Nine minutes of fireworks cost cash-strapped Wellington council $175,000

Thursday, 25 February 2021

Wellington City Council spent more than $175,000 on a fireworks display that exploded over a city facing a funding crisis, a rates hike, and a range of controversial cuts.

The council is considering a rates rise of up to 17 per cent and is scrambling to save money as it deals with a wave of big costs such as ageing pipes, a Central Library refit, and the Let’s Get Wellington Moving transport package.

The council last week ditched an idea, proposed by Mayor Andy Foster, to save $120,000 in the coming year by getting rid of a programme of free pool entry for under-fives. But others remaining in the queue for possible cuts include a new Chinese gardens, cutting of some library funding for books, and some capital replacements.

Mayor Andy Foster’s office stressed “no new money” funded the $175,000 Wellington Anniversary display. The fireworks were left over from a Matariki display that was cancelled due to Covid-19. The long-term plan process, in which various cuts were proposed, was the “ideal” way the community could have a say on what cuts were made.

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Andrea Jewell​ has nothing against fireworks but, after the 9.30pm display on the Sunday of Wellington Anniversary weekend got her children out of bed, she wondered how much the city’s ratepayers had spent on a display, which she said was on while many people were out of town and few knew was even on.

Jewell filed an official information request with the council and found out that the fireworks and operating of the event cost $170,000, marketing cost $5000, and contractors cost an unspecified amount.

“The proposed increase in rates can only be accepted if we have confidence in the council [spending] on the areas it needs it most,” Jewell said.

“To me, fireworks are a luxury and swimming is a lifelong skill,” she said.

The late-January display came after a New Year’s Eve council display and two weeks ahead of another, funded by the Chinese community, for Chinese New Year. A video of the Wellington Anniversary display on YouTube lasts for eight minutes and 31 seconds.

The council, in its response to Jewell, confirmed the decision to hold the Wellington Anniversary fireworks was supported by Foster.

Jewell, a keen swimmer who made regular use of the free swimming programme for her children, could not understand how the council could even consider ditching the swim programme while funding a more expensive fireworks display and while money was so tight.

She has the support of councillor Simon Woolf, who has the sport portfolio at council and pointed out the Wellington Anniversary display was one of four big public fireworks displays in Wellington in quick succession – New Year's Eve, then Wellington Anniversary later in January, Chinese New Year two weeks later, and Matariki in mid-winter.

“Maybe we should not have fireworks for one of them – we seem to be blowing a lot of dollars in smoke and glitter,” he said.

The information from council said it did not monitor crowd numbers at the fireworks display, but it was estimated between 50,000 and 60,000 people saw it.

Councillor Sean Rush, whose portfolio covers Wellington’s ageing pipes, said the fireworks added vibrancy to the city, but he wondered if they could be done more cheaply given the state of the council books.

He questioned how it fitted with the city’s carbon-zero goals: “Blowing up gunpowder has a huge [carbon] footprint.”