SuperLocal Award winners

SuperCollab | Tū Kotahi Award - sponsored by Fulton Hogan

Winner: Ada Street Safety Initiative – Reclaiming a community through collaboration
Palmerston North City Council, Horizons Regional Council, NZ Police, Fire Emergency NZ, Department of Corrections, Landlords’ Association

The Ada Street Safety Initiative stands as a powerful example of transformational collaboration. Led by Palmerston North City Council’s Community Development team, alongside Fire and Emergency NZ, NZ Police, Corrections NZ and Horizons Regional Council, the project tackled severe safety issues on Palmerston North’s most high-risk street. Through genuine community engagement and strategic partnership, the initiative achieved a 90% reduction in deliberate fires and a 63% drop in police callouts within just 10 months, saving frontline services more than $80,000. Importantly, it restored community trust, empowered residents and fostered a lasting sense of pride and connection. The initiative’s success was driven by meaningful, inclusive engagement, smart resource sharing, and a shared commitment to long-term change. It exemplifies the values celebrated by the SuperCollab | Tū Kotahi Award: unity, collaboration, and measurable impact. Ada Street’s transformation proves that when we work together, we can create safer, stronger communities for all.

Highly commended: Destination Kāwaroa - Stage one
New Plymouth District Council, Taranaki Foundation in partnership with Ngāti Te Whiti hapū and New Plymouth Partners

Destination Kāwaroa, led by the Taranaki Foundation in partnership with Ngāti Te Whiti hapū, New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), and New Plymouth Partners (NP Partners), has transformed Kāwaroa Park into a vibrant, intergenerational, and inclusive space on New Plymouth’s foreshore.

Since its opening in December 2024, the playground has attracted up to 2,000 visitors daily. The project exemplifies the power of public-private partnerships, with more than 80 per cent of funding from non-local government contributions.

“Destination Kāwaroa is testament to what can be achieved collectively when local government works in genuine partnership with mana whenua and the community to create something truly extraordinary,” says Chief Executive of NPDC, Gareth Green.

This innovative funding structure and community-driven approach sets a new standard for public-private partnerships.

SuperEngaged | Tū Hononga Award - sponsored by Beca

Winner: Ahu Ake, Waipā community spatial plan
Waipā District Council

Ahu Ake, Waipā Community Spatial Plan is a landmark 30+ year blueprint developed by Waipā District Council in partnership with mana whenua, iwi, and alongside stakeholders and the community. As the most comprehensive plan and engagement initiative ever carried out by council, it set a new benchmark for inclusive and authentic engagement. By using innovative tools like StoryMaps, a district-wide roadshow and a participatory World Café process, council achieved unprecedented levels of engagement and included individuals and groups whose voices aren’t always heard in local government processes, such as rangatahi and rural residents. The result is a vibrant community-driven plan that truly reflects the aspirations of its people and has their views at its heart. Ahu Ake has strengthened relationships, influenced council’s long-term planning, and paved the way for future engagement. It is a powerful example of how councils across New Zealand can work together with their communities to plan for the future.

Highly commended: Te Kotahitanga o te Hapori: Engaging as one, thriving together
Horowhenua District Council, Shannon Working Group and the wider community

In a powerful display of grassroots engagement, the Shannon community has taken the lead in shaping their own future—co-designing a Community Plan through strong community engagement.

This was not engagement as usual. From the outset, the focus was on enabling locals to lead, ensuring all voices were part of the conversation. The result? A vibrant, homegrown engagement campaign designed and delivered by the community itself.

From videos featuring tamariki to town-wide mail drops and drop-in sessions, the Working Group created welcoming, creative ways for people to “have their say.” Their efforts paid off, with 18.5% of Shannon contributing ideas—many for the first time.

Next month, the Group will present the draft Plan to Council in Shannon—an historic first—followed by a community celebration. This is engagement at its best: inclusive, empowering, and entirely community-led.

SuperSteward | Tū Tiaki Award - sponsored by Air NZ

Winner: Our Waitarakao: Waitarakao Washdyke Lagoon catchment strategy
Environment Canterbury, Timaru District Council, Department of Conservation, Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua

Our Waitarakao is a collaborative strategy to restore the mauri of the Waitarakao Washdyke Lagoon catchment. Led by the Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury, Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, Timaru District Council, and the local community. It champions environmental stewardship as a shared, long-term responsibility.

This unique coastal ecosystem has suffered from climate impacts, land-use pressures, and habitat loss. The strategy sets out clear, actionable goals focused on native biodiversity, water quality, resilience, and public involvement. Early environmental gains include over 5,000 native plants established, expanded predator control, and community-led sediment management trials.

Mana whenua leadership ensures traditional ecological knowledge is central, while schools, farmers, businesses, and residents actively contribute to restoration. The strategy embraces low-cost, nature-based, and citizen-driven actions to sustain progress over generations.

Our Waitarakao is turning care for the environment into collective action—empowering people to protect, restore, and look after this taonga for the future.

Highly commended: Enhancing the environment while enabling growth – Peacocke, Hamilton
Hamilton City Council

Hamilton’s greatest-ever environmental investment is in Peacocke, a 720ha new residential growth cell in the south-west of Hamilton, delivered alongside strategic infrastructure construction to service a community of around 20,000 people.

Investment in strategic connections to Hamilton’s transport, waters and utility networks responded to environmental needs. This included the significant environmental improvements for transport, landscaping and stormwater. Gully and stream restoration, pest control, lizard and bat research and habitat enhancement ran in parallel.

The transport network design, including Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge considers pekapeka-tou-roa, long-tailed bats, through lighting and structure features that minimise the impact on the bats and their environment.

This project exemplifies how engineering skill and partnerships, combined with cultural and natural heritage, delivers outstanding infrastructure, urban design, and aesthetic outcomes.

SuperIdea | Tū Auaha Award

Winner: Cutting our own track
Buller District Council

Westport, a small coastal town on Te Waipounamu’s West Coast, is taking significant steps to adapt to hazards after major floods in 2021/2022 exposed its vulnerability to natural hazards.

The community has developed Cutting Our Own Track – the Resilient Westport Master Plan. This bold strategy, shaped through community engagement, balances immediate risk reduction with long-term adaptation.

Grounded in national planning frameworks and utilising local knowledge, it includes flood protection, emergency upgrades, and a phased shift of development to safer ground, reducing immediate flood risk while enabling long-term development.

Strategies including use of nearby Crown land, a special-purpose delivery vehicle, and small-scale developments to support gradual relocation anchor the approach, placing local voices at the heart of the solution.

Westport is redefining how communities adapt to natural hazards, positioning the town as a nationally relevant, pioneering example of resilience and how small centres can thrive while honouring their connection to place.

SuperHuman | Tū Kaha Award

Winner: Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan, Napier City Council

With 12 years’ service on the Napier City Council, including two terms as Deputy Mayor, Annette has consistently championed inclusive, forward-thinking initiatives that uplift the entire community. Her leadership on key projects such as the Te Aka/Maranga Civic Precinct, Ahuriri Regional Park, and the War Memorial Centre restoration exemplifies her ability to connect diverse voices, enable bold innovation, and amplify those voices often unheard. A tireless advocate for climate resilience, community wellbeing, and cultural restoration, Annette has left an enduring legacy of trust, progress, and compassion. Annette truly embodies the spirit of a SuperHuman - strong, humble, and deeply community-driven.

Highly commended: Councillor Stella Lennox, Masterton District Council

As co-chair of the Masterton Refugee Steering Committee, Councillor Lennox has been instrumental in helping refugee families integrate into their new community. Her innovative approach to local challenges is exemplified by her work addressing anti-social behaviour at Masterton's skate park through community-building initiatives rather than punitive measures.

Stella's commitment extends to establishing Kim's Way, the district's first night refuge for the homeless, and helping transform the Te Awhina Community Hub into a vibrant multicultural space.

A working mother of two, Cr Lennox consistently goes beyond expectations, whether coordinating volunteer efforts during flooding crises or ensuring youth voices are heard in local governance. She reimagines community service as responsive, innovative, and genuinely committed to collective wellbeing.