Local Govt minister won’t rule out early election for Wellington City Council

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the Government is ‘pretty concerned’ about the situation at Wellington City Council.

If the Government had to make an intervention at the council, ‘we will’, Luxon said.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said a number of intervention options were available, of which the appointment of a commissioner was just one.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown is looking at all options, including an early election, as he and other Government ministers raise alarm about Wellington City Council.

The council has come under fire, including from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, after its councillors backtracked on their plan to sell shares in Wellington Airport.

Luxon said his Government would “make an intervention” at Wellington City Council if it had to.

“We’ve got some concerns. As we’ve been saying, we’re going to watch it really closely,” he said.

When Stuff asked Brown whether he would exercise the power to call an election, he replied: 'I'm seeking advice in terms of the situation. I'm concerned about the impact that the council relitigating its long term plan might have on ratepayers.'

The plan to sell the airport shares had already been agreed in the council’s long term plan.

Brown’s discussions about the council started with officials last week and he said he formally asked for advice on Sunday.

Asked again specifically about the election option, Brown said: 'What I'm saying is I'm seeking advice.“

Mayor Tory Whanau’s response

Stuff asked the council for a response to Luxon’s comments. It sent out a statement from Mayor Tory Whanau that didn’t refer to anything Luxon had said.

Whanau did say in the statement that she was meeting with councillors this week to work out how to deliver a Long Term Plan for Wellington.

She wanted a plan “that does not compromise on our must-haves, that being housing, water and climate resilience, whilst also creating financial prudence for taxpayers”.

Businesses in Thorndon Quay not opposed to intervention

Kishor Chhibor from wrought iron specialists Simply Steel on Thorndon Quay told Stuff he “hoped the government intervened” but feared the damage had already been done.

'To tell you the truth it‘s a bit too late, most of it’s done. Unless the government is going to take it all away.

'If they can give us anything, they should give us car parks,' he said.

Chairperson of the Thorndon Quay Collective Paul Robinson said there were “three massive failures” when it came to the roadworks - business cases, impact assessments and “no coherent answer” from the council.

Robinson told Stuff they would “support anything that gets our concerns addressed”.

“If that was Donald Trump wanting to help even, we have to find somebody to address these issues.”

In a joint letter on Monday, the chief executives of Retail NZ, Hospitality New Zealand and the Bus & Coach Association, called on the council to review its CBD roadworks programme.

The Long Term Plan amendment was “an ideal opportunity for the council to step back and review its plans to redevelop the Golden Mile, especially in view of the disastrous impacts the Thorndon Quay project is having on local businesses”, the letter said.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young told Stuff on Tuesday, after Luxon’s comments, that she hoped the groups would be able to have a good, robust conversation with the council about what they wanted to achieve and what was feasible.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage said the council had responded to the letter late on Monday, with an offer of a meeting.

“We want to sit down in good faith with the council, now they’ve reached out to us, to talk about things,” Armitage said.

He had noted Luxon’s comments, and said the need for the council to go back to the drawing board to reconsider its capital programme provided it with an opportunity.

A meeting between the council and the groups would be a good next step, “rather than reaching for the nuclear option”.

Bus & Coach Association chief executive Delaney Myers said her organisation wanted proper engagement with the council, to ensure the details of the work were right.

Feedback from her group’s members was that their input earlier in the design process appeared to have been largely ignored, Myers said.

What more can Simeon Brown do?

Under the Local Government Act, Brown could also appoint a commissioner or observer, ask for information, or form a Crown Review Team.

“There’s a threshold that has to be met in terms of any potential interventions. We were asking for some advice from officials in relation to that,” Brown said.

Finance Minister describes council as ‘a shambles’

Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who lives in Wellington, said there were interventions “short of a commissioner” which the Government could take.

It had “one of the biggest increase in rates in the country” and “Wellingtonians are sort of despairing about the council’s focus on itself, rather than the people it’s meant to serve”.

Hutt South MP Chris Bishop, who is a senior minister, called the council a “shemozzle”.

“I think Wellingtonians are pretty concerned about it,” he said.

The 10-year Long Term Plan

Wellington council adopted a 10-year Long Term Plan at the start of July that included the sale of its 34% stake in Wellington Airport, with the money to go into a new fund that was being established to help the city rebuild after a major disaster.

Councillors have been told the council was underinsured by an estimated $2.6 billion, and that amount was growing.

But last week a majority of councillors voted on a notice of motion to amend the Long Term Plan, which meant all work on the airport share sale and creation of the fund ceased.

Council officers are due to provide information on the process and timeline for the amendment process in November, with the aim of adopting the amended plan by June 2025.

The council’s need to amend its Long Term Plan, which will include reviewing its capital works programme, is seen by some groups as an opportunity for the council to make changes to the way it has been operating.