know it's still got the beauty, you know, the mountain,
the beach, and you know, where else can you be

(02:11):
in the country that you've got one of the best
beaches in the country. But also, you know, it's a
big enough city you can have a great career and
you know, I think that's what attracts a lot of
people here is that lifestyle.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, it's funny. I grew up and rod Rua and
to me, Mattmanu is about the only beach in the country.
But of course the mount is going to explode over
the summer, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
Oh it is, you know, getting busy and busyer every year,
and that obviously brings challenges in itself, but you know
that's that's part of I guess, choosing such a great
place to live, but everyone else wants to come here.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Well, the local spots that you.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
I think, you know, my favorite is is you know
Mawa or the Mount. I love, you know that that
walk around the mount is just stunning. You know, we're
up actually on Saturday, up the top of the mount
for sunrise. You know, it's just just amazing sort of
natural facil that we have and very lucky to have it.

(03:13):
You know, it's it's just just phenomenal.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
I was actually thinking when you said around the mount,
I was thinking, well, how on that doesn't sound like
the athlete we know and love. You'd been going up
and down it every day, wouldn't you.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
Oh? I love, I love that walk up But you know,
for actual just pure beauty, you know, just walking around
there you've got you know, the little penguins you're quite
often see, and you know, you've got you know that
city scape, the port scape, and then you've got you
know that sort of out to the open ocean. So yes,
it's pretty hard to beat. And you know, it's just

(03:43):
just fantastic that we've got that, you know, and again,
as I say, you can do that, you know, ten
minutes away from from a pretty big city, which is
you know, we're very lucky to have.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, it's magnificent. What about events over the summer, what
are the things that might be dragging visitors in apart
from just the natural scenery and the beaches.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah, look, it's obviously a very popular destination. We've got
got a few concerts on, We've got the cricket at
at Bay Oval. You know, there's there's plenty of events.
We've just opened up the new waterfront playground. It's it's
great to see everyone coming back into the CBD enjoying that.

(04:26):
And there's you know the tidal steps, people doing bombs
off the wharf. So look, it's it's sort of it's
kind of as it's actually getting back more towards what
I remember as a kid, you know, really making the
most of that waterfront and and that you know, that's
one of the greatest things that being a harbor city.
We've got the harbor, but we've also got the main beach,

(04:46):
so it's awesome to have.

Speaker 2 (04:49):
A bit of a retro sort of summer doing. But
did you ever do bombs off the wharf your South Ord?
Was it not around at the time?

Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, no, no, absolutely, Yeah it was always good, but
personally I preferred going over to the beach and bodysurfing
and things like that, you know, but yeah, it's it's
there's there's a sort of something for every Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Of course, the population boom and Tarringer has been immense.
What are the projections in terms of where that goes
from here, because you've got a lot of people there now.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, so we're doubled in population in the last twenty
odd years, so you know, that's been challenging, and you know,
sort of in the next thirty we expect another forty
to fifty thousand, so yeah, that's another kind of third
of the population will be up sort of over that
two hundred marks. So yeah, as I say, that's probably

(05:42):
the biggest challenge for us as counsel is how do
we accommodate that growth and not have the city grind
or holt Where do we house those people? Things like that,
So that's very much what we're working on at the moment.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Having any time up over summer or where you're heading.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yeah, so yeah, got quite a good break obviously, it's
been a very busy time. So it'll be nice just
to get back with a family and have a bit
of a bit of an adventure a lot. We're down
down to Wanaka for New Years, got some friends down
there and the mate's fortieth so yeah, that'll be good
just to catch up with friends again. Haven't seen too

(06:20):
much of them over the last last five months as
we've yeah, come up and hid down.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
A lot of spare time. Hey Mahi, Well all the
best for twenty twenty five. Thanks so much for your
time and we'll look forward to talking to you again sometime.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
You have a nice rest all summer and we'll see
you on the other side.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
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