‘Open heart surgery’ for Wellington council after Town Hall blow out

Monday, 30 October 2023

Councillor Rebecca Matthews, left, confirmed she was canvassing councillors in an attempt to find cuts in Mayor Tory Whanau’s upcoming longterm plan.

As Wellington’s city councillors exchange barbs about who knew what, when about the Town Hall, it is becoming clear that the $147 million budget blow out will mean cuts and delays to other projects.

Numerous councillors from both sides of the council’s left-right divide have confirmed the blow out will mean that when Mayor Tory Whanau presents her draft long-term plan on November 9, some planned spending will be stopped or scaled back.

Rebecca Matthews, who chairs the council’s long term plan committee, confirmed that she, Whanau, and Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon were asking councillors where they could tolerate “re-scoping and re-phasing” of council plans in light of the October news that the Town Hall revamp had risen by up to $147m.

Councillor Tim Brown says those claiming to be in the dark are being “self serving and political”.

While she would not identify projects, other councillors have singled out items such as $2.4m funding for a new park at Lyall Bay through to the full roll out of cycleways or the Golden Mile revamp.

Councillor Iona Pannett was confident there would be money for projects such as cycleways, the Town Hall, bus lanes, addressing climate change and fixing critical infrastructure but said, “we will be carefully considering timing of these projects”.

Councillor Diane Calvert, a frequent voice against council spending, said the council should have reigned in spending a long time ago.

“We might have had to put a stent in, now we are having open heart surgery.”

It comes as an email spat between councillors plays out with some saying they knew in March the Town Hall cost was going to blow out and others saying they found out in October.

The timing is crucial because between May and October, the council voted on a number of big projects including spending tens of millions of dollars on the Golden Mile and Thorndon Quay, signing a contract for a $370m sludge plant, and agreeing to $7.1m on a playground at Frank Kitts Park.

Ben McNulty says he heard a $50m figure but struggled for more information.

Councillor Tim Brown claimed he was told in May that costs were going to overrun and said this was widely known to councillors. Councillors claiming this was not the case were “self serving and political”, he said.

Foon said she knew in March there was going to be a cost blow out, though official briefings did not start until September.

“The information was unfolding through the briefings … so it is not my perspective that councillors were being kept in the dark,” she wrote in an email to The Post and copied to all councillors.

Calvert labelled the meetings, where some councillors were briefed, as “secret” and unorthodox briefings.

“It is also highly unusual for a matter such as this to be withheld from elected members and the public for so long,” she also wrote in an email to The Post, copying in all councillors.

The public and councillors should have been told in June that reviews into the Town Hall were underway, especially with meetings about spending more money, she said.

Ben McNulty said he was told “informally” in March that costs could blow out by at least $50m but requests to get more information from council staff were unfruitful.

“The line from officers was the project was still being explored and officers were not in a place to tell us what the outcome will be,” he said.

Tony Randle said he was told unofficially in March of a figure about $60m, then heard nothing officially until October.