Wellington Water advertises communications job that pays up to $172k

Monday, 30 October 2023

The Wellington Water spin doctor will at times be called on to deal with emergency management. It is not clear if this 2021 Mount Victoria impromptu geyser would qualify.

Wellington Water is advertising a communications role with a starting salary higher than a city council chairperson or a fourth-year doctor working a 60-hour week.

The $122,000 to $172,000 communications and engagement team lead role was posted on Wednesday, a day after economic analysts warned the Wellington City Council could be looking at a $1 billion long-term budget blow out. The posting went live on the day the council voted on pushing the budget to quake-strengthen the town hall by another $147m to $329m.

The city council is Wellington Water’s biggest funder. Mayor Tory Whanau is paid a $183,000 salary while a councillor with no extra responsibilities earns $105,000.

Communications workers are often referred to as spin doctors but figures from late-2022 show a fourth-year graduate actual doctor working up to 55.9 hours earns less, with a $110,000 salary.

The Wellington Water position is for a 40-hour-per-week job though duties do include being on an emergency management on-call roster.

Wellington Water staff work on a water leak corner of Jervois Quay and Hunter St earlier in 2023.

“Your job security is guaranteed, and your expertise will play a vital role in ensuring the delivery of sustainable water services to our communities,” the advertisement says.

The advertisement comes as Wellington grapples with years of underinvestment in pipes and multiple high-profile failures — with ratepayers facing year-on-year rates hikes to address that problem and others facing the city.

Councillor Nureddin Abdurahman labelled the position “a slap in the face to residents who just want pipes fixed”.

“It is unacceptable. Leaks are the issue and no amount of communication expertise will fix the pipes.”

Ray Chung said the salary band was too high for the position: “I’d much rather Wellington Water spent money fixing the pipes instead of talking about it.”

Councillor Sarah Free would not comment on position and salary specifics but said there was a need for public education, such as a campaign to get people saving water, “however it is done”.

Councillor Tim Brown said the council already wanted a “significant improvement” in the information it got from the water entity and it was fine if the person helped with that.

“Last year we provided them with $118,868,000 which was up over 100% over the last four years. We need to know that those funds are being efficiently spent.”

Councillor Diane Calvert had no issue with people being paid the going rate but was trying to figure out why “it is so difficult have transparency around Wellington Water and Wellington City Council expenditure”.

Wellington Water chief executive Tonia Haskell said the organisation was “acutely aware” that the organisation needed to justify every ratepayer dollar it spent. The salary band was based on market rates for similar roles, she said.

“This is an important role for our organisation, particularly at a time as we head into a summer where we are facing a risk of a water shortage and we need to increase our communications and engagement with the public during this critical time.”

The incoming National-ACT Government is promising to slash public service spending with communications staff specifically singled out for the chop. However, Wellington Water is funded by rate, not tax, payers.

No other city councillors, nor the mayor, responded to a request for comment by deadline.

Wellington Water’s communications team did not say whether this was a new or replacement position.