Mark you Diaries - 18 August 2026 @ 6:30 pm - Ammo Room - Barracks Bar 141 Saint Hill St - Key Note Speaker Doug Tate CEO WDC
Whanganui Economic Scorecard 2026
A proposed performance framework for Whanganui & Partners
Purpose
Whanganui District Council invests substantial public money in economic development through Whanganui & Partners.
Whanganui & Partners undertakes tourism promotion, business support, investment attraction, sector development, education initiatives and the promotion of Whanganui as a place to live, work and invest.
These activities may all be worthwhile. However, the present public reporting framework does not clearly show whether they are producing sufficient measurable economic growth.
The purpose of this scorecard is not to criticise Whanganui & Partners. It is to propose a small number of clear and publicly visible key performance indicators against which progress can be measured each year.
1. Whanganui’s current economic position
Population
49,200 in 2025
Well below a possible long-term objective of 60,000
Annual population growth
110 additional residents; 0.2%
Very modest growth
Total district GDP
$2.541 billion in 2025
Size of the local economy:
Real GDP growth
–0.9% in 2025
Economy contracted during the year
Total employment
20,998 filled jobs in 2025
Employment base
Employment growth
–0.9% in 2025
Approximately 190 fewer filled jobs
Labour productivity
$121,007 GDP per filled job
Below the NZ figure of approximately $155,707
Productivity growth
0.0% in 2025
No measurable productivity improvement
Unemployment
5.5% in 2025
Improved from 5.9%, but remains a concern
Tourism GDP
$73.3 million in 2025
2.9% of total district GDP
Visitor expenditure
$191.8 million in 2025
Increased 4.8% while national visitor expenditure was reported as flat
Per-capita income growth
2.0% in year to March 2026
Below New Zealand growth of 4.4%
Young people not in employment, education or training
33.6% in 2025
Increased from 29.4%
The figures show a mixed picture. Tourism is producing a clearly visible positive result, population is growing slowly, but overall GDP and employment declined during 2025. Productivity was unchanged and remained materially below the national level.
2. The present accountability gap
Whanganui & Partners reports a wide range of activities, including:
business engagements;
referrals;
marketing campaigns;
events and workshops;
relationships with prospective investors;
sector strategies;
media exposure;
support for creative industries;
tourism promotion; and
economic research.
These demonstrate that work has been undertaken. They do not, by themselves, demonstrate that the work has produced additional jobs, population, investment or rateable value.
For example, the 2023/24 reporting framework recorded:
Activity reported
Result
Regional Business Partner referrals
85
Business engagements and connections
825
Both activity targets were exceeded. However, the report did not clearly identify how many of those engagements resulted in a completed business expansion, a new business, additional employment or private capital investment.
The position became even less clear after Whanganui & Partners returned in-house to Council in July 2024. The Council’s 2024/25 Annual Report lists only one formal KPI for the entire economic-development group:
The number of visitors served by the i-SITE.
The target was 16,000 and the result was 17,560. That measure is useful for assessing the i-SITE, but it does not adequately measure the performance of a district-wide economic-development function.
3. Proposed headline KPIs
The following ten indicators should form the publicly reported Whanganui Economic Scorecard.
Headline economic outcomes
KPI
2025 baseline
Proposed performance expectation
Reporting method
1. Population growth
49,200; growth of 0.2%
Exceed NZ provincial growth average and establish a credible path toward 60,000
Infometrics/Stats NZ
2. Real GDP growth
–0.9%
Exceed the New Zealand growth rate over a rolling three-year period
Infometrics
3. Employment growth
–0.9%
Positive annual growth and exceed comparable provincial districts over three years
Infometrics
4. Labour productivity
$121,007 per filled job
Close the gap with the NZ average each year
Infometrics
5. Per-capita income growth
2.0%
Equal or exceed New Zealand income growth
Infometrics
6. Business-unit growth
Baseline to be confirmed annually
Positive net growth and outperform comparable districts
Stats NZ/Infometrics
7. Private investment secured
Not publicly reported
Dollar value of completed investment attributable to W&P assistance
Independently verified project register
8. New and retained employment
Not publicly reported
Number of permanent full-time-equivalent jobs created or retained through assisted projects
Employer verification
9. Additional rateable value
Not publicly reported
Annual capital value of new commercial, industrial and residential rating units
Council rating database
10. Return on economic-development expenditure
Not publicly reported
Verified investment and additional annual economic value compared with Council expenditure
Annual calculation
The first six are district-wide economic outcomes. Whanganui & Partners cannot control them entirely, but its purpose is to help influence them.
The final four are direct agency outcomes and should be capable of being linked more closely to Whanganui & Partners’ own work.
4. Sector performance matrix
A. Population and workforce
Measure
Baseline
Proposed KPI
Total population
49,200
Annual growth exceeding the comparable provincial average
Net additional residents
110 in 2025
At least 500 net additional residents annually within five years
Working-age population
Baseline required
Positive annual growth
Skilled workers attracted
Not reported
Number relocating through identifiable initiatives
New households established
Baseline required
Annual increase in occupied dwellings and rating units
Young people not in employment, education or training
33.6%
Sustained annual reduction
Why it matters
Whanganui possesses civic, cultural, recreational and infrastructure assets capable of serving a larger population. Growing the population from approximately 50,000 to 60,000 would expand the number of residents sharing those fixed costs by around 20%.
Population growth alone will not automatically reduce rates. However, additional households, businesses and rateable properties should improve Council’s ability to fund fixed services and facilities.
B. Business growth and investment
Measure
Current reporting
Proposed KPI
Business engagements
825 reported in 2023/24
Continue as a supporting measure only
Completed business expansions
Not clearly reported
Number and dollar value
Businesses attracted to Whanganui
Not clearly reported
Number commencing operation
Private capital investment
Not clearly reported
Verified dollars committed and spent
Permanent jobs created
Not clearly reported
Verified full-time-equivalent positions
Jobs retained through intervention
Not clearly reported
Verified positions where closure or relocation was demonstrably avoided
Commercial and industrial rating value
Not clearly linked to W&P
Annual increase attributable to completed developments
Reporting rule
A business enquiry, meeting or expression of interest should not be reported as an economic outcome.
Investment should only be counted when it has:
received final approval;
entered a binding commitment;
commenced construction or operation; or
resulted in verified expenditure or employment.
C. Manufacturing and productive industries
Measure
Current position
Proposed KPI
Manufacturing employment
Significant existing local sector
Annual filled-job growth
Manufacturing GDP
Baseline required
Growth exceeding total district GDP growth
New investment
Not clearly reported
Dollar value of plant, premises and equipment
Exports or external sales
Not clearly reported
Annual estimated value
Business expansions
Activity is described
Number completed
Available industrial land
Requires consolidated reporting
Hectares serviced and ready for development
Manufacturing is particularly important because it brings income into Whanganui from customers outside the district and commonly produces more durable, higher-productivity employment than locally dependent service activity.
D. Primary production and food processing
Measure
Proposed KPI
New processing capacity
Dollar value of completed investment
Additional value retained locally
Estimated annual value
Permanent jobs created
Verified full-time-equivalent positions
Businesses assisted to export
Number achieving first or increased export sales
Productive land constraints
Annual report on material infrastructure or regulatory barriers
The objective should not simply be to support agriculture outside Whanganui. It should be to retain more of the processing, logistics, employment and commercial value within the district.
E. Tourism
Measure
Current baseline
Proposed KPI
Visitor expenditure
$191.8 million
Growth exceeding national visitor-spend growth
Tourism GDP
$73.3 million
Growth exceeding total district GDP growth
Tourism share of district GDP
2.9%
Report annually, without overdependence on one sector
Average length of stay
Baseline required
Annual increase
Accommodation occupancy
Baseline required
Annual increase
Seasonal spread
Baseline required
Increased visitor spending outside peak periods
Marketing return
Not publicly demonstrated
Additional visitor spend per Council marketing dollar
Tourism is presently the sector in which Whanganui & Partners can point to the clearest measurable improvement. Visitor expenditure increased by 4.8% in 2025 while national spending was reported as flat.
That success should be acknowledged. It should also become the model for reporting other sectors: identify the expenditure, state the baseline, report the result and compare it with New Zealand.
F. Education and aviation
Measure
Proposed KPI
Domestic and international students attracted
Number of additional student-years
Student expenditure
Estimated annual local expenditure
Graduates retained locally
Number and percentage
Pilot trainees based in Whanganui
Annual average
Academy employment
Direct permanent positions
Airport revenue generated
Rent, landing charges and other fees
Accommodation occupied
Number of properties or beds
Wider local expenditure
Independently estimated annual contribution
The arrival of a new commercial pilot-training operation provides a good opportunity to establish this framework from the outset.
The economic contribution should be reported separately from the financial history of the former Council-owned academy.
G. Port, logistics and marine industries
Measure
Proposed KPI
Commercial vessel movements
Annual number
Freight volume
Annual tonnes
Commercial port revenue
Annual dollars
Ratepayer operating contribution
Annual dollars
Marine businesses established or expanded
Number
Private investment secured
Dollar value
Direct employment
Full-time-equivalent positions
Economic return on public capital
Independently calculated
The Port should not be assessed solely as an infrastructure construction project. Its economic-development performance should be measured through trade, employment, commercial revenue and private investment.
H. Creative industries, technology and film
Measure
Proposed KPI
Productions completed
Number
External production expenditure
Dollars spent within Whanganui
Paid local employment
Workdays and full-time-equivalent positions
Creative businesses established
Number
Technology firms attracted or expanded
Number
Remote professional workers relocating
Verified number
Sector GDP and employment growth
Annual Infometrics measure
Private investment
Dollar value
Events, awards, UNESCO recognition and promotional exposure are useful supporting measures. They should not replace reporting of economic value and employment.
5. Attribution: what can fairly be credited to Whanganui & Partners?
It would be unreasonable to attribute every movement in the Whanganui economy either positively or negatively to Whanganui & Partners.
Interest rates, national economic conditions, immigration, central-government policy, private business decisions and international markets all affect local results.
For this reason, the scorecard should use three levels of reporting.
Level
Description
Example
District outcome
Broad result influenced by many factors
GDP, population or employment growth
Contributed outcome
W&P played a material but not exclusive role
A business expansion assisted through planning, contacts or funding
Direct outcome
Clearly resulted from a W&P programme or campaign
Verified marketing campaign, investor attraction or completed referral
Whanganui & Partners should only claim direct credit where there is reasonable evidence that its involvement materially affected the result.
6. Proposed annual public report
A one-page scorecard should be published every year using a five-year trend.
KPI
Baseline
Current year
Previous year
Five-year trend
Target
Status
Population growth
Real GDP growth
Employment growth
Productivity growth
Per-capita income growth
Business-unit growth
Completed private investment
Permanent jobs created
Additional rateable value
Visitor-spend growth
The report should use a simple status system:
Achieved
Partly achieved
Not achieved
Data unavailable
“Data unavailable” should not be treated as success.
7. Governance recommendations
It is recommended that the Whanganui District Council:
establish a five-year economic-development plan with measurable population, employment, investment and productivity objectives;
adopt no more than ten headline economic KPIs;
require annual comparison with New Zealand and a group of similar provincial districts;
distinguish activities from economic outcomes;
publish the dollar value of completed private investment secured or assisted;
report verified permanent employment created or retained;
report the additional commercial, industrial and residential rateable value generated;
show each KPI as a five-year trend rather than relying on a single year;
commission periodic independent verification of the principal outcomes; and
review Whanganui & Partners’ priorities and resourcing where the indicators show continued underperformance.
8. Suggested comparable districts
Whanganui should be compared with provincial districts facing broadly similar opportunities and challenges.
The comparison group could include:
New Plymouth;
Palmerston North;
Timaru;
Invercargill;
Masterton; and
Gisborne.
Comparison should not imply that these districts are identical. Its purpose is to show whether Whanganui is progressing faster or more slowly than credible provincial alternatives.
9. Central conclusion
The present reporting system is weighted toward what Whanganui & Partners does rather than what the Whanganui economy achieves.
Meetings, referrals, campaigns, workshops and strategies are legitimate activities. They should continue to be recorded internally. They should not be the principal measures presented to ratepayers as evidence of economic success.
The principal public measures should be:
More residents, more productive jobs, more successful businesses, more private investment, higher incomes and a broader rating base.
Whanganui & Partners should be given clear targets and a reasonable period in which to achieve them. Where progress is made, it should receive proper recognition. Where targets are not achieved, Council and the community should be able to see that clearly and consider whether priorities, methods or resources need to change.
Proposed request to the Mayor
We ask the Mayor and Council to support the development of a concise annual Whanganui Economic Scorecard, using independent data and clearly visible KPIs.
The scorecard should report not only activities undertaken by Whanganui & Partners, but measurable changes in population, GDP, employment, productivity, private investment, business growth and additional rateable value.
This would provide Council, Whanganui & Partners and the community with a fair, objective and constructive basis for measuring progress.