Wellington mayor feeling ‘really good’ heading into 2025
Saturday, 1 February 2025
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau plans to run for re-election in October, saying she feels positive about the year ahead.
By the October election, Whanau hopes to see the establishment of a new regional water entity “well under way” and shovels in the ground on the controversial Golden Mile project.
It comes after a challenging 2024 for the council, which currently has a Crown observer in place.
It is a new year and Tory Whanau is feeling good.
The Wellington mayor encountered several controversies and challenges in 2024, but now, she is looking ahead. She plans to run for re-election in October and hopes to make substantial progress on some key priorities before then.
One of them is shoring up the city’s water infrastructure.
“We have seen a huge reduction in leaks over the last year,” she said, noting the council’s increased investment into Wellington Water. “But we need to stay the course. We have to keep investing.”
Wellington Water reported fixing more than 9100 leaks across the wider regional network last year, leaving the number of active leaks in Wellington city at 206 in January 2025.
That is down from nearly 1000 at the same time last year.
Now, Whanau is focused on setting up a regional water entity alongside Porirua, Upper Hutt, Hutt City and Greater Wellington councils.
“[By October] we will be well on track to setting up the entity within our Wellington region, ensuring we have the financing tools in place to be able to finance our water infrastructure better,” she said.
That entity - which will be separate from councils and own all the water infrastructure independently - will charge water users directly, rather than through rates.
This differs to the existing organisation responsible for water infrastructure in the region, Wellington Water, which is a council-controlled organisation.
“[Water has] been a big cause for the rates increases across New Zealand, for every council,” she said.
“If we continue on this water entity plan, there will be a direct charge to users, but it will be very manageable… We will still need to pay for water, though. That is just the environment we're in.”
That is not to say a rates increase is not on the cards. Wellingtonians are facing a potential 15.9% increase from July.
The council announced its intended 12.8% increase for 2025/26 had ballooned out in December last year, citing “known cost pressures” such as high inflation.
Council officers have been asked to present options for keeping the 12% target in February.
Water is not the only subject of the mayor’s focus. She is also dead set on getting the Golden Mile off - or in - the ground this year.
“By October, I'd like to see the design fully completed, and very much spades in the ground,” she said.
“Businesses have been aware of this project for a couple of years now, and I think it's time to just get on with it and create a real, people-friendly area that provides all forms of public transport.”
These milestones will not come easily.
Coming off the back of a tumultuous 2024, the council still needs to save hundreds of millions of dollars in its long-term plan, after deciding in October not to go ahead with a proposed sale of its Wellington airport shares, and work with Crown observer Lindsay McKenzie, who’s initial observations of the council have been largely critical.
“Last year was really tough, and I know Wellington City Council certainly had its challenges. But we got to the end of the year successfully with a long-term plan that is investing in the right areas,” Whanau said.
“So I am feeling really good. I am energised, I am really excited, and I am going to make sure that we do the best by Wellington city.”